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Rama Kahani

The poem describes the royal birth of the god Rama in the kingdom of Ayodhya (Oudh), his tutelage under the sage Vishvamitra, and his success in bending Shiva’s mighty bow at the bridegroom tournament of Sita,  the daughter of King Janaka, thus winning her for his wife. After Rama  is banished from his position as heir to the kingdom through a palace  intrigue, he retreats to the forest with his wife and his favourite half  brother, Lakshmana, to spend 14 years in exile. There Ravana,  the demon-king of Lanka, carries off Sita to his capital while her two  protectors are busy pursuing a golden deer sent to the forest to mislead  them. Sita resolutely rejects Ravana’s attentions, and Rama and his  brother set out to rescue her. After numerous adventures, they enter  into alliance with Sugriva, king of the monkeys, and, with the  assistance of the monkey-general Hanuman and Ravana’s own brother, Vibhishana, they attack Lanka. Rama slays   Ravana and rescues Sita, who undergoes an ordeal by fire in order to   clear herself of suspicions of infidelity. When they return to Ayodhya, however, Rama learns that the people still question the queen’s   chastity, and he banishes her to the forest. There she meets the sage   Valmiki (the reputed author of the Ramayana) and at his  hermitage gives birth to Rama’s two sons. The family is reunited when  the sons come of age, but Sita, after again protesting her innocence,  plunges into the earth, her mother, who receives her and swallows her  up.

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Lord Jagannath

Lord Jagannath is a deity unique to Orissa, no other region worships a form of Vishnu like him. As Jagannath he is called the Lord of the Universe, of the three worlds of the heavens, earth and the netherworld. He is also one of the forms of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Jagannath possesses many of the qualities of Vishnu who is the preserver of the universe that has been created by Lord Brahma.

So to his devotees Jagannath is kind and compassionate, patiently listening to their prayers and then offering them the joy of many colourful festivals and the most delectable offering of food. Jagannath is a protective and generous god and that is why he is so beloved of his devotees.

This is a temple of truly ancient origins and it also possesses many unusual qualities. First, Krishna-Jagannath, his sister Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra are worshipped at Puri, the only temple with the tradition of worshipping Krishna with his siblings. Then the icons in the sanctum look unique as they are not like the traditional depiction of Hindu deities. Finally the religious rituals and festivals have ancient traditions and have continued till today.

The history and legends of the Puri temple are full of ancient stories that have been narrated for centuries and enrich the traditions of the Jagannath Temple. Many of the Puranas mention a tirtha named Purushottam Kshetra. The Agni, Skanda, Padma and Brahma Purana mention the myths about the temple. Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata also mention Lord Jagannath. In the Ramayana Lord Ram tells Vibhishan that Jagannath is the family deity of his Ikshvaku clan. Then Vibhishan is said to have composed a hymn praising the god and even today there is a ritual in the temple called ‘Vibhishan bandana’.

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Boita Bandāna

Boita Bandāna (Odia: boita bandāṇa) also known as Dangā Bhasā (Odia: ଡଙ୍ଗା ଭସା ḍaṅgā bhasā), is a traditional Odia maritime and naval festival celebrated annually throughout Odisha, India.  The  name could be translated as "to float ritual boats and worshipping with  lighted lamp" and comes from the tradition of making decorated boats,  which are then floated on a river as a symbolic gesture of their  ancestors' voyage. Boita Bandana takes place in the early morning of Kartik Purnima which is the full moon day in the month Kartika in the traditional Odia calendar.  Since it falls on the lunar phase of the solar calendar, the exact date  of the festival changes every year. In the Gregorian calendar, the  festival usually falls in the month of November. The festival is a  celebrated to mark the commemoration on the day when Sadhabas (ancient Odia mariner merchants) would set sail to distant lands of mainland and insular Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural exchange.A major commemoration of this festival called Bali Jatra is held at Gadagadia Ghata of Cuttack on the banks of Mahanadi river.

