**Puri: ** When the youngsters are busy with the latest gadgets and scientific fervour is catching up fast with the whole world, these little girls aged from 3 yrs to 7 yrs are all set to pray to Goddess Parvati for getting a good grooms in future.
Known as Kumari Brata or Neta Pila, this ritual requires daughters of Jagannath Temple’s servitors aged 3-7 yrs who do this puja for 21 days at a stretch starting on Indu Purnima. The girls do the Baali Puja singing the Bali song and offer fruits and flowers to the Goddess.
The last three days are followed with austerity. The small girls are dressed in traditional Odia costume and are decked up with conventional ornaments like paunji (anklets), godo khadu,and banki sripayara around their ankles, bajubandha (bracelet), khadu, kathdeuria, kacha (bangles) around their arms, and mali, hara, gaja chanda, kanthimala (different types of necklaces) etc around their necks, kana pendi, kana fhula, jhumpa (different earrings) in their ears, guna, natha, nakadandi (nose rings) for their noses and antarnalia for waist. These ornaments are usually the unique and old ornaments which are kept and handed over by the families since ages.
“Decked up in Ódiani Besa’, the girls follow rigorous fasting during the last three days which concludes on Mahasaptami. They don’t eat rice or any sort of non vegetarian food. These small girls consume only fruits offered to the goddess in a bid to get good husbands in future. It is an age old tradition followed in Suar Sevayat families,” informed Rajumani Padhi, a mother.
Laxmi Priya Padhi, a 5-yr-old girl sings the Bali song with ease. According to her, “I love doing this ritual. It is fun.”
These girls follow this ancient customary ritual to get good grooms at such young age as the girls were married off very young earlier. Though so many customs have changed over the years, this ritual is carried out meticulously by the servitors’ families and their daughter even now.