On November 15, Friday , there was an unique boat festival of Odisha was celebrated and organised at AGV -1, children’s swimming pool at 6.30 am. On Kartik Purnima, the full moon day, across Odisha people celebrate this event which called ‘Boita Bandana ‘or ‘Danga Bhasa ‘ to commemorate those brave sailors who once sailed the Bay of Bengal for trade .
To honour the state’s maritime historical event, people prepare miniature boats made from paper, banana stems, cork and other materials by decorating with betel nut, betel leaves, flowers and lit diyas (lamps) into it. Afterwards they float the boats into the sea, river, ponds or nearby water bodies.
At AGV1 , residents from Odisha , for first time had taken a great initiative of celebrating boat festival along with AGV-2 and other neighbouring society members. On previous night the pool was decorated very beautifully with flowers, balloons and other decorative materials and a replica of boat was kept inside it. From very early morning at 5.30 am people assembled the venue and started worship with due rituals. Then everyone floated the miniature boats with diya inside the pool. All the ladies dressed up in traditional Odisha attire and gents wore kurta and pajamas. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated for experiencing such marvellous festival in the society. Fruits and sweets were distributed among all the residents too. We must congratulate the volunteers for arranging this unique event for this year and waiting for subsequent year, as the large numbers of people can get the opportunity for participating in this festival.
