The unique festival of Khudurukuni Osha or Bhalukuni Osha that dates back to the maritime era of ancient Orissa has a lingering presence even today. A report by Rashmi Rekha Das
There is nothing more precious than the love between siblings. Nowhere is this bond of love glorified with such grandeur as in our country. Epics, folklores and legends depict the holy relationship of siblings and their sacrifices for each other. The story of Taapoi is case in point which talks about the sacred relationship between brothers and sisters, the sacrifice of a sister for her brothers and vice versa and triumph of good over evil. This story is still remembered by unmarried girls by performing the Khudurukuni puja.
Khudurukuni puja is observed in the memory of Taapoi by unmarried girls every year across the state. It is the heartrending story of Taapoi that inspires girls to worship Maa Mangala for the wellbeing of their brothers.
Come Sundays of the month of Bhadrab and unmarried girls deck themselves up in new attire, alata and ornaments for Khudurukuni puja. The unique festival of Khudurukuni Osha or Bhalukuni Osha that dates back to the maritime era of ancient Orissa has a lingering presence even today. Folklore has it how all the seven brothers deserted their wives as a punishment since they had tortured their sister Taapoi. At the same time the sister was also ready to sacrifice her life praying for them in the forest. To celebrate this sacred bond, Khudurukuni festival is observed by girls.
During the festival Goddess Mangala is offered ‘khuda bhaja’ (left out particles of fried rice), kantiali kakudi (cucumber with little thorns on it), Lia (fried paddy), Ukhuda (fried paddy sweetened by molasses) and coconut. As the khuda is said to be the favourite of the Goddess, the festival is named ‘Khudarankuni’, popularly Khudurkuni, which means one eager for ‘khuda’.
PRACTICE
As per rituals, girls wake up early in the morning to pluck flowers, particularly kaniara, (yellow oleander), tagara (crape jasmine), malati (white jasmine), champa (plumeria) and mandara (hibiscus). These flowers are a must in the worship of the Goddess. Then they go to nearby rivers to bathe. After bathing they build tiny temples of the Goddess on sand and decorate them with flowers. After paying obeisance to the deity, the girls return home. In villages, generally, the deity is worshipped in the Dhinkisala or the place where paddy is pounced. This place is plastered neatly with cow dung and the idol of the deity is installed. The whole day passes with the arrangement for the evening rituals. In the evening, girls recite the episode of Taapoi in unison and later take prasad to mark end of the fast.
MYTH
The first episode of the book read by girls as part of the puja recounts the killing of the demon by Durga. It is, therefore, believed that the girls worship Durga to fight evil forces for the well-being of the race. The second episode ‘Taapoi’, is a legendary account of the sufferings and success of a girl.
According to lore, there were seven brothers in a prosperous Sadhaba or merchant family. Taapoi was their only sister who was also the youngest. Obviously they bestowed their love and affection on her lavishly. Her parents used to fulfill every demand of their daughter. One day Taapoi was playing with her friends with a winnow, made of bamboo strips. A Brahmin widow of wicked nature scoffed at her. She asked her why she is playing with a bamboo utensil when her father has enough to get for her a golden moon. Then Tapoyi asked her father to get her a golden moon. Listening to her demand, her father promised her to give her the same within 15 days. Sadly, before the moon was ready, the merchant passed away due to sudden illness, and by the time it was handed over, Taapoi’s mother, too, had died. Once the funeral rites were over, her seven brothers began loading their father’s ship with merchandise. A day before they were to set sail, they called their wives and left clear instructions with them to take special care of their lovely sister since she is an orphan and her brothers would also be away. All the wives asked their husbands not to worry about their sister; they assured and promised their husbands to take care of her properly.
They took care of Taapoi for a month or two. One day, the wicked Brahmin woman came and asked for alms in front of their house and nobody paid attention to her as everybody was busy attending to Taapoi. Seeing Taapoi on the swing, the old woman felt jealous and asked the wives why they were all busy attending to Taapoi. She should also do some work, the wicked woman reasoned, otherwise by exploiting the love of her brothers Taapoi would usurp everything and render the wives destitute. Somehow this logic appealed to all the sisters-in-law except the youngest one. The old woman asked them to send Taapoi to graze the goats in the forest so that in course of time she could fall prey to hungry tigers or lions before her brothers returned home.
From that day Taapoi’s fate took a U-turn. She was forced to do all sorts of chores. She was denied jewellery, good clothes, even proper food. She often went to sleep on a half-empty stomach and a prayer on her lips, ‘Maa Mangala! Please bring my brothers back soon!’
Despite bearing unbearable torture she waited patiently for her brothers to return. Meanwhile, she started worshipping Maa Mangala and offered khuda as she had nothing else to offer. Her sincere prayer yielded fruit and her brothers returned safely. They landed on the shore at night and while resting on the vessel heard the wailing sound of a girl. Curious, they went on search and found that she was none other than their dear sister. As the pet goat ‘Gharamani’ was missing, she had driven out by her sister-in-laws.
Seeing her brothers, Taapoi’s joy knew no bounds. The brothers heard all about her plight. As punishment the brothers asked their sister to cut their noses expect that of the youngest brother’s. But their noses were restored when she again prayed to the Goddess.