BALI YATRA

About: 

• Bali Jatra (also known as Bali Yatra and Boita Bandaṇa) literally means A Voyage to Bali. 
  
  
• This festival is held in Odisha, in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river. 
  
  
• The festival is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima according to the Odia Calendar, which comes around the end of October and November. 
  
  
• It is celebrated to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas (Odia mariners) would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java , Sumatra and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion. 
  
  
• People of Odisha gather near banks of Mahanadi, Brahmani river, other river banks, ponds to float miniature toy boats, made of colored paper as a symbolic gesture of their ancestors' voyage. 
  
  
• In Cuttack, Bali Jatra is celebrated annually as a large open fair near the Barabati Fort area with several cultural programs, toy stalls, different games and food stalls selling Odia delicacies.