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Gotipua dance and other acrobatic forms under the strict
supervision of Gurus are impacted to youths. The term
‘Jaga’ therefore, connotes the place where training in
all the above mentioned facilities were given. Like the
‘Jagar’ of Himachal Pradesh, these Jaga gharas of Puri
are genuine centers of cultural awakening at the grass
root level. Most probably ‘Jaga’ is a derived term from
the word ‘Jagarana’ which means, “to keep awake”.
The most attractive feature in Sahi jata is the grand
procession. The non winding procession crawls through
many crossings which are turned into arenas by acrobats,
tumblers, dancers, the Nagas, the Medhas of various
deities and medhas of demons like Ravana, Navasira,
Saptasira, Trisira etc. The tunes for the demon for Gods
and Goddesses and for Nagas and other acrobats is
Kaharba Tal, Tisrichand and four Matras. This type of
procession has close similarities with the Ramlila of
Varanasi.
The star attractions in the Yatra are the characters of
the Rama, Ravana, Parsuram, Hanuman, Sugrib, and Angad
etc. The Sahi Yatra is famous for its Naga and Medha
dance.Naga symbolises valour of the Orissan soldier,
while Medha dance of the Kalika, Kali etc preserve the
classical dance blended with martial stints and
techniques.
At present, there are about 80 units of skilled and trained
youths under nine important Akhadas located in
Kalikadevi Sahi, Matimandap Sahi, Harchandi Sahi,
Markandeswar Sahi, Baseli Sahi, Kundhaibenta Sahi,
Dolamandap Sahi, Bali Sahi and Goudabada Sahi (units of
lanes) of the city who participate in the play.
The play is directed to perfection with entrustment of
particular scenes and events to specific Jagaghars.They
present the scene in accordance with the progress of the
Ramayan story till it ends. As per the system, one Sahi
prepares a scene and presents it in the streets of
another Sahi. Hundreds of youths exhibit their acting
talent and physical skill during the progress of play
procession. The play starts from Kalikadevi Sahi that
presents the scene pertaining to the birth of Rama, and
another Sahi follows the next scene.
The sole aim of the festival (Mohastav) is to present the
hidden glory of long living tradition of the Sahis and
put them in one platform to show the dramatic form of
the age-old living culture of Puri. |
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