legendary poet Jayadeva of the Twelfth Century, who created the epic of Gita Govinda, hailed from Kenduli Sasan Sahi, a small village near Puri. Nobody has seen the house of the poet. However, one can get an idea of his surroundings from the Sasan Sahis still existing in Puri town.
Will the Odisha Government take steps to preserve these Sahis as the Government of India has done in case of lutyens’ DelhiIJ
The Sahis of Puri town are certainly heritages of Odisha which need to be preserved for the generations. With modernisation influencing the State and its people, the people of Puri may not hesitate to demolish their ancient-style houses and erect multistoried buildings.
The Sahis which exist even today are Bali Sahi, Dolamandap Sahi, Goudabeda, Harchandi, Kundeibenta, Baddei, Balagandi, Baseli, Ganamala, Goori, Gurruntee, Haragouri, Kalikadebi, Karati, Kapalmochan, Kathua, Khuntia, Manikarnika, Mausima, Pathuria, Patana Jenapur, Patana Jagannathpur, Patana Balabhadra Ballav, Patana Matipada, Patana Balisahi, Patna Partheesahi, Patna Kumbharpada, PatanaTikarpada and Talichha Sahi.
These Sahis are mostly inhabited by Sevaks (servitors) of Shree Jagannath Temple and their habitations continue to remain since the 12th Century.“The popular opinion to conserve such Sahis is to make a provision of bank loan for the residents of Puri,” said former Union Secretary Prasanna Kumar Mishra.
“While making it mandatory to conserve the ancient houses, the house owners could be provided with loans at low premiums,” he suggested.“Addition of two to three modern rooms along with modern toilets to an existing old house will make a difference,” said Mishra, adding that this could help solve the accommodation problem in Puri during the lord’s Nabakalebar festival in 2015.
A senior citizen of Puri opined that the present generation youths would welcome the idea of preserving the ancient-style houses along with modern facilities. Puri could be a model in India, he said.
Nationalised banks should adopt innovative marketing approach to make Puri and its nearby villages a really healthy tourist destination, said another resident. Many individual houses in Goa have been providing modern accommodation to tourists and hundreds of Goa families are getting good income, he pointed out.
While the Nabakalebar festival is expected to attract over 50 lakh of pilgrims from various parts of the country, Puri has very limited hotel accommodation.
“This is the time to introduce a change and involve residents of Puri and nearby villages to improve their dwelling units and create thousands of rooms for tourists,” said a tour operator.
The State Government on its parts should frame rules immediately for paying guest accommodation in private houses on the line of the Rajasthan Government, which has done it for providing tourists a ‘local feel’ of their State, he suggested.