Lord Jagannath’s ‘Nabakalebara’ in Prasanthi Nilayam…

Depicting the age-old tradition of ‘Nabakalebara’ of Lord Jagannath, Sai Youth from Odisha staged a drama regarding the same this evening at Sai Kulwant Hall in Prasanthi Nilayam.

Nabakalebara is a celebration involving the installation of a new set of idols in place of the old ones at the famed Jagannath Temple of Puri. The evening presentation marked the finale of the 2-day Parthi Yatra by the State contingent.

The drama presentation dealt with the complete mystical story of the venerable Puri Jagannath history. Capturing the essence and dramatising the legendary epical story from ancient Odisha, the performance turned out to be a spiritual-educative tour for the august audience, the bottom-line being ‘the body is ephemeral; death is certain, but the spirit remains eternal’. Lively dance accompanied by stimulating music served as ‘add-ons’ to the beautiful evening saga of Lord Jagannath. Incidentally, the last ‘Nabakalebara’, after 19 years, was celebrated this year during March – July.

Earlier, the session commenced at 1700 hrs. with a classical dance-depiction by the students of Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Berhampur presenting Saint Jayadeva’s Geeta Govindam. Doing full justice to the 12th century poetic masterpiece, charming children from the Sathya Sai School gracefully presented a dazzling show, illustrating the Divine Story of ‘evolution’.

Following bhajans the session concluded with Mangala Arathi at 1825 hrs.

II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II