Diwali in Odisha has a rite found nowhere else. At dusk on the new moon of Kartika the family gathers outside the house, draws a boat in rice powder on the ground, and lights a bundle of kaunria kathi, dried jute stalks. Holding it up to the sky they call on their ancestors: come in the dark, go back along the light. The same night is Kali Puja, kept with great pandals in Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara.
The story
The rite is Paya Shraddha or Badabadua Daka. The ancestors, who are believed to have come down during the fortnight of Mahalaya, are sent back on this night to their own world, and the torches light the road.
Diwali is also the eve of the Odia merchants' memory. Kartika is the month in which their ancestors, the sadhabas, sailed for Bali, Java and Sumatra.
ବଡ଼ବଡ଼ୁଆ ହୋ, ଅନ୍ଧାରରେ ଆସ, ଆଲୁଅରେ ଯାଅ
O forefathers, come in the darkness, go back in the light
Called out as the jute sticks burn
How the evening goes
- The chitaA sailing boat is drawn on the ground with rice paste, with seven chambers holding cotton, mustard, salt, roots and turmeric.
- Badabadua DakaThe jute sticks are lit and raised while the verse is called out.
- LampsRows of clay diyas on every wall and at the tulsi.
- Kali PujaThrough the night, with immersion in the days after.
- PithaKakara and arisa for the ancestors, and for the living.
Why this date
Diwali is the Amavasya of Kartika by the Odia count of months, on the day the new-moon tithi covers the hours after sunset.
Diwali in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Friday | |
| 2028 | Tuesday | |
| 2029 | Monday | |
| 2030 | Saturday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Odia festivals
14 NovemberKartika Purnima and Boita Bandanaକାର୍ତ୍ତିକ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମା · ବୋଇତ ବନ୍ଦାଣ
9 OctoberDasaharaଦଶହରା
8 OctoberMaha Navamiମହାନବମୀ
7 OctoberMahastamiମହାଷ୍ଟମୀ
5 SeptemberNuakhaiନୂଆଖାଇ
4 SeptemberGanesh Pujaଗଣେଶ ପୂଜା
Where to see Diwali
In Odisha
- Jagannath Temple, PuriOdishaThousands call their ancestors together in front of the Lion Gate.
- CuttackOdishaKali Puja pandals, as elaborate as those of Durga Puja a month before.
- BhadrakOdishaKnown across the state for its Kali Puja.
Across India
- KolkataWest BengalKali Puja at Kalighat and Dakshineswar.
- AyodhyaUttar PradeshLamps along the Sarayu for Rama's return.
- VaranasiUttar PradeshThe ghats are lit now and again at the full moon.