Banaste dakila gaja..
Barasake thare asichi raja..
Asichi raja lo gheni nua saja baja..
With the onset of monsoon, this folk song instilled with love and little bit of pamper, resonates across every hamlet and echoes around the hinterlands of Odisha. Harbinger of fertility and prosperity, monsoon not only adds to the agrarian economy but also emanates the very spirit of festivity among the farmers. ‘Raja’ : a typical three day long Odia festival is celebrated throughout the state in the month of june, revealing the latent meaning of ‘monsoon’ and subtly correlating it to woman and womanhood.
‘Raja’ is derived from the word ‘Rajaswala’ which implies menstruating woman.From sanskrit words,‘Raja’ and ‘Bija’ are the two ornaments which bring generation. Natively, believed that just like a woman, Bhudevi(mother earth) menstruates for those three days and is offered ceremonial bath on the fourth day.The festival is celebrated phase wise, each day being relevant in its own way.The first day is ‘Pahili Raja’ followed by ‘Mithuna Sankranti’ or ‘Raja Sankranti’ that marks the beginning of solar month of Mithuna(Rainy season) and the third day is ‘Bhu Daaha’ or ‘Basi Raja’ when farming activities like sowing and ploughing are generally deterred, ensuing to the belief that this is the time when mother earth rejuvinates ! The fourth day is ‘Vasumati snana’ : dedicated to the ceremonial bath.
‘Raja Saja’ : The festival of embellishment brings relentless joy among girls and women as they dollup gracefully.They put on new attires, apply altar(a red dye) to the feet, kajal to the eyes, kumkum on the forehead and worship a clay block with flowers, incense sticks and delicacies in a single room that serves as ‘Raja ghara’ (house).They spend the three days of the festival there, make their beds on the floor of that room and stay engaged in various fun filled activities.Men are prohibited from entering that room. As a custom, girls are not allowed to walk barefoot, instead they wear footwear made up of banana stalk and refrain themselves from carrying out household chores.People can be seen indulged in indoor and outdoor games like ludo, carrom, cards and kabaddi.’Raja Doli’(swings) are tied to the branches of mango, banyan and neem tree. Young girls and boys merrily move with the decorated swings in to and fro motion against the rhythm of the wind singing ‘Doli Gita’ (songs) in chorus in colloquial language.The songs are not just for mere amusement, rather decipher the realities, experiences and processes of life in the form of anecdotes. ‘Raja podapitha’ (cake made up of rice flour) : is the most palatable and prevalently prepared dish during Raja and ‘Raja Paan’(Betel leaf stuffed with sweet condiments) is always sought after.
When puberty hits an adolescent girl for the first time, its an occasion of celebration in Odia families ! It’s a blissful moment for a girl who gradually turns into a woman and ultimately the life giver ! Raja festival itself is a promulgation that in a country where it is very common to seclude women from social life while they are menstruating, Odisha stands out of the crowd ! This is how the state breaks the stigma and drifts away from the taboo of ‘impure’ menstrual blood , thus embracing the very natural process.It calls for a new perception of wholeness : men and women are intricately intertwined, adorned with forbearance, parallel and consistent like the wheels of the chariot, together progress and prosper. Recently the Nation celebrated Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28th May with the notion “ It’s a life giving cycle: celebrate it !“ The festival of relations, Raja reiterates to rejoice one of the canons of the nature and ensures that such boon doesn’t ostracize the basic entity of our humankind !
BEACON ! 