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Budhei Osha

"Budhei Osha" also known as Budhei-Sudhei Osha or Budhi Baman Osha  observed on Wednesdays in the month of Bhadrab and goddess Bimala or  Tarini is worshipped with the establishment of the idol of Buddhi Baman  in a Sila (Curry Stone, which is used for pressing/grinding of Masalas for Curry). If you are going to observe "Budhei Osha" this year, then you should  download this Pooja Book or Budhibaman Osha/Budhei Osha Bahi Katha. The  book is exclusively available for free of cost. If you are residing in  Odisha, you can buy this book from any local book store to help  Publisher and Owner of the book. OdiaPortal.IN do not own this book's  Copyright.The women worship an idol of Maa Mangala. The idol is prepared using Turmeric and Water and given the shape of a human on a Curry Stone. Cowries are used to make the sense organs of the idol. This fast is kept for 4/5 Wednesdays by Women for their children in Odisha. According to another myth, this fast was kept to cure blindness and leprosy as well. According to a myth a wine dealer’s wife was cured of her leprosy and a pregnant Brahmin woman had a safe delivery after pleasing the goddess through their fasts.

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Savitri Amavasya

Savitri Amavasya is a regional public holiday in the Indian state of  Odisha on the last day of the dark fortnight, in the month of  Jyestha.  This means it falls in May or June in the western calendar. 

Traditions of Savitri Amavasya

In  the early morning, women take purifying baths, wear new clothes and  bangles, and apply red vermilion to their foreheads. Nine types of  fruits and nine types of flowers are offered to the Goddess Savitri.The  women fast from sunrise to sunset. During the day they pray for their  husbands to have a long life, and listen to the tale of

Savitri

,  who  saved her husband Satyavan from being taken by the death god.Savitri  was the beautiful daughter of King Aswapati of Madra Desa. She had  chosen Satyaban as her life partner. Satyaban was a prince in exile who  was living in the forest with his blind father. Savitri left her palace  to live with her husband and his father in the forest. She was a devoted  wife and daughter-in-law, going to great lengths to take care of them.One  day while cutting wood in the forest, Satyaban’s suddenly weak,  collapsed and died. As Savitri rushed to the dead body of her husband,  Yamraj, the death God, appeared to take away his soul. Savitri pleaded  to Yamraj not to be separated from her husband. She implored the god  that if he takes her husband's soul of her husband, hers should be taken  too. Yamraj was so moved by the devotion of Savitri, that he returned  the life of her husband.

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Bāta Oshā

Bāta Oshā is celebrated in Odisha on the month of Pousha (in  between December-January, according to English calendar). It is also  known as Danda Pahanra Osha or Yama Osha.God Yama is the presiding deity in this festival. It is held on the  second lunar day of the dark fortnight of pousha in honour of Yama. It  is popularly celebrated at Odisha. This festival is all about worshipping Yama himself, the jolly  pot-bellied God in black. On this puja, the ritual fasting is only  observed by the mothers. Womens wear the new clothes and do the puja and  worship Yama at the junction of three or four roads by praying for the  well-being of their husbands and children whenever they travel. Since  the worship takes place on the road which means Bāta in Odia language,  so the name of this festival is Bāta Oshā. Also a plant named ‘Bajra  Muli’ worshipped near pooja’s place. And this plant is used as broom  stick when the women sweeping the road. Woman who don’t have children, she performs a special ritual by  spreading her lappet near cow’s tied place and took seat  there. Then other women (who have children and had taken part on this  pooja) starts sweeping to the road by Bajra-Muli plant from pooja’s  place to reach the woman. After they reach at cowshed, they give their  nates (those dishes which they offered to Yam during the pooja i.e. like  Budha-Chakuli) to that woman and that’s in her apron.And the belief is that, By eating those nates and believing that  Yam gave his blessings by the prasad to her, Her life will be filled  with children very soon.

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Bhai Jiuntia Osha

On the occasion of this festival girls worship goddess Durga for the prosperity of their brothers. Bhai Jiuntia is celebrated on the 8th day of the bright fortnight in the Hindu month of Aswina.Married women visit their father’s place in this time of the year to observe Bhai Jiuntia for their brothers.On this day, sisters observe fast and arrange the worship. In the evening they get assembled at the place of worship wearing new or clean clothes.  They offer 108 duba grasses, unbroken rice, jiuntia and fruits. A priest reads out the story of Bhai Jiuntia from the book. In the following day they tie the jiuntia in the wrist of their brother for their betterment.

