Puri: Artisans at Raghaba Das mutt and Gopal Tirtha mutt here have prepared elephant attire for Hati Besha ritual of Srimandir deities on the occasion of Snana Purnima Friday.
Traditionally, Raghaba Das mutt authorities provide the attire for Lord Jagannath and Goddess Subhadra while their Gopal Tirtha mutt counterpart supplies the decorative pieces for Lord Balabhadra and Lord Sudarshan. Artisans hired by the two mutts usually initiate the process for preparing the elephant attire on the occasion of Akhaya Trutiya.
“Lord Jagannath is decorated as a black elephant during Hati Besha while the attire of a white elephant is placed on Lord Balabhadra on the occasion,” said Basanta Kumar Rana, an artisan.
According to sources, skilled workers are engaged to prepare decorative pieces resembling the head, tusks, ears, eyes and trunk of an elephant by using velvet and silk fabrics, natural thermocol and processed skins of banana trunk (kadali patuka). “Artisans require at least 20-metre white, black, red, yellow and blue fabrics for designing the elephant attire. We use natural adhesive extracted from wood apple for making the attire,” Rana said.
The elephant attire is carried to Srimandir in a few specially-made bamboo baskets. “We will consecrate the bamboo baskets before they are carried to the shrine by Srimandir servitors amid blowing of horns and beating of cymbals,” Rana said.
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