Sital Sasthi goes with out eunuchs this year

 Thousands of visitors and devotees have deprived of getting the glimpse of the Hinjra (eunuchs) this year, as the various Jatra committees did not allow them to take part in the famous sital Sasthi festival concluded in Sambalpur on Friday as they do not feel comfortable with their growing demand day by day.   Clad with modern attire and with heavy made up faces eunuchs used to dance with sole and heart with the beat of dhols and dulduli during the celestial union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati every year. Eunuchs feel the divine union “ardhanariswar” as their icon.

‘We know their importance in the Sital sasthi festival. They have been a part of the festival over the past many years.  But this year we did not allow them to take part in the street procession as we do not feel comfortable with them. The growing professionalism and modern fashionable attitude generates a bed trend in the festival”, convener of the Sital Sasthi coordination committee Amulya Mishra said.

Earlier the eunuchs come to take part with a pious motive as they feel union of lord Shiva and Parvati as ardhanariswar.   They have to content with the food and accommodation provided by the organizers.  But off late with the effect of modern attire and costume eunuchs become money mongers and slowly they become a burden for the organizers.

“Previously they do not have any demand.   But over the past few years they started charging for their participation. They want money individually which becomes a burden for us financially. So we have forced to delete them from the festival” president of the Jharuapara Yatra committee Saroj Dalpat said.

 Sital Sasthi, the famous mobile carnival that commemorates the marriage ceremony of lord Shiva with Parvati was concluded on Friday evening with the return of newly married couple to their respective mandirs after a hectic street procession.  Ever since the festival begins in Sambalpur, eunuch (Hinjra) from across the country takes part in the festival as they considered the union of lord shiva and Parvati as their icon.

According to estimation the festival houses of more than one thousand eunuchs especially from Balangir, Puri, Sudergarh, Ganjam and other part of the state used to take part in the festival organized by various Yatra Committees. Even high profile eunuchs from Raipur and Mumbai have also come to take part in the festival. But they have to return back after the decision of Jharusapara and Nandapara Yatra committees which considered as pioneer of the festival. This year only few eunuchs were seen in Badbazar Yatra. “We allowed because they had all ready arrived. However we told them not to pay anything except accommodation and food” president of the Badbazar Yatra committee Sanjib Nanda said. 

On the other hand, senior members of the town feel happy with such a decision by the organizing committees. “Sital Sasthi is unthinkable with out eunuchs. But now time has come to delete them because they become root of the nuisance that occurs during Yatra. More over possibility of sexual transmitted diseases (STDs) can not be ruled out among youths and adolescents because they become   tempted with the modern attire and costumes of eunuchs and keep sexual relation with the eunuchs”

 Prafulla Hota of Sambalpur said.