Delhi’s Hauz Khas Jagannath temple hosts ‘Boita Bandana’

Bhubaneswar: HauzKhas Jagannath temple in Delhi hosted the Boita Bandana (boat sailing) ceremony as part of its Kartika Purnima celebrations. The festival is a significant cultural event for the Odia community in the Delhi-NCR region, celebrating Odisha’s rich ancient maritime history.

Hosted by the Temple’s Management Committee Sree Neelachal Seva Sangha, hundreds of Odias and non-Odias residing in Delhi participated in the festival. The festival venue at the Fountain was elegantly decorated. In the morning, special ‘puja’ was conducted in front of the four presiding deities. Then the priests performed the religious rituals in front of the decked up ‘boat’ docked in the Fountain’s pond. The women performed the traditional ‘aarti’ of the ‘boat.’ Delhi minister Ashish Sood and his wife Anu Sood graced the carnival as guests. Amidst the chanting of hymns “ Aaa Kaa Maa Bai,” the devotees, under the supervision of Temple’s Secretary Ravindranath Pradhan, initiated the commencement of the auspicious sailing of ‘boat.’ The whole atmosphere reverberated with the sounds of haribol, huluhuli, blowing of conch, recitals of bhajan and keertan and playing of musical instruments such as ghanta, kartala, mardala, jhanja and mrudanga.

The scenic beauty of the ‘boat’ sailing majestically on the pond water around the Fountain was mesmerising. The sailing signified symbolic re-enactment of the historical voyage of the Odia merchants for trade to the far off islands in Indonesia such as Bali, Java, Sumatra and Borneo. The fiesta spoke volumes about the golden maritime history, rich commercial tradition and vibrant cultural ethos of Odisha. The major attraction of the mega event was presentation of scintillating dance and soul soothing music by reputed artistes. Renowned Odisha singers Anindita Das, Anuradha Panigrahi and Gopinath Panigrahi enthralled the audience with several popular musical numbers. Guru Nityananda Das and troupe consisting of some handicapped artistes presented spell-binding Odissi and folk dances. Comedy Master Golu entertained the crowd with his satirical eloquence.