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Jahni Osha

Jahni Osha is an Osha celebrated in Odisha. It is celebrated from the  first day of the month of Ashwin to the full moon. It is celebrated by  the Osha virgins and is celebrated on the full moon day of Kumar. Every  afternoon during the month, the virgins worship Vrindavati at the base  of the Tulsi Chura, which is full of jahniful flowers, which include  leia, nectar, bananas, and cucumbers. As a song, the girls celebrate the  Osha at dusk with a bang. In the afternoon, the girls make jahniful  flowers and other flowers at the base of the quarry, set up the kalasa,  and read and worship the jahnosa books. Singing gives Vrindavati a  finger of Jahni flower. Leprosy is said to be used to relieve leprosy.  If you can’t do Osha throughout the month, you can do it 15 days or 5  days before the full moon of Kumar. Singing in the afternoon with Osha  rituals and traditions and spending some time in joy and happiness is  considered a form of exercise for virgins.In this Osha, Deenakrishna Das’s “JahnioshaJahniosha Katha” is recited, which  tells different legends in different verses. The poem is divided into  five verses in eleven letters. It tells the story of the rules and  successes of celebrating the glory of Osha in five countries, namely  Maharashtra, Udrarashtra (Odisha), Karnataka (Karnataka), Virat Desh,  Saurashtra Desh. The first verse describes the evil effects of Osha  Nindar. For thirty days in the month of Ashwin, the Balut girls unite  and cut the house with jasmine flowers at the base of the Tulsi Chura.  Leah enjoys eating and drinking. Jahni puts flowers on the chowder. One  day in Maharashtra, a woman named Jambubati mocked Osha. “She is OK. As a  result, Vrindavati became angry. The snake bit Zambubati’s sleeping  son. Her husband Maheshwar arrived while she was holding her dead son.  Knowing that this had happened as a result of the Osha blasphemy, they  went to Vrindavati and prayed. After various pleas, Vrindavati was  satisfied and gave her life to her dead son.

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Maha Shivaratri

Maha Shivaratri is a famous Hindu festival celebrated each year in  reverence of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration.A Shivaratri is celebrated on the 13th night and 14th day of every  lunar month. The Shivaratri in the month of Falgun (Phalguna) - the last  month of Hindu calendar - is Maha Shivaratri which means "the Great  Night of Shiva". It takes place just before the arrival of Spring,  usually in February or March in the Western calendar.It is celebrated across India and is a holiday in most states and it is also a public holiday in Mauritius and Nepal.

What is Maha Shivratri?

The festival marks the end of winter and the arrival of summer and is  a major observation in Hinduism. It is very significant to the Shaivism  tradition of Hinduism, which worships Shiva as its primary deity.The  

Maha Shivaratri

is mentioned in several Puranas (Hindu Literature) and  presents different versions of this festival and referencing the icons  of Shiva.Maha Shivaratri is the night when Shiva is said to have  performed the Tandava Nritya, or the dance of primordial creation,  preservation and destruction. According to believers, this saved the  world from destruction. Hindu scholars say Maha Shivaratri was the day  when Shiva drank poisonous negativity to protect the world.Maha Shivratri is observed to mark a remembrance of 'overcoming  darkness and ignorance' in life and the world. Unlike most festivals, is  celebrated at night and is a solemn event.Shivaratri is also when Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva married again.The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael (Bel  Tree) leaves to Lord Shiva, all day fasting and an all-night-long vigil.On Maha Shivratri, "Om Namah Shivaya", the sacred mantra of Shiva, is  chanted through the day in Shiva temples. Special Puja is held at homes  and temples.

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Dussehra

Dussehra, also known as Vijaya Dashami marking the triumph of good  over evil is celebrated today. It is the end of the spectacular ten-day  festival celebrating the divine feminine power of Goddess Durga. Today  marks the day when Lord Rama killed the evil King Ravana and Maa Durga  herself defeated the demon Mahishasur. Special rituals are being  performed at various puja mandaps and shrines across Odisha on the  occasion. However, no rush of devotees was found due to  restrictions imposed in view of Covid-19. The Dussehra rituals were  concluded at Maa Bimala temple, the presiding goddess of Jagannath  temple, amid a divine atmosphere.Similarly, special puja is offered to Devi Kakudikhai, who is  regarded as the representative of goddess Bimala, outside Srimandir. The  goddess bids adieu in the evening of Dussehra. Though the  Dussehra festival is celebrated with much pomp and show every year,  Coronavirus pandemic has played a spoilsport this year again. Pandals,  which usually blossom with people, are empty due to government  restrictions and social distancing guidelines. But the spirit for the  festival still remains in the air as always. Despite the  restrictions, puja was carried out during the entire festive period  without crowd in small congregations following all the rituals and  festivities in honour of Goddess Durga.

