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Bidyadharpur comes alive for Kali puja

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Jai Mata Di: Devotees lighting lamps before a huge idol of goddess Kali at Khodasing in Berhampur. —

CUTTACK: While the festival of lights, Diwali, was over on Tuesday, celebrations for Bidyadharpur Kali puja on the eastern fringes of the city, began after the worship of the deity in the early hours of Wednesday. The locals will be witnessing the biggest gathering in next seven days as the week-long puja here till it culminate on November 7.

Elsewhere in the city, the immersion festival of Kali puja will be held on November 3, city puja committee sources said. A total of 105 idols have come up in the city, including 38 in Bidyadharpur area alone.

Kali puja in Bidyadharpur is believed to be the oldest in the city and it is said that this puja began here much before Durga puja began in Cuttack city. Kali puja was started here by the Bengali communities and two of the families have been maintaining the tradition while other communities were worshiping Lord Shiva, Lord Kartikeya and other deities.

With the onset of Kalipuja, the adjacent areas of Keshpur, Bhadimul, Kanheipur and CRRI and parts of Nuabazar come alive to join the festivities.

Old timers recount that about 500 years ago, hundreds of Bengali families had settled in the locality but now only two families remain here maintaining the difficult tradition of Kali puja while other communities share the financial burden.

With each pandal spending an average of Rs. 50,000 towards decoration, arranging musical programmes and processions, nearly Rs. 20 lakh is spent annually here in this small locality during the event, say the locals.

Each household doles out a hefty amount for the annual puja subscription for their respective pandals while local business establishments also contribute liberally for the puja. Although, people in this part of the city participate in the gaieties of annual Durga puja of the city but they keep a major share of their budget to spend for this local celebrations.

People from faraway places come in numbers with each household of Bidyadharpur bursting at the seams during these celebrations. This occasion is often utilised to arrange marriages. .

The local police station of Chauliaganj also makes elaborate security arrangements for this week-long festival here. Its inspector S.K. Mohapatra informed that a crackdown on anti-social elements is going on. Drug addicts who rule the roost here have been rounded up. Besides five platoons of armed police, there will be anti-liquor and anti-goonda squads to be deployed here this year, Mohapatra added.

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