Lower castes in Orissa take out religious procession to mark Ghata Yatra

Bhuvaneshwar (Orissa), June 25 (ANI): People belonging to lower castes in Orissa's Gajapati district are celebrating Ghata Yatra festival these days.

During this time they take out religious processions to seek divine blessings for their community.

On Thursday, these people took out a religious procession. With male members adorning traditional attire of women, the procession also had women carrying pitchers filled with waters to appease goddess Ghata.

According to Sumati, a devotee, the festival is marked following an old custom.

"We have inherited this festival from our forefathers. We have been celebrating it for the last five-days. This is a ten-day festival and all our relatives living in different regions come here to join us during this festival. Every evening we carry the goddess around the whole region," said Sumati.

Around 300 people converged in the district to take out the idol of goddess Ghata around the whole region, singing and dancing to traditional music.

"By this Ghata Yatra, we try to appease our goddess. Since our ancestral time, we have been celebrating this festival with same grace. We believe our successors will also follow the same rituals and celebrate it with the same enthusiasm," said Santosh, a devotee.

The festival continues for ten days; the final day is observed by sacrificing a hen or a goat for offering to the goddess. (ANI)