Tathya.in, Dec 2, 2009
Bargarh:2/December/2009
A festival is a catalyst.
Yet, if it has to be sustained and grown into a movement, it could be a major source of tourist dollars, feel experts in the field of tourism.
Take the case of Dhanu Jatra of Bargarh.
Western Odisha’s major festival’s strength need to be made into formal tourist attractions, and marketed in a coordinated manner,feel experts in Tourism Sector.
Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Tourism also thinks on that line.
Similar is the thinking of Prasanna Achrya, Minister Health & Family Welfare.
Both the Ministers have discussed the matter at length and want it to showcase as a major international tourism event.
However Department of Tourism has not tried to project the event to the international tourists.
Sanjib Kumar Karmee, who has seen various parts of the world strongly feel that it can be turned as an international event.
Dr.Karmee, a leading Non Resident Odia(NRO) feels that the Dhanu Jatra, a spectacular cultural extravaganza that is observed for eleven days in December-January has all the ingredients of an international festival.
This festival is a theatrical presentation of “Krishna Leela” enacted to bring the old myth alive on locations from the marriage of Devaki with Vasudeva till the death of Kansa as described in our cultural scriptures.
The entire episode is re-enacted, blow by blow in the Bargarh “Dhanu Jatra” festival.
Moreover, the natural features of Bargarh region totally conforms that of the location as described in Puranas and the scenes are enacted at different places instead at one place.
The city of Bargarh is treated as Mathura.
On the outskirts of Bargarh is the river Jeera, to serve as river Yamuna, on the other bank of which is a small village Ambapali to become Gopapur.
Even there is a mango groove to serve as Vrindavan and a pond as Lake Kalindi.
A gorgeously decorated high rise stage in the heart of Bargarh city is erected to serve as the Durbar of Kansa.
A live elephant is engaged for the royal transport.
A chariot is made for Akrura’s visit to Gopa to bring Krishna and Balaram to Mathura.
In addition, all other scenes are enacted on the natural settings.
So this Jatra can be packaged in an imaginative way and can be marketed as an international tourism attraction, said Suresh Prasad Padhy, Collector Bargarh.
Sources close to Mr.Padhy said the District Administration is planning for a webpage especially for Dhanu Jatra, which will attract attention of netizens.
Odisha, itself, blessed with a fantastic diversity of natural wonders, we need to exploit only a few places.
Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar probably account for the lion's share of the State tourism industry, at the international level at least.
It is high time that towns in Western Odisha and events, which have basic ingredients that can make them tourist destinations of international standards need to be taken care of, said Dr.Karmee.
Dhanu Yatra can be made source of tourist dollars
The Pioneer, Dec 4, 2009
Pioneer News Service | Bargarh
A festival is a catalyst. Yet, if it has to be sustained and grown into a movement, it could be a major source of tourist dollars, feel experts in the field of tourism.
Take the case of Dhanu Yatra of Bargarh, and this major festival of western Odisha needs to be made into a formal tourist attraction and marketed in a coordinated manner, they observe.
Minister of Tourism Debi Prasad Mishra and Minister of Health & Family Welfare Prasanna Acharya also think on this line.
Both the Ministers have discussed the matter at length and want to showcase the annual spectacular cultural extravaganza as a major international tourism event.
The Department of Tourism has, however, not tried to project the event to the international tourists. A leading non-resident Odia (NRO) Sanjib Kumar Karmee, who has seen various parts of the world, strongly feels that the Dhanu Yatra can be turned into an international event. The event, observed for eleven days in December-January, has all the ingredients of an international festival, he points out.
The festival is a theatrical presentation of Krishna Leela, enacted to bring the old myth alive on locations beginning from the marriage of Devaki with Vasudeva till the death of Kansa as described in Indian mythology.
The entire episode is re-enacted, blow by blow, in the Bargarh Dhanu Yatra. Moreover, the natural features of the Bargarh region totally conform to the location as per the mythological descriptions, and the scenes are staged at different places instead of a single location.
The town of Bargarh is treated as Mathura. On its outskirts is river Jeera, which serves as river Yamuna, on the other bank of which is a small village Ambapali to become Gopapur. There is even a mango groove to serve as Vrindavan and a pond as lake Kalindi.
A gorgeously decorated high-rise stage in the heart of Bargarh town is erected to serve as the Durbar of Kansa. A live elephant is engaged for the royal transport. A chariot is made for Akrura's visit to Gopa to bring Krishna and Balaram to Mathura.
In addition, all other scenes are enacted on the natural settings.
So, this festival can be packaged in an imaginative way and marketed as an international tourism attraction, said Bargarh district Collector Suresh Prasad Padhy. Sources close to Padhy said the district administration is planning a webpage especially for the Dhanu Yatra, which would attract attention of people.
"Odisha being blessed with a fantastic diversity of natural wonders, we need to exploit at least a few places for global attention. The Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar Golden Triangle probably accounts for the lion's share of the State tourism industry, at the international level at least. It is high time towns in western Odisha and events, which have basic ingredients that can make them tourist destinations of international standards needed to be taken care of," says Karmee.
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