Puri: A special meeting of the NITI subcommittee was conducted here on Friday to review and address the ongoing deadlock around the ‘Banakalagi’ (face) ceremony of the sister deities of the Jagannath Temple in the town of Puri, Odisha.
Ranjan Kumar Das, Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), told the media that he is hopeful that a decision will be made to resume the ceremony, which has not been performed since the Niladri Bije of the Lords following the yearly Rath Yatra.
This was the third week in a row that the weekly ritual at Srimandir had been interfered with. The SJTA prefers that the ceremony be performed on Wednesdays, notwithstanding Dattamahapatra servitors’ insistence that it be performed on Thursdays.
“The topic was thoroughly discussed in the meeting, and we heard several opinions on it. Since the temple governing committee is the highest decision-making body, these will be presented during its meeting on August 1st,” said Das.
Das added that they are attempting to persuade them by referencing the laws and the Record of Rights. In order to put an end to this interference with the Lords’ ritual, he remarked, “We are still open to discussions and are hopeful that the servitors would cooperate with the administration.”
He continued by saying that Wednesday is supported by the justifications offered thus far and the Record of Rights. If Ekadasi or other rites fall on Wednesday, they can be moved to Thursday. However, the temple management must also make this decision, he insisted.
The servitors were barred from performing the ceremony on Thursday by temple officials, according to Dattamahapatra Nijog Madan Dattamahapatra, the organization’s president. Instead, the administration requested that they carry out the ceremony on Wednesday, as has been the case ever since 2018. Banakalagi Seva can be done on either Wednesday or Thursday, according to the records and customs.
