Upholding Tradition: Odisha Bride Travels To Groom’s Home In Decorated Bullock Cart

Bhubaneswar: At a time when luxury cars, destination venues and high-decibel celebrations dominate India’s wedding landscape, a quiet village in Odisha’s Ganjam district has offered a strikingly different narrative — one rooted in tradition, simplicity and cultural pride.

In Kalamb village under Polsara block, bride Barsharani Pradhan chose to travel to her in-laws’ home not in a high-end vehicle, but in a beautifully decorated traditional bullock cart, locally known as a sagadi. The gesture has since drawn admiration from across the region and sparked wider conversations about reconnecting with cultural roots.

Barsharani, daughter of Debaraj Pradhan of Kalamb, was married to Shanishchar Pradhan of Samantarapalli village under Kabisuryanagar block. What set the wedding apart was the nearly 20-kilometre journey undertaken by the ornately adorned wooden cart to carry the newlywed bride to her husband’s village.

Seated gracefully inside the flower-decked cart, the bride travelled along uneven rural roads as its wooden wheels creaked rhythmically — a sight reminiscent of weddings from decades ago. While luxury sedans and SUVs such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz models have become status symbols in modern wedding processions, this ceremony consciously turned to a symbol of Odisha’s rural heritage.

Family members said the bullock cart was decorated overnight, with relatives working for hours to prepare it for the symbolic journey. The trip to the groom’s village took around two hours.

As the procession entered Samantarapalli, villagers gathered in large numbers, many visibly excited. Elders described the moment as a nostalgic return to a fading tradition.

“Everyone is renting cars, buses and playing loud DJ music. But we wanted our tradition to come alive and for our elders to relive their memories,” a relative of the bride said. “It took us a whole night to decorate the cart.”

Another local woman remarked that it had been nearly 25 to 30 years since such a wedding procession had been witnessed in the area. “We came running to see it. This is a proud moment. We should thank those who kept our tradition alive,” she said.