TV
While much of the world continues to struggle with the stigma surrounding menstruation, Odisha stands as a cultural outlier, celebrating it with joy and pride through the Raja festival.
Observed every year in mid-June, Raja is not merely a celebration of seasons or customs; it is an unapologetic embrace of womanhood in all its natural cycles.
A Festival That Honours the Feminine Force
Rooted in the belief that Mother Earth undergoes her menstrual phase during these three days, Raja extends the same reverence to women. Girls and women are encouraged to rest, wear new clothes, adorn their feet with alta, and swing joyfully, symbolic of fertility, youth and vitality. In doing so, the festival acknowledges menstruation not as a taboo but as a divine process.
An Example for the World
At a time when conversations around periods are still shrouded in embarrassment in many places globally, even in developed nations, Odisha leads by example. It integrates menstrual honour into mainstream celebration without euphemisms or discomfort. In villages and cities alike, Raja is not whispered about behind closed doors but sung aloud in folk songs, displayed on swings, and cooked into traditional Poda Pithas.
"Women face many difficulties in our society today. They are ostracised and asked to stay in a separate room, to sleep on the floor in many parts of India during their menstrual cycle. Raja, as a festival, I believe, helps people to understand that girls and women need the utmost care during this time. It is a sign of womanhood for which women should not be made to suffer," said Basanti Hota, a former school teacher.
Rudra Das, an engineer, said, "Raja, as a festival, helps men understand women better. Women are termed as 'difficult' during their menstrual cycle and brushed off, which is a sign of disrespect. This festival, however, brings people closer and helps everyone understand women and the physical changes that they go through."
Odisha’s Silent Revolution
What Raja represents is nothing short of a quiet social revolution. It dismantles shame not through slogans, but through rituals, rest and recognition. In doing so, Odisha offers a powerful counter-narrative to a world still hesitant to say the word 'period'. Through Raja, the State doesn’t just accept womanhood, it honours it. Openly, joyfully, and without apology.
