Raja festival begins with gaiety

Bhubaneswar: The three-day-long Raja celebration began in Odisha on Friday with pepole ceberating the festival with great enthusiasm.

Girls celebrated the festival by wearing new clothes, applying mehndi in their hands and playing in the rope swings.

During this agrarian festival, in rural areas, farmers stayed away from agricultural work. On the other hand, youths in the city celebrated the festival by going for movies and meeting friends.

Almost all houses across the state had prepared Poda Pitha for the occasion as a special delicacy. Poda Pitha cake and Raja Paan were also the most sought after items in the market places across the city.

In several villages, youths played Kabadi in groups to mark the occasion.