Fashion show at Mondei kicks off row

NABARANGPUR/BHUBANESWAR: Nabarangpur town shut down on Monday for a strange reason __ the famous tribal ‘Mondei’ festival must not have a beauty pageant as planned for the first time by the local administration.Dominantly a tribal fete, ‘Mondei’ is an annual showcase of folk dances from across the nation. It kicks off from November 1.This time the administration has gone a step ahead with a ‘ramp walk’ plan. Apprehending that the purity of the tribal festival would be lost by a possible vulgar display of nubile flesh, several local organisations have taken to the streets to somehow cancel the fashion show.  The festival draws tens of thousands of visitors every day for about 10 days __ most of them tribals from remote areas. Many feel it would be no less than a cultural shock for the people coming from nearby villages.“It is not the culture of local tribal women,” asserted Manjula Majhi, vice-president of the Zilla Parishad. Similarly, ‘Maa Gharo’, District Janajati Suraksha Manch, Nabarangpur Nagarika Manch and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have joined the protest and formed a coordination committee.  On Sunday, the organisation members sat on dharna to press for withdrawal of the show.  Cutting across party lines, Congress, BJP and BJD activists also joined the dharna.Local MP Pradeep Majhi, district BJD president Jayadev Parida, District Congress president Narayan Patro and BJP district president Dharumu Gondo also extended their support.  The situation turned ugly on Monday when Manjula Majhi charged the police with heckling her and demanded strong action.On Monday, most of the business establishments in the town remained closed. Vehicular traffic was also disrupted. In Umerkote too people opposing the competition staged a protest.For its part, the local administration has not given any indication as yet about the withdrawal of the fashion show. The show is not yet finalised, said an official.