Chher Chhera : The Agricultural Festival of chhattisgarh and Western Odisha

Chher Chhera, Puspuni and Pushyavishek all these

three words are colloquial replication of “Pausa

Purnima” which comes in the month of Pausa,

the full moon day. For Odisha this day is culturally

associated with Lord Jagannath where on the

ceremony of Pushyavishek is conducted in the

Sri Mandir at Puri. Virtually, unlike Nuakhai

“Puspuni” is another dominating festival of western

Odisha. Puspuni is commonly known as CHHER

CHHERA. This festival is closely indulged with

agricultural manifestation. After the end of

procurement season the festival is celebrated.

This celebration dislodge the valence between the

poor and the rich, caste and creed within the social

combination of western part in Odisha.

Specially this celebration designates a

session of agriculture. In the agricultural society,

there is a tradition of engagement of yearly servant,

ho are known as HALIA. From this day the

halias are engaged for a specific period for a

specific amount and mostly the terms of the

payment was through paddy. Which is calculated

as puti (common word for measurement of paddy

which counted through mann and mann is an

instrument for measurement mostly made of iron

or wood). The Halia’s are engaged for a term of

one agricultural year and on the day of

Chherchhera either they remain with the old

“Mahajan” (a common farmer)or leave for a new

one with some increased rate with one year oral

contract. It is largely a community based festival

related to the new harvest and celebrated through

feasting and merrymaking. In addition, during this

time the annual contract of land labourers or

Halias comes to an end and payments by

landowners and agreements on fresh contracts

are finalised for the ensuing year

.

This system is now going to be

devastated, because of emerging modernization

and rampant migration of labour from western

Odisha to the southern part of India. Halia is

somewhere in the old society, was a closely

relative term with agriculture and culture of agrisector.

Another attraction of Chherchhera is the

rhythm of boys, girls and also adults, the sensible

music of Chherchhera with a dynamic musical call

“CHHER….CHHER CHHERA” from door to

door and mostly every households gives paddy

as gifts, renovates a thought of unity among the

villagers. On this very occasion most of the

villagers have non-vegetarian food like mutton,

chicken, and fish and some have alcoholic drinks

like mahuli mad(liquor). In earlier days the

drinks are usually prepared in local method. The

tribal people use to prepare the liquor out of rice

and herbal which was hygienic

.

Chher Chhera is a great festival of

western Odisha to accumulate the culture and

agriculture, for renovation and thrilling sensation

of brother hood among the people. Sensually this

celebration makes the life brilliant, where small

beats of happiness are joy for ever.