Kendrapada: Cyclone Arnab has cast a shadow of fear due to imminent heavy rain and gusty winds over the centenary year celebration of the week-long Gajalaxmi Puja in Kendrapada that was kicked off on Sunday.“The cloudy sky reflected the sombre mood of hundreds of devotees here on the puja’s first day on Sunday. Due to cyclone warning, puja celebrations would remain largely subdued this year,” said Balabhadra Das, a puja committee member of Tinimuhani locality.“Amid threat of cyclone, the district administration has ordered all puja committee members to remove bamboo barricades, scaffoldings and decorated pandals by Monday in view of Cyclone Arnab. We will take stern action against puja committee members if they do not abide by the administration’s order,” said Kendrapada collector Raghuram R. Iyer.Many businessmen hoped to earn more in the festive season but their dream to make a fast buck in the Puja season fell like ninepins due to Arnab.Researcher Basudev Das, former member of Odisha Sahitya Academy, said, “Gajalaxmi Puja in Kendrapada has a rich past. In 1926, Radhashyam Narendra Srichandan, the erstwhile landlord of Kendrapada, the state’s oldest municipality, started holding the puja at the New bus stand. The puja, now held by members of the same family, completes 100 this year.”“Subsequently in 1932, some rich men started performing Gajalaxmi Puja at Balagandi, Santasahi, Ichapur, Nasidapur, Gopa and other places within Kendrapada town. The number of Gajalaxmi pujas has swelled in Kendrapada town and its nearby areas within nine decades. Now, members of around 68 puja committees design, decorate and illuminate idols of Ma Gajalaxmi and other images at puja mandaps,” added Das.The celebrations offer a unique blend of cultural exchange, with people from different backgrounds participating in the festivities. “But the imminent cyclone might fizzle out all excitement,” added Das.
