Colourful Pongal in Berhampur and south Orissa

BERHAMPUR: Colourful rangoli, traditional bonfire and cultural shows marked the three-day Pongal festival, known as the mother of festivals by Telugu community in Silk City and across south Orissa. The first day of the festival was celebrated as Bhogi. With a sizeable Telugu population in this Orissa-Andhra border city, the festival is celebrated with pomp and gaiety. In some places, Oriyas also joined Telugus to celebrate the festival. "It's is the biggest annual festival of Telugu people and they celebrate it across the country in association with others," said V Satya Narayana. Besides Berhampur, Telugu dominated villages in and around Goplapur, Chhatrapur and Chikiti in Ganjam district celebrate the festival with their counterpart Oriyas. On the eve of Pongal, second day of the three-day festival, people in different localities lit traditional bonfire to mark the Bhogi. Telugu girls decorated their houses with colourful rangolis and staged the cultural shows. Several girls staged Dandia dance at Military Lines in the City in the morning of Bhogi. The girls of different ages staged the Gujarati dance. "We perform Dandia because of we believe Lord Krishnaand Radha like this dance much," said one of the performers. Bhogi is also marked the closing ceremony of Gobbi, amonth-long ritual celebrated by the female folks. Clad in new dresses, Telugus of all age groups greeted each other. They would distribute "pongal" - food prepared with the newly harvested rice, dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar and milk on pongal day.
Sources: PTI, OrissaBarta