Olasuni comes alive with Gumpha Yatra

SALEPUR: On Magha Ekadasi, Olasuni, a sleepy hill comes alive with a plethora of devotional and cultural activities.  Thousands throng the place to witness the famous cave festival popularly known as Gumpha Yatra.Olasuni hill, adjacent to the famous Buddhist site of Lalitgiri on the banks of the river Gobari, has a cave and at the top, the temple of Goddess Olasuni and the holy tomb of saint Arakhita Das. The festival is organised to commemorate the death anniversary of Shradha Mahotsava of the saint who lived here about 200 years ago. The devotees offer podapitha, sukhua and somarasa as Samarpana Bhoga at the shrine as a votive offering. People visit the shrine for ‘Kanjipani’, a kind of soup made from rice gruel, which is believed to have some medicinal properties and can cure even malignant diseases.Though the traditional festival is held for a day, the fair continues for a week with stalls of stone engraved works of Lalitgiri and Sukhuapada remaining open for more than a fortnight. To boost tourism, the State Government beside setting up a guest house and a park has also provided permanent road, electricity and water supply to Olasuni hill.