The inhabitants of Puri are very fond of their institutions. The Pandas, Panharis, Suars or temple cooks, Mallis, coolies who carry Mahaprosad out of the temple, and Brahmins in general, haunt these Akhras to spend their vacant hours in mirth and jollity. Each portion of the town has its own Akhra headed by the principal inhabitant of the neighbourhood. The boys of the locality specially visit the Akhras in order to learn to sing and dance. There are about 42 Akhras in the town, a list of which is given here with the approximate number of members attached to each. They are as follows-

• Khasa 50 Members
• Narsingh Ballab 100 Do
• Soukhakot 90 do
• Hunka 80 do
• Tapang 70 do
• Barabati 150 do
• Bahaji Pokhari 100 do
• Bhoga Jaga 25 do
• Hari Madhab 25 do
• Singhda Pokhari 50 do
• Kusun Khootea 70 do
• Bada Akhra 150 do
• Isser Ballab 25 do
• Bada Pookhari 20 do
• Rahas Mahanti 60 do
• Jhati 40 do
• Bada Pookhari (No.2) 40 do
• Bhata Jaga 15 do
• Sata Bakhara 100 do
• Dwari Jaga 100 do
• Raun Jaga 80 do
• Panda Jaga 100 do
• Bania Tota 30 do
• Khuntia Tota 100 do
• Hinjala 100 do
• Adang Tiadi 100 do
• Panchayeth 80 do
• Nua Pakhari 50 do
• Champa Gad 100 do
• Jagati Parihari 200 do
• Bhagi Mudali 50 do
• Tiadi Jaga 80 do
• Sandra Jaga 100 do
• Bisuni 60 do
• Gopali 50 do
• Pathara Akhar 100 do
• Marichi Kot 20 do
• Brawha Jaga 50 do
• Mali Jaga 30 do

These are the principle akhras, but there are some smaller ones with about 15 to 20 members in each. The largest akhra in Puri is the Barabati. Its area is about 20 biggahs including a decent garden. There is a large house in it with an open ground behind it. The members are in the habit of wrestling, fighting and making all sorts of gymnastic exercises in that compound. It is commonly called a Khella Jaga. Such is the construction of all the akhras; the difference is in the extent of land and the size of the building standing therein. In fact, these akhras are places of amusements to the members alone who maintain the institution by means of periodical subscriptions. The amount laid out by each member in a year varies from Rs 10 to 20, and the average expenses of an akhra range between Rs 150 to Rs 300 in a year.

The chief amusement of the akhra people is to drink Bhang or Shohi in a liquid state and to sing amorous songs and dance in the assembly. The only good thing they do is to habituate themselves in gymnastic exercises with heavy clubs called Mudgars and stone balls called Chaka. Some of them learn to play with the Fori Godka, the sword and a sort of knife called Banka.

The akhra people train up a lad or two in dancing in the same immoral fashion in which the Khemtawallis dance in Bengal. These lads wear clothes like females and dance for gain in the temple as well as elsewhere.

The akhra men generally spend out much money in feasting. They get some Mohaprosad from the temple of Jagannath and prepare some other food in the akhra building and dedicate the same to Hanuman, the monkey-god, whose bust is to be found nearly in all akhras!

After giving all the necessary details of the akhras in Puri, we must now proceed to make some observations with regard to them. Indeed the akhras seem to be similar to the tea and coffee houses in Europe where all classes of men visit at their leisure hours for the purpose of exhilarating themselves. The people of Puri, one and all, haunt these akhras at all times when they have no engagement. We do not consider it wrong at all, on the contrary, we are glad that the Urias have long discovered the principle of public institutions. We should like to see the system improved by and by. A public institution of this nature is very desirable in every part of the country, but it should become the instrument of elevating the condition of the nation. We should recommend that the akhra men would give up the nasty habit of drinking Bhang which degrades both the intellect and the moral principle. They should also give up the habit of seeing dances of lads which lead to the demoralization both of the performers and the bystanders. They should introduce into their akhras a sort of cultivation of polite learning which is very much necessary to the Urias at the present day. They should introduce a sort of cultivation of the religious sentiment which will relieve them of the error of worshipping the monkey-god. They should polish the gymnastic exercises to which they are habituated. We should ask the enlightened public both at Puri and Cuttack to point out the errors of the akhra men and to teach them what is necessary for them at present. We should thank the Editors of Cuttack who publish their journals in the Uria language to agitate these momentous points in their columns and impress on the akhra-men the necessity of improving the system. We long for the day when the akhras of Puri will turn out institutions of a very important nature, where social and moral subjects should be discussed freely in an enlightened way. To tell the truth, the Uria mind is still in an abnormal condition and it requires a great deal of development to come up to mark obtained by that of all the sister races in India. We have no reason to give out an envious expression; on the other hand we take a great delight in helping our Uria brother up in his attempts to rise in the scale of nations. On account of the temple of Jagannath, Orrissa is considered as an important part of the country and it is highly desirable that the inhabitants will improve in a short time. In our future notes, we will propose some changes in the habits of the people of Orissa and their social institutions.

29 September 1871

(The Akhras in Puri was an English essay written by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in 1871)