Artistes enact parts from mythological tales at Sahi Jata, the traditional cultural event, in Puri. Pictures by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, April 2: Keeping a centuries-old tradition alive, Puri is hosting the festival of Sahi Jata that blends spirituality and performing arts.

Here, artistes depict different episodes of the Ramayan just around the birthday of Lord Ram, the Ramnavami. The festival began on Saturday in the city.

As the name of the festival suggests, the 12th century festival is similar to folk theatre or jatra, but with a religious touch. It is enacted by artistes belonging to different sahis or bylanes of Puri.

The programmes are held every evening with a martial art show being staged, featuring the ancient practice of martial training in Puri. This is followed by the depiction of an episode of the Ramayan.

The first day is dedicated to rituals at the Jagannath Ballabha garden of the Puri Jagannath temple that gives an auspicious start to Sahi Jata.

The folk theatre begins from Ramnavami, the second day of the festival. The entire festival lasts for nine or 10 days.

“This year, six sahis will be performing six episodes of the the Ramayan. The birth of Ram will be enacted by Kalikadebi Sahi while Yagnya Rakshya will be staged by Harchandi Sahi,” said Puri district cultural officer Prafulla Samantaray.

The subsequent episodes will be performed at Kandhei Benta Sahi, Dola Mandapa Sahi and Bali Sahi. The final episode depicting the coronation ceremony of Ram, the abhisheka, will be performed by the Gourabata Sahi on an auspicious day in the Hindu almanac.

The colourful Sahi Jata is much awaited by the artistes.

“Enacting different characters of the Ramayan during the Sahi Jata holds special significance to us. It is like a service we offer to the deities through our skills of acting. We rehearse a lot to make it perfect though each of us has been doing this for years,” said a veteran artiste, a resident of the Harchandi Sahi.

Both local residents and tourists enjoy the cultural fervour of the city during this time of the year.

“The costumes and the dances as well as the performances are amazing. I love to see the fireworks that are a part of the festival,” said Amanda Turner, an American tourist.