Puri Trinity's Treyodashi Rituals on June 27

PURI:The Daitapati Nijog will observe the Treyodashi (13th day from the Brahma Parivartan) ritual on June 27.

The ‘Brahma Parivartan’ from the old deities to the new idols will be done in the night of June 15 after which, the old idols would be buried in Koili Baikuntha complex of the Jagannath temple.

As a Hindu family observes special rituals for the relatives after their death, the Daitapatis have decided to observe the Treyodashi ritual for the old deities. This was decided at a meeting of the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, district administration and members of the Daitapati Nijog here on Thursday. The Daitapatis, who claim to be the family members of Lord Jagannath and His Siblings, and the temple administration will provide Mahaprasad and sweetmeats to one lakh devotees on the occasion at the Grand Road.

For the purpose, six lines of devotees will be formed within barricades along the Grand Road and the Mahaprasad would be distributed among them.

The Daitapati Nijog and temple administration have urged mutts, devotees and other religious organisations to donate for the feast.

Among others, temple chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra, Collector Aravind Agarwal and SP Ashish Kumar Singh were present.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Puri-Trinitys-Treyodashi-Rituals-on-June-27/2015/06/12/article2862250.ece

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Cops for no fly zone over Puri temple

Nabakalebara and Rath Yatra from air, the Odisha police have moved the Union ministry of civil aviation, seeking ban on flying of choppers and aircraft over Grand Road in Puri on three festive days.

It coincided with the Indian Navy deciding to position a helicopter in Puri for aerial patrolling for the first time during Rath Yatra, police said.

"We have written to Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to declare the air space above Jagannath Temple and 3-km Grand Road as no fly zone' for safety reasons. We have sought restriction for July 18 Rath Yatra, July 26 Bahuda Yatra (return car festival) and July 27 Suna Besha," ADG (law and order) Binayanand Jha told TOI.

Director of Biju Patnaik International Airport here Sharad Kumar said the AAI has sought some information from the state government about possible threats from the air route and logic behind seeking the restriction.

"Since Nabakalebara will be observed after 19 years, curiosity among pilgrims is at its peak. There are rich people, who might use choppers or aircraft to catch aerial glimpse of the festival. People might shower flowers. The actions may pose security threat," Jha said.

"But there will be no restriction on choppers, engaged for patrolling. Indian Coast Guard is likely to position three Dornier aircraft to augment air security," Jha added.

In April last year, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had moved the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), seeking blanket ban on flying of choppers and aircraft above Jagannath Temple after a foreign tourist took aerial photographs of the shrine with the help of drone cameras and uploaded them on social media. Three months later, the DGCA rejected the SJTA's proposal, contending that it will violate laws and rules governing civil aviation in the country.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Cops-for-no-fly-zone-over-Puri-temple/articleshow/47624640.cms 

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Devotees may not be able to buy Puri chariot parts

In order to increase the income of the Hindu shrine, the Jagannath temple administration in Puri,  took a decision to sell parts of the giant , wooden chariots that are used on the day of Rath Yatra every year.

However, the effort may not get the desired response from the common devotees primarily because of the high price fixed for the parts. For example, for each wooden chariot wheel, the base price has been fixed at Rs 50,000, which is hardly affordable for a common devotee.

Similarly, the base price  for other decorative items of the chariots such as “Prava” and “Gaja” have been fixed at Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 a piece.

Significantly, a similar attempt was made two years back to sell off the chariot parts which turned out to be a damp squib. Very few buyers had come forward to take part in the process and only 19 out of 107 chariot wheels have been sold, since the first attempt, according to temple authorities.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/482189/devotees-may-not-able-buy.html

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Govt records on past seven Nabakalebara festivals to be put on display

BHUBANESWAR: Massive conservation plans for important Government document and records have been drawn up by the Culture Department.

In view of Nabakalebara of the Trinity at Jagannath temple in Puri, an exhibition hall will be opened on the Archives premises where all Government records available on the past seven Nabakalebara festivals (1863, 1893, 1931, 1950, 1969, 1978 and 1996) will be put on display.

On the occasion of the International Archives Day on Tuesday, a state-of-the-art conservation laboratory will be opened at the Odisha State Archives, which will be used for preservation of paper records collected over the years by the institution.

In the first phase, over six lakh records in shape of volumes, loose sheets, files, old gazettes, maps and newspapers housed in the Archives would be conserved at the laboratory. All these records belong to the period of 1803 to 1963 containing valuable information on the freedom struggle, creation of Odisha province, natural calamities, first settlement in the State and account of the social customs prevailing during the earlier time such as Sati and human sacrifice.

“Some of the records of historical value have been acquired from private sources such as the kings, zamindars, religious institutions and freedom fighters. Many of these have been collected from various offices such as the Governor’s secretariat, district collectorates and the subordinate offices. Preservation of these records is necessary for the State as they contain crucial information,” said head of the institution Bhagyalipi Malla. On the occasion, a workshop would be organised where students from Utkal University will get hands-on training on ways to preserve records. “The attempt is to make the youngsters realise the importance of the archives. They will be taught cleaning and laminating records using simple tools,” said Malla.

