Gadagadia Ghata

There are two famous stories relating to the celebration of ‘Bali Yatra’ in Cuttack. The first one is related to the visit of ‘Lord Chaitanya’ to Orissa some 500 years back, who, upon his visit to Cuttack, crossed the ‘Mahanadi river’ and proceeded for a darshan of ‘Sakhigopal’ at the nearby Barabati Fort. He is then supposed to have taken a bath in the holy Mahanadi river on the full moon day of Kartika month and then rested on the sands at the river bed. Since sand is called ‘Bali’ in the local language, the festival came to be famously called ‘Bali Yatra’ in consonance with Sri Chaitanya’s historic visit and bath.
Another more popular and widespread belief is that of the commemoration of the ‘trade relations’ between the merchants of Orissa and the Indonesian island of ‘Bali.’ The ships carrying merchandise from Orissa to the island country sailed out on the auspicious day of the ‘Kartik Purnima’ (full moon). Hence, the day became synonymous with the festivities. Odisha merchants who went for overseas trade would return with wealth, riches, and tales of adventure. The wives of the merchants, accompanied by their children as well as neighbors, thronged the ‘Gadagadia Ghata’ to welcome their husbands on arrival. In those days, women were not allowed to venture out. However, on this day, they went out to see off their husbands and willingly bought out things of their choice. This was also the reason why a fair was organized for the ladies in front of the Barbati Fort. In the course of time, the fair came to be known as ‘Baliyatra.’