Bali Yatra celebrates Odisha’s ancient maritime heritage, linking Cuttack and Paradeep to Kalinga’s glorious seafaring past and global cultural exchange
Rabindra Kumar Nayak
The full moon of Kartika, shining over the rippling rivers and sea, carries a fragrance of nostalgia across Odisha. It is the day when lamps float upon the waters, boats made of paper or banana bark glide under the moonlight, and countless hearts remember the legendary voyages of ancient Kalinga’s sailors. This is Bali Yatra—one of the most unique and meaningful festivals in the world, celebrating not conquest or power, but commerce, courage, and cultural connection across the seas.
While Cuttack hosts the grandest fair on the banks of the Mahanadi, Paradeep, Odisha’s major port on the Bay of Bengal, celebrates Bali Yatra with a distinctive maritime pride. It stands today as both a living port and a symbolic bridge to the state’s glorious past as a maritime civilisation.
In ancient times, the coastline of Odisha—then known as Kalinga—was dotted with flourishing ports such as Tamralipta, Palur, Chelitola, Manikapatna, and the present-day Paradeep region.
These were gateways to distant lands such as Suvarnadvipa (modern Bali), Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. Long before modern navigation, the fearless Sadhabas of Kalinga undertook perilous voyages across the turbulent Bay of Bengal, guided by stars, wind patterns, and seasonal monsoon currents.
They carried textiles, spices, ivory, and precious stones, and brought back silk, camphor, perfumes, and oriental treasures. More importantly, they carried the ideas, art, and spirituality of India to Southeast Asia, helping to foster shared cultural identities across the Indian Ocean. Temples, scripts, rituals, and festivals in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand still bear traces of those ancient Odishan connections.
Every year, on Kartika Purnima, when the winds turned favourable, the Sadhabas would set sail. Before embarking, they performed rituals on the riverbanks—praying to Lord Kartikeswar, Varuna, and Maa Mangala for safe passage. Their wives, known as Sadhabanis, bid them farewell with heavy hearts, singing “Aa Ka Ma Boi, Pana Gua Thoi”, symbolising the months and rituals that marked the sailing season.
Today, the Boita Bandaana Utsav re-enacts this maritime ritual. Across rivers and sea beaches—from Cuttack to Paradeep, Chandrabhaga to Astaranga—people float miniature boats decorated with lamps, betel leaves, and areca nuts. It is a ceremony of memory, not mourning; of connection, not loss. The floating boats are offerings to the spirit of exploration, enterprise, and human unity.
Located at the mouth of the Mahanadi, Paradeep is not just a modern industrial port; it is the continuation of an ancient maritime legacy. The confluence of river and sea here has for centuries served as a natural harbor. Archaeological findings near Manikpatna, Palur, and Jajpur affirm that these coasts were once vibrant centers of trade and cultural exchange. The modern Paradeep Port, inaugurated in 1966, stands as a symbolic heir to this tradition, where steel and coal ships now replace wooden Boitas, yet the spirit of the sailor remains alive.
During Bali Yatra, Paradeep’s port township comes alive with fairs, exhibitions, cultural programs, and traditional Boita sailing ceremonies. Local schools, cultural organizations, and maritime authorities join hands to recall Odisha’s role in early globalization. Folk performances like Pala, Daskathia, and Ghoda Nacha celebrate the maritime lore, while the younger generation learns how their ancestors once connected India to the world long before the compass was invented.
Bali Yatra is not merely a historical remembrance; it carries profound philosophical and spiritual undertones. It glorifies voyage as a metaphor for life—an eternal journey across the uncertain ocean of existence. The boats, fragile yet luminous, represent the human soul venturing into the unknown, guided by faith and courage. Lighting a lamp on Kartika Purnima is thus both an act of devotion and a declaration of hope.
The festival also teaches environmental respect, as ancient sailors depended on nature’s rhythm. It evokes global harmony, since it celebrates intercultural exchange rather than war. In an age of material progress and moral confusion, Bali Yatra reminds us that civilization once thrived not by domination, but by dialogue, trade, and trust.
The Odisha Maritime Museum at Cuttack, the State Maritime Board, and historians from Utkal University and other institutions continue to explore the tangible remains of this maritime past. The goal is not just academic curiosity but reviving maritime consciousness among the youth. For a state blessed with rivers, coastlines, and natural ports, the revival of sea-based trade and eco-tourism can be both culturally enriching and economically transformative.
As the lamps drift across the waves of Paradeep and Cuttack, they seem to whisper across centuries—reminding every Odia of their ancestral identity as children of the sea. The Bali Yatra is, therefore, not just a festival—it is a living bridge between the ancient and the modern, between faith and enterprise, between Odisha and the world.
From the silent sails of Kalinga’s wooden ships to the roaring engines of Paradeep’s cargo vessels, the ocean remains the same—vast, mysterious, and sacred. Every boat that floats on Kartika Purnima carries not only a memory of the past but also a message for the future: “Let us sail again—not for conquest, but for connection; not for power, but for peace.”
(The author is a former Reader in English. Views expressed are personal.)