Nabarangpur, Dec, 27:As is the tradition every year, the annual forest festival at Rashmi Ranjan Sidhashram, located in local Taragaon, was held during the month of Dhanu to inspire forest dwellers. The grand ceremony took place near Rani Duduma in Koraput district under the presidency of Dr. Neelkantha Padhi, adorned with the title Shri Rashmi Prasad, and was conducted by Shiv Shankar Patra in the presence of over a hundred devotees and followers.
After refreshments at the Damanjodi Kanta Baunshuni Shakti Peetha premises, devotees traveled in three buses to Rani Duduma. The main guests, along with the attendees, participated in the Banvasi Mela (Forest Dwellers’ Gathering) and Satsang. The program included addresses by Koraput Hindu Maha Sangh President Jagannath Satapathy and chief speaker Bimal Kumar Pattnaik, a dance performance by the community of Mili Harijan, devotional songs (bhajans and kirtans), distribution of the Bhagavad Gita, winter clothing, dakshina (honorarium), reading of the Gita, presidential address, kirtans, aarti, and prasad distribution.
The Satsang concluded with a communal forest feast among the forest dwellers and a tour of the scenic Rani Duduma area, allowing participants to enjoy its natural beauty.
The program was coordinated and supported by Kshirrod Chandra Bishoyi, Samyukta Bishoyi, Dashamu Patra, Indumati Padhi, Neelkantha Bishoyi, Lachhman Bhatra, C.H. Aspa Rao, B. Bala Raju, Umashankar Jena, Sanjay Kumar Barik of Damanjodi, Pratap Chandra Bishoyi, Bhaskar Bishoyi, Bir Kishor Bishoyi, and Harishchandra Bishoyi, among others.