Apart from inviting college students from across the State to attend workshops at the State Archives, a one-month course on the conservation process will also be initiated. “We are trying to promote the State Archives so that more people, especially youngsters, come here and read the publications to know more about the State’s heritage,” said Culture Minister Ashok Panda.

Two kiosks will also be inaugurated on the occasion where people can listen to the recordings of 28 freedom fighters of the State sharing their experiences of the freedom struggle.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Lab-on-Conserving-Paper-Records-to-Open-Today/2015/06/09/article2857255.ece

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Idol Carving Process Begins in Puri

Gajapati Dibysingha Dev handing over ‘gua’ (holy betelnut) to chief Purohit of Swotriya Brahmins | express

PURI: The process for carving the new idols of Jagannath temple here began on Friday with the Daitapatis shifting four trunks of holy neem trees (Darus) from Darugruha to the construction yard in Koili Baikuntha on the temple premises.

As per tradition, Gajapati Dibyasingha Dev handed over the ‘gua’ (holy betelnut) to the chief Purohit of Swotriya Brahmins through Rajguru giving them the permission to conduct the yajna at the Koili Baikuntha close to the idol construction site.

As part of the ‘Antah Banajaga’, 75 Swotriya Brahmins would perform the yajna that would continue till construction of the idols of four deities ends.

During the first phase of ‘Anasara’, 10 Biswakarmas would carve the images of all three deities and Lord Sudarshan as per the instruction of senior Daitapatis. After the idols are completed, the Gajapati would offer Purnahuti on Chaturdashi day of the Hindu calendar on June 15. The new idols would then be placed facing the old ones in the ‘Anasara Gruha’.

On June 15 midnight, senior Daitapatis would transfer the Holy Brahma from the old idols to the new idols and the old idols would be buried in Koili Baikuntha. The new idols would be taken out during the annual Rath Yatra scheduled on July 18.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Idol-Carving-Process-Begins-in-Puri/2015/06/06/article2851929.ece

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Preparations begin for annual chariot festival in Puri

Puri, June 07 (ANI): Preparations began for the annual chariot festival of the presiding deities of the famed Lord Jagannath temple in Puri city. The festival commemorates the annual journey by Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra and his sister Lady Subhadra in specially made chariots to Gundicha temple, two kilometres away from the Puri temple. The deities are expected to undertake the journey in a religious procession on July 18, in newly built chariots which are now being made in the temple premises. Nabakalebara is the ritual to replace the idols of the three presiding deities at the Jagannath temple with new idols made using sacred wood. It was last held in 1996. Devotees from across India and abroad converge in Puri to take part in this ritual which is usually held once in 12 to 19 years.

http://www.aninews.in/videogallery2/38457-preparations-begin-for-annual-chariot-festival-in-puri.html

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Chaos cloud on Puri fest

Expansion work in progress on NH-203. Picture by Sarat Patra Puri, May 28: Nearly 10,000 buses, 1.5 lakh cars, one lakh autorickshaws, three lakh motorcycles and 30 lakh pilgrims are expected to arrive here on the occasion of Nabakalebar and rath yatra on July 17 and 18. However, cops are in a tizzy as the lack of parking places threatens to plunge festivities into chaos. "The administration has earmarked 30 parking spaces that at best can accommodate 10,000 buses, two lakh motorcycles and 50,000 cars. This is besides Puri's count of one lakh two-wheelers, 12,000 four-wheelers and 7,000 autorickshaws. It's going to be a tough affair," said a police official responsible for traffic management during the mega festival. The major worry is that the five major parking places, including the new bus stand at Malatipatpur, are on the outskirts of the city, while the main bus stand is 8km away. Besides, the government is expecting nearly 200 special trains, which will bring in three lakh pilgrims to the city on July 17 and 18, which coincides with rath yatra. Although the train timings will be staggered to ensure that there is no jam on the tracks, the travel between the three railway stations in the city and on its outskirts will add to pressure on the road traffic. "It is going to be chaotic when people in big processions will walk into the town from these places," said an official. "Major infrastructure works in the city, including road expansion, are yet to be completed and the monsoon is expected to hit the state in mid-June. All branch roads in the city have been dug up either for cabling work or to build sewer lines. If not finished on time, these will cause traffic chaos in the coming days," said a localresident. On Wednesday, at a meeting of the rath yatra co-ordination committee, there were uproarious scenes with local residents criticising the administration for its failure to complete the projects in time. The issue of traffic chaos has come to the fore after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) expressed its inability before Orissa High Court earlier this month to complete the expansion project. To avoid traffic chaos, the state government had planned to build two bypass roads. While one is nearing completion, the progress on the other one connecting Malatipatpur near Puri to Satpada being executed by the NHAI is yet to be over. However, to avoid traffic chaos, an NHAI official said the 10km bypass road would have two lanes instead of four as planned earlier to meet the Nabakalebar deadline. While 5km of the road would be made metallic, the rest would be kachha for the moment. Director-general of police Sanjeev Marik today visited Puri and inspected probable parking sites for vehicles and instructed the officials to complete the pending works by June. "Traffic management is going to be a tough challenge for us. We are working hard to ensure that everything goes off smoothly. We will face the challenge," Marik said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150529/jsp/frontpage/story_22770.jsp#.VWkvRSS9ZJ4

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