Rishav Mohanty's Animated Short Is A Playful Depiction Of Odia Folklore & Mythology

Few festivals capture the scale and spirit of Odisha’s cultural life quite like the Ratha Jatra of Puri. Each summer, the monumental chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and sister Subhadra roll through the city’s streets, pulled by thousands of hands in an act of shared devotion. The deities make their way from the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple, believed to be their aunt’s house, for a weeklong stay before returning in what is called the Bahuda Yatra. This ritualised journey, witnessed by millions, is at once a mythic procession and a lived spectacle that closes the distance between gods and devotees.

It is in the quieter afterglow of this grand festival that a charming, lesser-known story unfolds: the encounter between Lord Jagannath and Goddess Lakshmi. Upon his return, the deity is met with his wife’s displeasure — he has gone on a weeklong visit without informing her. The exchange, known as 'Lakshmi Narayana Kali', is staged ritually at the temple gates but is rooted in something universally human: the quarrel and reconciliation of a couple. The divine household here mirrors the domestic, reminding us that even the gods are not untouched by the everyday rhythms of affection, conflict, and resolution.

This intersection of mythology and domesticity finds a playful retelling in an animated short from Studio Baya, founded by animator-illustrator Rishav Mohanty in Bhubaneswar. Deeply shaped by his upbringing amid Odisha’s festivals and temples, Rishav has long been fascinated by the narrative richness of Jagannath stories and the evolving language of folk traditions such as 'Pattachitra'.

His series 'Snippets of Odia Festivals' was born from this curiosity and his experiments with 2D animation. In the Ratha Jatra short, Jagannath attempts to appease an indignant Lakshmi first with a flower for her hair, and finally with a rasgulla, after which she relents and opens the temple door. The animation transforms a ritual into a relatable tableau of love, mischief, and reconciliation.

With Odias observing what is often called 'bara masa re tera parba' —thirteen festivals in twelve months — he hopes to eventually create thirteen animated shorts, each drawing out the hidden fables and resonances of these celebrations. Consistency, he admits, can be a challenge, but the intention remains clear: to find in the grandiosity of ritual the intimacy of storytelling.

Follow Rishav here.

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