Bhubaneswar.October 24: India has an age-old tradition of celebrating the birthday of Hindu Gods and Goddess. As the Saka era calendar has struck the month of Kartik the birthdays of Kumar Kartik and Goddess Lakshmi are here and people of Odisha and other parts of India are all geared up to celebrate it!

The day is a full moon day- Purnima- and it marks the birth of Kumar Kartik , also known as Kumar Kartikeya, which is why it is named as Kumar Purnima. Kumar Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati was very good-looking and the most eligible bachelor in the kingdom of gods. Therefore, young girls celebrate this festival and perform rituals, aspiring for a husband, as handsome as him.

This day is also observed as the birth day of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Therefore, many people worship the Goddess at their homes and keep themselves awake by playing Pasha (Chess), and other indoor games to bring in the fortune owl.

As far as the ritual goes, women wake up in the dawn, bathe and get dressed to perform the ‘Janhi Osa’ where they offer ‘khaee’ with ‘janhi’ (striped gourd), cucumber, banana, coconut, gua (betel nut), etc. as ‘Anjuli’ to the Sun God. They also lighten an earthen lamp and perform a puja to pay reverence to the Almighty for a suitable bridegroom. The same ritual is performed in the evening, but to worship the Moon God with ‘Chanda chakata’.

A landmark traditional game of Odiyas named ‘Puchikhela’ competition is also organized at society, village and town levels.  It is played in a squatting position where one’s weight is shifted and balanced from one leg to another rapidly. Other Odiya games such as ‘Bohu-Bohuka’, ‘Bisa-Amruta’, etc. are also played and songs (like ‘Phula Boula Beni’) are sung in the moonlight.

Nowadays many puja pandals are set up with beautifully decorated clay idols of Lord Kartik and Goddess Lakshmi. The numbers of such pandals have surged over years and led to a healthy cultural competition.

Odisha which is known to the land of 13 festivals across 12 months has indeed a rich cultural heritage to be enjoyed and passed through generations.