On the occasion of Diwali, residents of Puri in Odisha offered tributes and homage to their ancestors.
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On Thursday, all roads led to the famed Jagannath Temple, where a sea of humanity observed the ritual of Badabadua Daka holding bunches of burning jute-stems in hand. They invoked their ancestors and prayed for peace and harmony in their families. As per the tradition, the eldest son of each family performs this ritual.
"Like every year, on an auspicious time, last month the souls of fathers came to their descendants' place and again on this auspicious occasion of the souls leave their children's house and start their journey for the heaven. That's why every son shows light to their fathers when they set out for heaven saying that, 'you came in the dark, now, you go with light'. This makes the fathers satisfied," said a priest, Suryanarayan Rath Sharma.
The invocation process began with the chanting of a famous Oriya adage, 'Badabadua ho andhaare aasa, aalua re jaa' (Oh forefathers, come in darkness and go back in the light).
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The oldest member of a family, accompanied by other family members, chanted those lines, lighted the bundle of jute-stems and pointed the flames skywards. A thick smoke covered the temple area following the mass gathering and burning of jute-stems by devotees.
The ritual, which started on Thursday afternoon, ended at midnight. A queue system was introduced throughout the day to ensure the smooth flow of devotees into the temple. Buildings and shops were seen lit with colourful lights on the eve of Diwali.
Meanwhile, in the town of Shirdi in Maharashtra, homage was offered to Sai Baba.
According to ancient mythology, Sai Baba lit lamps with water and illuminated the entire town and freed people from their sufferings.
