Bhubaneswar: Although Dhenkanal district is famed for its famous Gaja Lakshmi Puja, one of its urban bodies, Bhuban-Asia’s largest village has been a cynosure of all eyes not for Lakshmi Puja but Dussehra festival.
The uniqueness of the Durga puja in the NAC is Odisha famous bullock festival. Glittering pandals, colourful fancy lights, Ravan Podi, Meena Bazar and the swings are given less importance than the unique bullock Festival which is a tradition of over hundreds years.
The enthralling mega festival involving decorated and trained bullocks draws huge revelers from far off places beyond the district. The two-day traditional extravaganza is observed on the day of Vijaya Dasami and immersion festival.
As per the tradition, a large number of bullocks decorated with ornaments, beads, bells and colorful velvet saddles walk on a grand procession with the sound of music and rhythms of traditional instruments like Madala, cymbal, dholak and conch. Each bullock is accompanied by a colourful tableau.
History says the Thoria community (salt merchants) of the village had started the festival to commemorate the contribution of bullocks to their business. At a time, when vehicular communication was not prevalent, the ‘Thorias, Kansaris and Kachera communities usually use the bullocks as means of transportation of their commodities With the rise of the technology, the bullocks gradually lost importance. Then, the merchants had started the unique fete to commemorate the tradition.
Initially, hundreds of bullocks used to take part in the festival. But, the number has drastically come down now-a-days due to rising use of tractor and trucks. Moreover, young mass of today’s generation prefer DJ, fancy light, high decibel sound procession than the age-old tradition, said senior member of the Bhuban peace committee Matru Prasad Mishra, who is also a culture expert.
“This year, 32 bullocks are being readied for the festival. The rehearsal started from Mahalaya to the beginning of Dussehra festival. The exercise continues for four hours daily from 4 pm to 8 pm every day,” Mishra said.
The objective of rehearsal is to make the animals acquainted with loud music and lights, he said.This time, 45 tableaus including 32 bullock tableaus and 13 Durga idols will participate in the immersion festival, he informed.
Local residents said the age-old tradition binds the villagers together with families and their relatives chipping in to make it a grand affair. The festival also promotes love for animals, they added.