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Pipili Applique Work

One can spot Pipli a  small and beautiful village at a distance of 29 Km from Bhubaneswar. The  place is admired and much frequents by tourists because of the amazing  applique work displaying items in bright and vibrant colors. This work  involves sewing over various pieces of cloths that are kept over a large  canvas. The work is quite different from the patchwork and the images  that are sewn over the cloth are of plants and animals and all this is  done with dark and bright colors that are clearly visible and more than  enough to catch your eyes. The prominent colors that are used for this  appealing work include red, blue, green and yellow. The main places that  are famous for this work include Parlakhemundi, Khallikote as well as  Boudh.You can shop various  enticing items such as handbags, canopies as well as umbrellas. In  Pipli, you can witness a number of Dutch and Portuguese edifices and  churches. The enchanting embroidery work done with the help of needle  beautifies various items that are worth buying by the tourists and art  lovers. One can also plan to shop for impressive brass and bell metal  work which consists of the form known as Dhokra. Such items can be  purchased from Cuccuck, Sambalpur, Ganjam and Puri. Some of the tribes  in Pipli named as Sithulias, Balkati, Kansaris and Kantilo are mainly  involved in the production of this kind of work. One can also spot  the work of pifa variety, which can be spotted over cooking vessels,  tumplers as well as plates. One also gets pleased to bask in the brass  casting work that can be bagged in the form of sculptures of gods such  as Ganesha, Laxmi, Shri Radha and Krishna, etc. Other appealing works  than can be found in Pipli include Horn work, found in the items such as  cigars, pen stands, combs, etc. Lacquer work as well as wooden carved  items can also b found in Pipli. Therefore, we can say that Pipli is a  place replete with rich handicrafts and other interesting artwork that  is much admired by art lovers from different parts of the world.

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Ratha Yatra

Ratha Yatra or Ratha Jatra or Chariot Festival of Lord Jagannath,  Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra, a Hindu festival, is undoubtedly the  biggest and the most popular festival held in Odisha. It is the oldest  Ratha Yatra taking place in India and the world. Every year in the month  of June or July, this festival is celebrated on the second day of the  Shukla Paksha, Ashadh month as per the traditional Oriya calendar. It is  considered most auspicious to visit the temple during this period.  Thefestivalin Odisha is celebrated for nine days, the commencement of  this festival is called as the Rath Yatra and the return journey on a  ninth day is called as Bahuda Jatra. During the return journey (Bahuda  Jatra) of Ratha yatra festival, the chariot of Lord Jagannath stops at  Mausi Maa temple (Lord Jagannath's Aunt) and the deity is offered his  favorite Poda Pitha, a kind of baked cake meant for the poor. As part of  Ratha Yatra, the deities of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord  Balabhadra and younger sister Devi Subhadra are moved from their holy  abode for a procession up to Gundicha Temple.The Ratha Yatra takes one day for traveling to Gundicha temple,  deities of lords remain in the temple for seven days, and one day to  return home. This Journey is known as Gundicha Yatra, Nava Dina Yatra  ("nine days Journey"), or Ghosa Yatra. Three chariots are constructed  and decorated for the deities to start their Yatra. Three chariots for  the deities, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are  built. The construction of Chariots starts with Chandana Yatra.  Carpenters called as Maharana undertake the construction of these  chariots, which is their hereditary right since ages. After the  construction, decoration starts with different colour clothes. Lord  Jagannath's Chariot is called as Nandighosa which is 45.6 feet high with  18 wheels, Lord Balabhadra's chariot

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Kalinga

Its territory formed a part of the ancient Kalinga of Mahabharat fame. Ashok the Mauryan King of Magadh, invaded Kalinga in 261 BC and this event has gone down in history as the Great Kalinga war. Then the people of Kalinga offered a relentless & dauntless resistance, but they lost at last. How desperate was the battle, how bitterly was it fought, and how terrible were the results, are known from Ashok’s own descriptions. This is what he wrote about the Kalinga war in his thirteenth Rock Edict. The country of Kalinga was conquered when King Priyadarshan, beloved of the Gods had been anointed eight years. One hundred and fifty thousand were there from captured, one hundred thousand were there slain, and many times as many died.

But what was the result? The conquered Kalinga conquered her conqueror. This was the last war fought by him after which he became the great champion of Buddhism and upheld the values of peace and non-violence. The ancient state rose to prominence as a Kingdom under Kharavela , a great conquerer and patron of Jainism, in the second half of the Ist century B.C. Other great rulers belonged to the Keshari dynasty and the Eastern Ganga dynasty who were also great builders. At one time the vast kingdom spanned from Ganga to Godavari. The flourishing maritime trade with South-East Asian countries i.e. Java, Bornio had brought in a golden era of affluence and opulence.

