Nuankhai, the most awaiting day and the mass agrarian festival after harvesting, was celebrated all over the western Odisha region with religious fervour and gaiety.
The day is one of the most important days of the region as the people here offer the first crop to the presiding deity in their respective places and to Maa Samaleswari in Sambalpur.
As per the prefixed lagna, the priests of the Samaleswari temple offered the Prasad made out of the new crop of the year to the deity just at 9.05 am on Tuesday inside the temple and thereafter rest of the people did the same in their respective homes, a tradition followed everywhere in the region.
“The aim of the festival is to offer the first crop to the god and goddess as part of gratitude for a good weather condition, good rain fall and finally a bumper harvesting. The people never fail to do their duty towards the almighty and offer what they have as the new harvests,” said Pandit Amar Mishra, one of the senior members of the Pandit Mahasabha here.
The arrangement in the Samaleswari temple here was worth seeing with people from all walks of life and many from the neighboring districts thronging the shrine to have darshan of the Goddess Mother on the auspicious day. Common people apart, Sambalpur MP Nagendra Pradhan, MlA Dr Raseswari Panigrahi and all other important personalities were also present during offering of the first Prasad. Common people in thousands also thronged to get the Mother’s blessings.
This festival has its importance for a family bonding too. People staying at far off places come to celebrate the day with their family members every year. They also forget the differences or misunderstanding, if any, on this particular day to enhance its importance further,” opined Sanjukta Hota, an advocate.
‘Nuankhai Juhar’ is another important occasion of the day where the juniors pay their ‘best respect’ to the seniors and have their blessings. And finally, ‘Nuankhai Bhetghat’ in the evening is the added attraction that provides the platform for the leading personalities, from politicians to artists to address the gathering and entertain them respectively.