Jagatsinghpur collector crowned king for a day

Kendrapada: J. Sonal, the district collector of Jagatsinghpur, was crowned as king on Monday by the villagers of Siddhila at the 400-year-old Baladevjew temple, as part of the age-old ‘Puspaveseka’ or flower coronation ceremony.

The collector arrived at the temple complex in a grand procession organised by villagers. Marching ahead of an entourage of locals, the new king proceeded to the entrance of the temple with a giant traditional war drum that signaled his coronation.

The ceremony comprised ancient and colourful rituals, witnessed by hundreds of villagers and devotees from nearby areas. Sounds of firecrackers, conches and bells could be heard as Pandit Surendranath Dassharma and others chanted slokas during the crowning.

Throughout the two-hour ritual, the collector maintained a stately composure, observing the proceedings with keen interest. The coronation not only added a new page to local history but also reflected a rare tradition where the district collector is crowned as king for a day.

According to temple priest Arun Kumar Panda, Bishnu Acharya was once the king of the village. After independence, the Orissa Estate Abolition Act of 1952 ended the zamindari system, and the Acharya family left the village. Since then, villagers have continued the tradition by crowning the district collector each year during the festival.

Many locals used the occasion to present their demands to the king for a day, and the collector obliged.

“I am quite happy to attend this function in the temple. It is a great privilege for me to be crowned as king for a day to uphold this age-old tradition,” said J. Sonal, collector of Jagatsinghpur.