Bhubaneswar: Odia people residing in Odisha and outside the State have started celebrating the three-day long annual Raja Festival, a festival to celebrate womanhood. The pleasant weather in Bhubaneswar added more favour to the celebration.
Raja Parba or Mithuna Sankranti is a three-day-long festival and the second day signifies the beginning of the solar month of Mithuna from which the season of rains starts.
Though celebrated all over the state it is more enthusiastically observed in the coastal districts. The first day is called Pahili Raja, second is Raja Sankranti and third is Bhumi Dahana or Basi Raja. Today is Pahili Raja.
During all the three consecutive days they are seen in the best of dresses and decorations, eating cakes and rich food at the houses of friends and relatives, spending long cheery hours, moving up and down on improvised swings, rending the village sky with their merry impromptu songs.
Adding to it, many organizations are celebrating the festival in public places. Many malls and restaurants are hosting programs for the celebration of Raja festival.
Swinging on wooden planks hung from trees, eating traditional cakes and dishes, wearing new dresses, styling themselves, and a series of cultural events have been lined up by young girls to celebrate the festival.
During this period, it is believed that Mother Earth menstruates and prepares herself for future agricultural activities with the arrival of monsoon.
Different kinds of pithas such as Poda Pitha, Manda, Kakara, Arisha, Chakuli and Chandrakala have been made in every household.
The social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram flooded with Raja Parba wishes.
Personalities like President of India Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Governor Raghubar Das, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other leaders wished people on this occasion.
The people of Odisha celebrate the Raja by showing their respect to soil, rain and by including in playing swings, relishing pithas and paan. On the occasion of this agricultural festival, I wish happiness, peace and prosperity to the people of the state and country,” the President said on X.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said, “May this festival which highlights Odia tradition and culture bring happiness to the lives of people.”
Poda pitha, arisa, kakara, other pithas and various other delicacies are a major attraction of the festival. Due to lack of time, many women now prefer to buy pithas instead of preparing them at home. Several pitha outlets have been opened across the city for the festival.
The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has made special arrangements to provide Pithas during the festival. To make the celebration grand, three ‘Pitha on Wheels’ vans have been provided for sale of Raja delicacies and shall be stationed at Master Canteen, KIIT Square, ITER – Khandagiri from 8 AM to 12 noon and 4 PM to 7 PM, OTDC officials said.
These vans will provide an option for take away of Raja Pithas and other delicacies. The Pitha on Wheels is also stationed at Sambalpur. Raja Pitha counters have been set up at Silver city Boatclub, Cuttack, ISBT Café and Nimantran Restaurant Bhubaneswar for sale to the public during the three days.
People are thronging various shops to buy meetha paans in cities like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Kendrapara. It is said that the Raja parba is incomplete without a paan. The traders have also come up with new ideas to attract customers.