By Subrat Kumar Nayak
Jai ShreeRam! Yes you all are reading right. Today utterance of ‘Jai ShreeRam’ is no way going to make you sanghi. Today the ninth day of Sukla Paksha in the month of Chaitra is the day being celebrated in whole the world by Hindus to mark the birth of Ram Lala or Purushottam RamChandra. According to the ancient Hindu scriptures or Purans Vishnu-the preserver and supreme in Vaishnavism Cult comes to earth as RamChandra to end the era of demons and to establish a ideal era called Ram Rajya. In Tretaya Yug Lord Ram was born in the Ayodhya Kingdom on this auspicious day of RamNavmi to queen Kaushalya and King Dasrath. Not only in India RamNavmi is being celebrated in whole the world mostly in Asian countries.
In india Lord Jagannath’s Own state Odisha has always proved itself a fusion of Vaishnav, Saiba, Sakta culture together. Many temples are there in Odisha, in which Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Siva) are worshiped together.In Bhubaneswar the capital of Odisha is well known as the temple city. Although among the temples the ancient Lingraj Temple, Mukteswar temple and other Siva temples are the the great places which describes Bhubaneswar, the Ram Mandir in JanaPath on the way to Vani Vihar from Master Canteen have a special place in Bhubaneswar’s map. This Ram Mandir and other Ram Mandirs Of Odisha are all set to celebrate the Birth Of Purushottam Ram.
People of cities Like Bhadrak and Sambalpur always wait for the days of March end to celebrate the arrival of divine week. From the date of RamNavmi world famous Lanka Podi festival is being started . This year celebration in the city of Bhadrakh is little affected as restrictions are there but whole the Odisha is ready to welcome RamLala.
Although Ram Katha is told through RamLeela by recreating stage performance in whole the world, From 1802 Ad Mahaveer Kshetra Daspalla of Odisha has been organising open stage Ramleela for from RamNavmi. It ends after 12 days with the most awaited event Lanka Podi. The nearer places of Daspalla have also started spreading the LankaPodi culture although Daspalla witness huge gathering every year.
Among other places in Odisha, a village named Benupur near the state capital Bhubaneswar celebrate RamLeela for 18 days. The Rule of the Leela is the actors and others wont return home till it is completed. With changing time it is difficuIt for everyone to manage a eighteen days marathon acting. So they are trying to keep two actors for same charector. The Ending day Ravan Podi and Lanka Podi is the event of the RamLeela in which, simultaneously demon Ravan is being burnt with fire and sounds of crackers showing Victory. The victory of divine, truth and peace.