Balasore, May 27: A pair of lacquer dolls will be seen tying the knot at a wedding ceremony being hosted here.

While preparations for the grand event began over a month ago, the announcement of the dates of wedding or lagna sthira was held on Saturday evening. The wedding will be held on June 5.

The lacquer doll wedding festival was initiated by a group of local residents in the town four years ago to promote and boost the dying craft of making lacquer dolls.

Since then, names of locally remembered legends of love are chosen for the dolls. The names are changed every year according to the legend chosen.

This year the names have been given as Achutya and Mallika respectively for the groom and bride.

“These names are associated with Balasore’s folktales. Legend has it that Achutya and Mallika both belonged to royal families and after falling in love, had married secretly against the will of Mallika’s father Surapratap Dev,” said Brajanath Rath, a poet and the key organiser.

“Both met an untimely death succumbing to the anger of the parents. While Achutya was killed by the enemies of his lover, Mallika killed herself unable to bear the pain of separation with Achutya,” he said.

The organisers said that the festival was an effort to revive both the lacquer crafts and the folktales.

“Lacquer works were turning into a dying indigenous art form of Balasore. But with this festival we are remembering our history, culture and tradition,” said Rabinaryan Das, a retired civil service officer, who is playing the father of the groom this year.