The mass agrarian festival of western Odisha ‘Nuakhai’ will be celebrated on September 14. This was announced after the Brahma Mandap Pandit Mahasabha of Sambalpur finalised the lagna (timing for the fest at a meeting at the Brahmapura Temple on Monday. As per the lagna, Maa Samaleswari, the presiding deity of Sambalpur, will be offered the Nabanna, prepared out of the first crop, on the day of Bhadra Sukla Panchami (the fifth day of the bright fortnight) on September 14 in between 8.10 am and 8.40 am.
The people of the district and those of the whole western Odisha after the declaration of the celebration have expressed their utter pleasure as they would offer the first crop to Maa Samealeswari and thereafter to their respective ‘Istadevis’ in home. “The lagna is finalised on the day of ‘Nanda Utsav’, a day after the Janmastami and, accordingly, we finalised it today,” informed Pandit Amar Mishra, a senior member of the Mahasabha.