North Odisha-Level Navamatruka Puja on October 1

Balasore, 6/9 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty):
A preparatory meeting of the Remuna Navamatruka Puja Committee was held for the forthcoming North Odisha-Level Navamatruka Puja to be observed on October 1, 2025, at Brit Kalyan Mandap on the occasion of Mahanavami.

The meeting, presided over by President Dr. Bhagabat Prasad Das, was attended by Vice-President Dhirendra Nath Mohapatra, Major Girish Kumar Sadangi, Kamalakanta Das, Secretary Artist Kesudas, Treasurer Biswajit Ghosh, Media Heads Sudhakar Sethi, Sarbeshwar Jena and Prashant Kumar Patel, along with active members Sunamani Jena, Meenati Patra, Pradip Mishra, Mayadhar Panda, Ganesh Panda and Stalin Mishra.

This year nine elderly mothers from different districts and diverse fields will be honored under the theme “My Mother is Durga Maa.” They include Saraswati Das (Inspiring Mother), Basanti Das (Ideal Homemaker Mother), Banalata Jena (Fighter Mother), Subasini Behera (Social Worker Mother), Dr. Kalpana Mohanty (Literary Mother), Dr. Bharati Behera (Medical Mother), Dr. Radharani Mohapatra (Teacher Mother), Shailabala Panigrahi (Yoga Guru Mother) and Golap Rani Raut (Nature Mother).

Launched in 2011, the Navamatruka Puja has steadily expanded into a cultural and social movement that celebrates motherhood beyond caste, creed and community. While Bhubaneswar hosts the state-level event, Remuna has carried the tradition to the grassroots, covering district, block, NAC and zonal levels. The committee emphasized that in an age of rising old-age homes and neglect of parents, this observance seeks to reinforce respect for mothers and revive human values.