Rama Leela

This all -India festival is celebrated in a few important villages and towns in Orissa in the month of Chaitra (March-April). The masks of Rama, Ravana and others of the Ramayana myth are worn by characters in a dramatic re-enactment of the epic happenings. This is accompanied by music and singing and is presented in the form of folk opera. The burning of the huge effigies as practiced elsewhere in India is not prevalent in Orissa. The fair is held in honour of Lord Rama to celebrate the victory of virtue over vice Ravana.

Patua Jatra and Chandak Puja

These are allied to the Banda Jatra described for month of Vaishakha and aimed at propitiation of Lord Shiva for boons. The months of Chaitra and Vaishakha are specially sacred for Shiva worshippers or the ‘lower castes’ presumably derived from Buddhist society. The same physical tortures for spiritual benefit are undergone and they overlap in time and in the rituals with the variations of Dand Jatra.