This upcoming documentary on Odisha’s famous Jagannath culture promises a unique spiritual journey

The cultural uniqueness of ‘Srikhetra’, Jagannath Culture of Odisha and Nabakalebara, will be soon showcased before the viewers worldwide in the form of a documentary feature.

The Tourism Department, Government of Odisha, is collaborating with award-winning filmmaker Nilamadhab Panda to produce the documentary feature, aimed at popularising the Jagannath Culture and presenting the grand Nabakalebara festival of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra, to the world.

Nabakalebara, when idols of the divine siblings and Sudarshan are replaced with new ones, will be held this year after a gap of 19 years.

Universalizing the Jagannath Culture, Panda says is his aim behind directing this project. “In the documentary feature, I am exploring the Jagannath Culture beyond the 12th century shrine at Puri and the ensuing Nabakalebara festival of the Trinity is a very important episode in it,” he says.

The first of its kind, the project is primarily based on the research works of national and international experts who have extensively studied various facets of the Jagannath Culture, which is considered the prime driving force in the spectrum of Odisha art, culture, spiritual activities and even food.

“We call him Jagata-ra-naatha, the one who has no hands and legs. Omnipresent, the Lord has reached every nook and corner of the world. He is the global identity of all Odias and a pointer to his popularity is that the annual Rath Yatra is celebrated in over 90 countries across the world today,” says the ‘I Am Kalam’ fame director.

While shooting for the documentary feature was started in June last year, it will be completed by August-September this year. Panda wants to finish the post-production by December so that it can be taken to international film festivals.

He also plans a theatrical release of the documentary feature after the international screening by early next year. Currently, he is looking for agents who can take the project to various film festivals.

“The documentary feature is on the lines of those being produced by channels like National Geographic and 14 of my teams are working on it,” he says, adding that it is being shot in almost all the districts of Odisha.

“Some of the major portions have been shot in Nayagarh, Puri, Koraput and Western Odisha. In Western Odisha, the shooting was done in Patali Srikhetra in Kotsamalei village of Subarnapur district, which kept the idol of Lord Jagannath hidden from Muslim invaders for 144 years,” says Panda.

 

The filmmaker has also shot a portion in Danda Sahi in Puri district where artisans draw the Anasara Patti or Pattachitra (scroll painting) in bamboo split screens hung in the Puri temple, for the Trinity, when they go into the Anasara (hibernation)period before the rath yatra.

“The artisans who draw these screens consider Lord Jagannath as their elder brother and not a deity. For them, the deity is the guardian of their family. Same goes with the villagers of Daspalla, Nayagarh, who protect the forests from where wood for the three chariots is procured. Inside the Puri temple too, almost all the sevayats consider the Mahaprabhu, their elder brother,” he says.

Panda adds that it will be a pan Odisha project that would also show the belief systems associated with the Trinity and the Nabakalebara fest like the Banajaga Yatra, selection of Daru (Neem trees for idols), Brahma Parivartan, etc.

Apart from viewers worldwide, the documentary feature is aimed at creating awareness among the present Odia generation, which might not have experienced the Nabakalebara before nor had a chance to get a clear understanding of the Jagannath Culture.

“We all know Lord Jagannath only through texts, legends and anecdotes connected with the Puri shrine,” the director says.

Earlier, Secretary of the Tourism Department, Arvind Padhee had said that the department decided to come up with the documentary feature because there is no video-graphic feed for the Nabakalebara as it was last organized in 1996. Currently, there are only some photographs of the event.

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