Tribal fest Mondei kicks off in Nabarangpur

The annual tribal festival of Nabarangpur district Mondei was inaugurated by Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi at historic Podagada here on Wednesday. As per the rituals, a puja was performed at a cluster of temples in Podagada from where a torch was also lit by the Minister.
Addressing the gathering, Majhi said the unique festival was aimed at bringing to the fore tribal talents in the fields of art and culture besides creating awareness on different Government-sponsored programmes.
Among others, zila parisad president Motiram Nayak, MLAs of Nabarangpur and Umerkote, Municipality chairman Prahalad Tripathy, Umerkote NAC chairman Prahalad Tripathy and ADM Suradev Sahu spoke. District Collector and District Council of Culture (DCC) chairperson Yamini Sarangi presided.
Earlier, the Minister and the other guests unveiled Mondei posters. Several dance troupes from Umerkote Panchayat Samiti and NAC performed folk dances.
The block level Mondei will continue till November 4. Various teams and dance troupes will be selected from the block level to perform at the
district level celebrations which will commence from November 6 and continue till November 10.
Mondei was first organised by the DCC, Nabarangpur in 2002 from Podagada by the then District Collector Dr Arabinda Padhee with an aim to tap the local talents in various cultural activities and sports, besides promoting the rich cultural heritage of the region.

Source: The pioneer / The Statesman, orissadiary, Odishabarta.com