Nabarangpur, Nov 22 : On the coming 25th, the Nabarangpur Mati’s mass festival “Mondei” will begin at Podagad. Podagad was once the capital of King Bhāvadatta Keshari of the ancient Nalabansa dynasty, the oldest kingdom of Nabarangpur Mati, and one of the important forts of ancient Chhattisgarh. The Jhajaladeipara hill of Podagad is linked with an old legend. The Podagad Sebayat Charitable Table Trust, formed with 93 revenue villages, manages the heritage.
Mondei was first started at Podagad in 2002, during the tenure of Dr. Aravinda Padhi, the then District Collector of Nabarangpur. Later, in 2005 Dr. Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma, in 2012 Smt. Yamini Sarangi, and now in 2025 Dr. Maheshwar Sahu have carried forward this Podagad Mondei tradition at different times—thus forming the historical journey of this people’s festival.
Today, the preparatory meeting for the festival concluded at the Umerkote BDO Conference Hall. The MP representative, MLA representative, Minister’s representative, Block Chairperson, Podagad Chairman Uddhaba Nayak, researcher Kailas Behera, councillors, samiti members, and block officers were present.
Discussions were held on various topics such as invitation letters, parking, food arrangements, procession, torch rally, guests, stage arrangements, invited dignitaries, journalists, traditional lathi–kurachi performers, Seerā ritualists, Gunia priests, deities, tribal dance performances, photography and videography, and other organizational matters.
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