Sambalpur: Sital Sasthi, a festival in west Odisha to celebrate the divine marriage of Lord Siva with Parvati, began here on Wednesday.

The process to select people who would play the roles of the gods' parents, locally known as bara pita (groom's father) and kanya pita, mata (bride's parents) has begun.

Experts have calculated the date of marriage of the divinity on June 17 and the grand procession back home after marriage will start on June 18 and continue till next day.

This year, couples selected to perform the role of goddess Parvati's parents are - Mohan Suplar and his wife Sanjukta for Jhaduapada, Sesadeb Rath and his wife Nibedita for Mudikpara, Punendu Tripathy and his wife Jyotirmayee for Nandapada, Jogeswar Nanda and Binodini for Badbazar, Gopala Pradhan and Tapaswani for Balibandha and Lingaraj and Kamalesh for Thakurpada and Surendra Nath Padhi and Sureswari for Budharaja temple.

After the announcement of the names of the couples in different localities, the ceremony of thaala utha using plates of gold, silver and copper was performed.

Almost for a week during the festival, Sambalpur wears a festive look with the arrival of more than 5,000 artists to perform at various cultural events both from the state and out of states.

People from various parts of the state and outside visits here to witness the unique festival.

Sital Sasti festival is said to have started in the 16th century under the patronage of the then ruler of Sambalpur to usher in rain after months of blistering heat.