Bhubaneswar: In view of growing popularity of Odisha's Dhanu Yatra among mass, Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya urged the Centre to declare the week long event as national festival.
"The festival of Dhanuyatra, a great mass festival held annually at Bargarh in Odisha is based on the noble deeds of Lord Krishna who symbolises virtues and righteousness. Dhanuyatra depicts the story of Lord Krishna from the point of marriage between Devaki and Vasudeva until death of the tyrannical King Kansha in hands of Lord Krishna," the MP from Odisha mentioned it in a notice in Rajya Sabha dated December 7, 2019.
During the 11-day long festival, entire Bargarh town becomes city of the city of Mathura, the capital of Kansha's kingdom, River Jeera is presented as the River Yamuna, Ambapali village situated on the banks of Jeera River becomes Gopapura, which is the childhood place of Lord Krishna, and entire city is transformed into a big stage.
Revealing significance of the festival, Acharya said that Dhanu Yatra started in 1948 amidst festive mood of India's Independence to mark victory over unjust British rules i.e victory of Lord Krishna, the embodiment of Truth, justice and righteousness over Kansha, who personifies arrogance, tyranny and wickedness.
The episodes are performed by hundreds of well-trained artists in world's biggest open-air theatre and witnessed by lakhs of audiences from across the country as well as foreign tourists.
As Dhanu Yatra has mythological importance cultural values, the parliamentarian demanded national tag for the festival with adequate financial assistance.