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Konark

The name Konark comes from the combination of the Sanskrit words Kona (corner or angle) and Ark (the sun), in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun God, Surya. The Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun God. Shaped like a giant chariot, the temple is known for the exquisite stone carvings that cover the entire structure. It is the best-known tourist destination in Orissa and has been a World Heritage Site since 1984. It is located in the village of Konark, which is 35 kilometers north of Puri on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Frequently referred to as the Black Pagoda, the Konark Temple was constructed in the mid-13th century by Raja Narasinghs Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty. The temple is unique in its architecture and is built in the form of a chariot driven by seven horses on 12 pairs of decorated wheels.

© Mike Prince/Flickr | © Arpan Bhowmick/Flickr | © UNIDO/Flickr

There are beautiful carvings on the wall of the main temple, and then there is the Natya Mandap (a separate structure just in front of the temple). The temple is said to symbolize the passage of time, which is assumed to be governed by the Sun God. The set of horses is meant to represent the seven days of the week, while the 12 pairs of wheels reference the 12 months of the year. Just beyond the porch is a double staircase that leads to a shrine containing a marvelous statue of the Sun God, which is carved out beautifully. Multifarious images can be seen on the walls of the temple that pose animals such as snakes, giraffes, elephants, etc.

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Gopabandhu Das

Daitari Das and Swarnamayee Devi were his parents. His mother died  soon after the birth of Gopabandhu and he was brought up by his paternal  aunt. Amidst adversity he completed matriculation in 1899 from Puri  zilla school and entered Ravenshaw College to study Arts. After  graduation, he pursued law degree in 1906 and he successfully completed  it. But, he did not thrive on law profession.  Having realised the pitiable plight of people of Utkal in every  aspects of their lives, he thought that education would solve the myriad  problems of oriyas and thus he experimented his educational ideas at  Sakhigopal on 12th August, 1909. This institution was named as Satyabadi  System of education or Vana Vidyalya.  He dedicated the rest of his life for the upliftment of pupils and  people. His enduring social service to the poorest of the poor,  destitute and deserved during natural calamities like flood, famine and  fire gives him a indelible mark of a true social worker believing in  deeds but not words. In the political arena, he took the leadership of  our struggle for independence and he sustained a life of prisoner many a  times.  

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The Old House

We bought an old house, my boyfriend and I. He's in charge of the "new" construction – converting the kitchen in to the master bedroom for instance, while I'm on wallpaper removal duty. The previous owner papered EVERY wall and CEILING! Removing it is brutal, but oddly satisfying. The best feeling is getting a long peel, similar to your skin when you're peeling from a sunburn.(Story) I don't know about you but I kinda make a game of peeling, on the hunt for the longest piece before it rips.Under a corner section of paper in every room is a person’s name and a date. Curiosity got the best of me one night when I Googled one of the names and discovered the person was actually a missing person, the missing date matching the date under the wallpaper! The next day, I made a list of all the names and dates. Sure enough each name was for a missing person with dates to match. We notified the police who naturally sent out the crime scene team. I overhead one tech say "yup, it's human." Human? What's human? "Ma'am, where is the material you removed from the walls already? This isn't wallpaper you were removing."

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Mother Teresa

She experienced two particularly traumatic periods in Calcutta. The  first was the Bengal famine of 1943 and the second was the Hindu/Muslim  violence in 1946, before the partition of India. In 1948, she left the  convent to live full-time among the poorest of Calcutta. She chose to  wear a white Indian sari, with a blue border, out of respect for the  traditional Indian dress. For many years, Mother Teresa and a small band  of fellow nuns survived on minimal income and food, often having to beg  for funds. But, slowly her efforts with the poorest were noted and  appreciated by the local community and Indian politicians.In  1952, she opened her first home for the dying, which allowed people to  die with dignity. Mother Teresa often spent time with those who were  dying. Some have criticised the lack of proper medical attention, and  their refusal to give painkillers. Others say that it afforded many  neglected people the opportunity to die knowing that someone cared.Her  work spread around the world. By 2013, there were 700 missions  operating in over 130 countries. The scope of their work also expanded  to include orphanages and hospices for those with terminal illnesses.“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother  Teresa never sought to convert those of another faith. Those in her  hospices were given the religious rites appropriate to their faith.  However, she had a very firm Catholic faith and took a strict line on  abortion, the death penalty and divorce – even if her position was  unpopular. Her whole life was influenced by her faith and religion, even  though at times she confessed she didn’t feel the presence of God.