It was a special ‘Raahgiri’ Sunday for the residents of Sambalpur. The road from DIG (Northern Range) office to Nelson Mandela Chowk in the city was chock-a-block with people trying to have a glimpse of artistes performing on the street under the ‘Bate Ghate’ programme.
At least 700 artistes belonging to different groups staged folk dances, street plays, spot painting and photography exhibition on culture and tradition of the region. Several people participated in the Sambalpuri poetry recitation organised as part of the event. During the four-hour programme, young artistes performed traditional dances of the region like Dalkhai, Rasarkeli, Maelajada, Sanchar, Dulduli and Ghubkudu.
The icing on the cake was live performance by eminent singer Jitendriya Haripal, who enthralled the audience with his ‘Rangabati’ number. Other well-known voices like Bibhuti Patnaik, Dilip Bag and Padmini Dora also performed. People were also drawn to the beautiful patterns ‘Jhoti’ drawn along the road by women. Other major attractions included stalls displaying musical instruments and photographs of eminent artistes of the region.
Youngsters walked the ramp wearing Sambalpuri attire for a fashion show organised to promote Sambalpuri handloom. Apart from this, stalls selling delicacies of the region like ‘Sarsatia’, ‘Kakra’, ‘Arisa’ and ‘Muga Bara’ did a good business.
Inaugurating the programme, Chairman of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) Kishore Kumar Mohanty said, “We should work collectively to promote dance, culture and language of the region.” The region has its own distinctive culture and tradition, he said and appealed to the people to conserve and promote the culture and tradition. ‘Bate Ghate’ coordinator Deepak Panda said the event was dedicated to the doyen of Sambalpuri literature, Satyanarayan Bohidar, whose birth anniversary will be observed on August 1.
