Even though a major part of the crops has been damaged due to scanty rains, the people of Kalahandi observed Nuakhai on Wednesday as per their age-old tradition.
The festival is celebrated here in a different way as it is not observed as per lagna of Goddess Samaleswari, which is mainly followed in western Odisha. The festival is observed here according to rituals of Maa Manikeswari, the presiding deity of Bhawanipatna.
The Nuakhai of Goddess Manikeswari falls on Bhadrab Shukla Dasami and people take “Nabanna” (new rice) after offering it to the presiding deity. There had been a change in the festival after 28th king of Kalahandi Udit Pratap Deo married Asha Kumari Devi, the only daughter of the last king of Sambalpur Narayan Sai in 1867. The queen brought along some agriculture expert families from Sambalpur who were known as Gountias (big landlords). They were permitted to celebrate Nuakhai on Rusi Panchami (as per the tradition of Sambalpur) after offering ‘Nabanna’ to local village and family deities. Therefore, in many pockets that were under Gountias, the agrarian festival is celebrated on Panchami.
However, in Bhawanipatna, Jaipatna, Madanpur Rampur, lanjigarh and Thuamul Rampur areas, the festival is celebrated on Bhadraba Shukla Dashami.
There is another interesting tradition followed during the festival here. The temple of Budharaja (Mahakala Bhairaba) located in the Manikeswari temple campus opens only on Mahasaptami night after remaining closed for a year. It is again closed on Bijaya Dasami.
So Nuakhai of Budharaja is observed on Maha Nabami after the completion of Chatar Yatra of Manikeswari. The royal family would wait for offering of new rice to lord Budharaja and then only on Maha Nabami, the royal family would take “Nabanna”.
But this year, the festive mood of people seems to have dampened as crops have been damaged due of low and sporadic rains. Approximately 60 to 75 per cent of crops have been destroyed.
Sachidananda Mahakud, president of the Zilla Krusaka Samit Maha Sangha, said nearly a third of Kalahandi crops have been destroyed due to lack of water. He apprehended that farmers would not be able to repay their crop loans.