Berhampur

First Movie Hall of Odisha

Odisha saw its first ever cinema hall come to life in this very magical city of Berhampur, back in 1927. Sri Sitaram Vilas Talkies (SSVT) established at Berhampur, was the first cinema hall of Odisha, founded by Mr A.B Chetty. The theatre then had a thatched roof and also was a regular venue for staging Telugu dramas, amongst others. The hall was divided into two parts — in front, people sat on the sand, and there were some chairs placed in the rear. Even though the movie hall today is in ruins and needs significant level restoration, it was once undoubtedly, the hub for entertainment and was visited daily by theatre and film enthusiasts.

Thakurani Yatra

Odisha’s best known spiritual extravaganza, popularly known as the Thakurani Yatra, is a resplendent and grand celebration which takes place every two years in the city of Berhampur to pay tribute to the female deity Ma Budhi Thakurani and celebrate her journey to her father’s house in the Desibehera street, in the form of a flower to a temporarily constructed temple. The entire district comes to life with a gorgeous whirlwind of colours, music, theatre acts, happy chitter chatter and family gatherings. The festival is immensely important to the weaving community of Odisha known as the Devangiris and is organised by P. Durga Prasad Desibehera, whose family has been taking part in this celebration for decades.

The Beach Destination

There are many amazing beaches in Berhampur. The most famous being Gopalpur beach. It is a quiet beach away from the city and the surroundings over here make this a very pleasant place. Another well – known beach here is Dhableshwar beach. Here you can enjoy sailing and surfing. Another beach famous for enjoying a quiet time and beauty is Aryapalli. Taptapani is a famous tourist destination because of its hot water springs.

You can also enjoy nature’s beauty at Bankeshwar. It is a beautiful place covered with dense forest and has some sparkling clean water streams that will make you want to stay there forever. Another nature rich place is Mahendragiri. It is a hill and is about 1500 meters tall. It is covered with evergreen forest and has a rivulet called Mahendra Tanaya flowing down the hill. It not only attracts nature lovers but also archaeologists as many artefacts from the era of Ramayana and Mahabharata are found here.