Berhampur: Sounds of drums, cymbals and conch shells reverberated in the air from Sunday in Ganjam as people celebrated Danda Nata, a seasonal folk dance festival.

The festival is celebrated in the month of 'Chaitra'. People danced barefoot on the streets undeterred by the scorching heat.

Danda as the name implies, is self-inflicted pain, which the danduas (people who take in the festival) undergo to pay their obeisance to lord Kali. It is also a form of worshipping lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.

The danduas undergo a lot of pain and hardship to appease the goddesses as they believe that their desires would be fulfilled. Some do it to show gratitude to the goddess.

"The origin of the festival was traced to 8th and 9th AD after the decadence of Buddhism in Orissa. "Abhinava Chandrika, a literary works of 1568, mentions about the prevalence of Danda Yatra," said researcher Anantaram Kar. Sometimes even small children are seen taking part in the dance. The danduas collect under a leader called Pata Bhokta.

They have only a single meal a day, that too at midnight. The meal consists of only rice and dal. During the whole day they perform hard rituals as part of the penance. Under the scorching sun they perform Dhuli Danda, which includes symbolic building of temples, digging ponds and agricultural works.

After that they perform rituals standing in the water of a pond for hours together, which is called Pani Danda. At night they dance with fire in their hand, which is called Agni Danda.

Households and localities invite Danda Nata troupes to perform in their areas. "We perform the dance for the welfare and the eradication of miseries," said Kalia Das of Narayanpur village near Gopalpur.

Das has been taking part in the festival for a long time, his mother Dhobani Das also lives under strict regulations during these days.

"I eat once during midnight and wear a single sari during these days. I sleep on the floor and live under strict regulations," she said.