Olasuni mela serves as platform for crafts | Bhubaneswar News
Kendrapada: The 187-year-old Olasuni mela, showcasing the rich heritage, culture, arts, and crafts of Odisha and other states, ended on Monday at the famous Olasuni hillock in Jajpur district. The 10-day-long mela near NH-53 is one of the oldest melas in the state. “It offers an opportunity to people interact with artisans,” said Suvendu Bhuyan, the managing trustee of Olasuni Development Trust.
Olasuni hillock is famous for being the abode of Santha Arakhita Das, who was born and brought up in a royal family of Ganga dynasty in Badakhemundi royal estate of Ganjam district as the son of Padmanabha Deva. At the age of 18, he became a sanyasi. He propagated the Omkara-Brahma at the Olasuni hillock and composed Mahimandala Geeta, consisting of 93 chapters, which is a palm leaf manuscript. He also composed many bhajans.
He died in 1837 at Olasuni on Magha Krushna Ekadasi. “The Olasuni mela started in 1838 to observe the first death anniversary of Arakhita Das. Most of the visitors worship the samadhi of Arakhita Das at the mela,” said Harish Chandra Prusti, a researcher and former principal of Sahaspur College.
One of the major highlights of Olasuni mela is the stone craft items brought by artisans from nearby areas, added Prusti. Many stone craftspersons sell stone grinders, ‘chakis’, idols of Lord Ganesh and Radha Krishna, elephants, horses, dancing girls, and other items at the mela. “It is a tradition for us to buy stone grinders and other household items from Olasuni Mela,” said Ramesh Chandra Behera of Balichandrapur. Saroj Moharana (53) of Sukhuapada village said, “The art of stone carving in the villages near Olasuni has been a tradition through centuries for which the artisans sell their products in the mela.”
The demand for these stone items was once very high, and the prices also brought in profits. “But the demand for the stone grinders and ‘chakis’ has gone down with electrical grinders taking over,” said Narendra Moharana, a noted sculptor of Lalitgiri village. Brass craftspersons of Atalapur, Samantarapur, Laxminagar, Kundapatana, Balipatana, Kulugaon, and other villages in Jajpur district also throng Olasuni Mela.
Olasuni hillock is famous for being the abode of Santha Arakhita Das, who was born and brought up in a royal family of Ganga dynasty in Badakhemundi royal estate of Ganjam district as the son of Padmanabha Deva. At the age of 18, he became a sanyasi. He propagated the Omkara-Brahma at the Olasuni hillock and composed Mahimandala Geeta, consisting of 93 chapters, which is a palm leaf manuscript. He also composed many bhajans.
He died in 1837 at Olasuni on Magha Krushna Ekadasi. “The Olasuni mela started in 1838 to observe the first death anniversary of Arakhita Das. Most of the visitors worship the samadhi of Arakhita Das at the mela,” said Harish Chandra Prusti, a researcher and former principal of Sahaspur College.
One of the major highlights of Olasuni mela is the stone craft items brought by artisans from nearby areas, added Prusti. Many stone craftspersons sell stone grinders, ‘chakis’, idols of Lord Ganesh and Radha Krishna, elephants, horses, dancing girls, and other items at the mela. “It is a tradition for us to buy stone grinders and other household items from Olasuni Mela,” said Ramesh Chandra Behera of Balichandrapur. Saroj Moharana (53) of Sukhuapada village said, “The art of stone carving in the villages near Olasuni has been a tradition through centuries for which the artisans sell their products in the mela.”
The demand for these stone items was once very high, and the prices also brought in profits. “But the demand for the stone grinders and ‘chakis’ has gone down with electrical grinders taking over,” said Narendra Moharana, a noted sculptor of Lalitgiri village. Brass craftspersons of Atalapur, Samantarapur, Laxminagar, Kundapatana, Balipatana, Kulugaon, and other villages in Jajpur district also throng Olasuni Mela.
