Dussehra preparations kick off with collection of holy soil in Odisha’s Cuttack
Bhubaneswar: Preparation for this year’s Dussehra festival in Odisha’s Cuttack city began with the collection of holy soil on the occasion of Janmashtami today.
The Durga Puja Committee of Mangalabag today collected the holy soil from Mahanadi riverbanks in the Silver City to make clay idols for the upcoming Dussehra festival.
The members of the Puja Committee along with many locals took out a procession to Mahanadi riverbanks and performed certain rituals before collecting the holy soil.
“Preparations for Durga Puja in Cuttack begin with the collection of holy soil on the occasion on Janmashtami every year. Managalabag Puja Committee today collected the soil. Many other Puja committees will do the same in the next few days,” said a local.
Notably, Cuttack city is well-known for lavish Dussehra celebrations in Odisha. At least 150 Puja Committees in the city organise Dussehra celebrations every year. Many of these Puja panels have designed their own silver tableaux for the celebrations. Even a few Puja committees have arranged gold crowns for the idols.
The first community celebration of Durga Puja in Cuttack is believed to have started during the reign of Gajapati king Prataprudra Dev in 15th century.
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