Context: The annual Chaitra Jatra festival scheduled to be held in Odisha’s Tara Tarini hill shrine was cancelled as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 infection.
About the Festival

• Chaitra Jatra is celebrated at Tara Tarini hill shrine in the Hindu month of Chaitra.
• Tara Tarini hill shrine is located at Kumari hill on banks of the Rushikulya river.It is a major centre of Shakti worship in Odisha.

About Tara Tarini

• Tara Tarini hill shrine, located at a hilltop on banks of the Rushikulya river, is a major centre of Shakti worship in Odisha.
• The twin goddesses Tara and Tarini represent one Shakti and are the main deity of Ganjam district (Odisha).
• Tara is an important deity of Mahayana Buddhist Sect.
• This temple had been built as per traditional Rekha style of Odia temple architecture, as per which famous Jagannath temple of Puri and Lingaraj temple of Bhubaneswar have been built.
• Unlike other temples, it wasn’t built under the patronage of a King or a Noble, the temple was set up by a Brahmin named Basu Praharaj as per popular legend.
• Since its inception it has been an established seat of Tantrism.
• Indian Navy’s sailboat INSV Tarini was named after Tara Tarini hill shrine.The first Indian all-woman crew had circumnavigated the globe in INSV Tarini.

Other important Festivals of Odisha:
About Chhau Festival

• Chhau Festival is celebrated every year by the Bhuiyan tribes in Odisha. 
• The main attraction of the festival is the performance of Chhau dance by the people of Odisha. 
• Chhau dance is a semi-classical form of dancing that includes a little bit of martial arts and folk elements.The dance is performed while wearing a mask or chhau that comes from the word chaya which means shadow.

About Nuakhai Festival

• Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha in India.
• The farmers offer the first produce of their respective lands to Goddess Samaleswari and then consume it personally.