Birth Festival of Maa Ukulei and Opera Performance
Kakatpur, 22nd January – The presiding deity of Astaranga in Puri district is Maa Ukulei. Like every year, this year too, her birth festival was celebrated with great devotion on the auspicious occasion of Triveni Amavasya. For the past two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional ‘Chapa Khela’ in Maa’s sacred pond had not been held. This year as well, since there was no divine vision (Swapnaadesh) from the goddess, the ritual was not performed.
However, following tradition, the birth festival was celebrated grandly at her shrine. Devotees from all corners of the state gathered in large numbers for the celebration. It is believed that offering betel nuts (gua) and sacred pots (kalashi) with sincere devotion to Maa can fulfill mental and physical wishes, including curing chronic illnesses.
On this occasion, starting last Saturday, a Triveni Yatra was organized with the support of the local leading youth organization Siddheswar Club. The Om Sri Gananatya troupe staged opera performances as part of the celebrations.
The festival was inaugurated by Dibakar Chattoi, a youth social worker and former committee member of Astaranga, while Dushmanta Parida, social worker, Lakshmipriya Kandi, Sarpanch of Kendrapati Panchayat, and Pandit Kalandi Charan Chattoi attended as honored guests and speakers.
The event was hosted by club secretary Prabhakar Nayak. Key organizing roles were played by club vice president Sudipta Raut, along with Sacchidananda Nayak, Debendra Swain, and Ullas Kumar Nayak.
Ashwini Mohanty, president of the organizing committee, announced that the opera performance would continue until Tuesday, the 24th of January. For the smooth conduct of the event, Astaranga Police had made adequate arrangements for maintaining law and order.
