Bali Jatra

Cuttack: Missing the rustic Odia feel in Bali Jatra?  What can bring it more alive than our traditional food items. Some of them may have lost out to instant noodles and fancier food such as pizza and burger in urban, even semi-urban homes,…

What’s panna without gua, betel-nut? No fun. The latter appears to have been an import from South-East Asia to Odisha. Betel-nut is quite popular in those countries. In rural areas of South-East paana and betel-nut are consumed as a habit.…

Cuttack: If you thought the exhibits at the Bali Jatra were routine and a tad short on the curio quotient, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) delivers what exactly is needed. Its vehicle at the fair, displaying models of spacecraft,…

The evidence of ancient Odisha’s deep trade links with China emerges from the accounts of travellers Fa Hien, who visited India around 400 AD. He started his return trip from Tamralipti. Visiting the country two centuries later, Hieun Tsang…

Cuttack: Sona Mohaptra will be performing at Bali Jatra, Asia's largest annual trade fair, on Sunday. In a Facebook post, the Odisha-origin singer has invited Dua Lipa and Katy Perry, who are currently in India and performed at the first…

Can Bali Jatra be our own Oktoberfest? With a little bit of effort, yes. Munich lies several time zones apart from Cuttack and the cultural ethos of the German city is far removed from that of the latter. There’s no clear proof of…

Cuttack: Pashmina shawls and sarees, foam tulips and dahlia, dry fruits and designs with chinar leaves - Kashmir is making its presence felt at Bali Jatra. It has made the range of choices for the buyers more interesting. The crowd at the…

Ancient Odisha’s connection with Ceylon, the modern-day Sri Lanka, ran deep. Some historians believe Vijaya, the first king of Simhala, was from Simhapura, the capital of Kalinga. When emperor Ashoka decided to send his daughter Sanghamitra…

Bhubaneswar: Like its more famous counterpart in Cuttack, Bali Jatra in Bhubaneswar has also started with much fanfare by drawing thousands of people to the fair ground every evening. Joy rides like Ram Doli and Break Dance and cultural…

Bali Jatra holds a seductive allure for Suryanarayan Satpathy. Seventy-two and a bit infirm in body, the resident of Mehndipir in Cuttack, still finds it difficult to resist a trip to the venue. He has been there year after year almost…