BALASORE: The animal sacrifice at Devi pithas in the State is sine qua non for Dussehra celebration. But the royal family at Nilagiri in Balasore district, follows a unique tradition of ‘Bali Nayak Khela’. It’s a sacrificial pumpkin that the Kalisi (God man) touches during the ‘khela’, which is offered to the Goddess.The five-day ritual begins four days prior to Sasthi puja, when it culminates with the Kalisi touching a person from the gathering who subsequently sacrifices a pumpkin during the Astami puja.Nilagiri King Jayanta Chandra Harichandan Mardaraj said, earlier it was being observed for 16 days during Sodasa Puja of Goddess Durga. “It was later reduced to 10 days and subsequently to five days,” he said. But there has been no compromise in the fervour and grandeur of the age-old tradition, he added.Describing the early days of the unique tradition, he said it is being followed since late 1700s. “My great-grandfather had built Kanaka Durga Temple on the campus of our palace in 1780 and installed the Devi. Since then, the ‘Bali Nayak Khela’ is being observed every year,” he said.On the occasion, the deity is brought out from the temple and placed in a mandap on the palace campus, said Radhashyam Mohapatra, the priest."Following a few rituals, the Kalisi gets into his act. He chases the men present and one he touches, offers pumpkin on Astami,” he said. The Devi supposedly merges into the Kalisi during the act.For the Kalisi Sridhar Mallick, it is a privilege which his forefathers passed on to him.
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