Odisha: 11-year-old dives 40 feet down with father to send wishes on Nuakhai Festival

 As people of Odisha celebrated the Nuakhai festival with fervour on Saturday amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a unique feat was achieved by a father-daughter duo, who had celebrated the festival from the depths of the ocean. The diver duo went 40 feet down in the sea to send their wishes on the Odia Agrarian festival.

The special occasion was well celebrated by an 11-year-old scuba diver with her father, who dove into the Arabian Sea in the Gulf of Oman off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) near Fujairah to wish a prosperous Nuakhai festival.

11-year-old dive 40 feet down with father to send wishes on Nuakhai Festival

Tisya Panigrahi and her father Priyadarshee Panigrahi dove into the sea near the Dibba Rock diving site and surprised onlookers with festive posters under the sea reading "Nuakhai Juhar" and "Happy Nuakhai." On social media, images of the same have been circulating. The two can be seen surrounded by vibrant coral reefs and marine life in the pictures.

As per media reports, Tisya and Priyadarshee belong to the Sambalpur district. Tisya received her PADI Junior Open Water Scuba Diver License in the UAE on August 22, 2020, at the age of ten. Priyadarshee Panigrahi, her father, who has been diving since 2012, after receiving his PADI Open Water Scuba Diver License from Vietnam, encouraged the youngest scuba diver

Agricultural festival: Nuakhai Parab

The annual festival, Nuakhai Juhar is majorly celebrated in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to mark the new harvest of the season. The term 'Nua' means new and 'Khai' means eat. The festival holds significance as it welcomes the newly harvested rice of the season and is celebrated with great enthusiasm in several districts of Odisha, including Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Balangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, and so on. The day is usually celebrated a day after Ganesh Chaturthi. 

The agricultural festival is also known as the Nuakhai Bhetghat or Nuakhai Parab. Rice being the staple diet of Odisha, farmers on this day worship their first paddy harvest and prepare special meals. Later on, the first food item is offered to the Mother Goddess. On this day, people offered prayers at Maa Manikeswari Temple, Samaleswari Temple, Sureswari Temple, and Pataneswari Temple. 

Image: Twitter/ @teamglowo