Bhubaneswar, July 22: The spirit of monsoons is celebrated with festivals throughout India and just like Raja, the Odia festival of swings that announces the advent of rains, north Indian monsoon festival Teej was observed with fervour in the capital today.

Members of different communities joined hands to make the occasion a success. The festival was celebrated with a cultural programme at the Jayadev Bhavan today.

Teej is a traditional festival mostly observed in Rajasthan, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh when swings are tied to branches of trees and girls are seen swinging, singing and dancing. It is celebrated in the month of Shravan of Hindu calendar and revolves around the raas or youthful rejoicing of Radha-Krishna and their followers.

Women in rural areas celebrate Teej sing folk songs. This scene came alive on stage here during today’s celebrations organised by the Marwari Yuva Manch.

A vibrant and dazzling folk dance was performed by the Brajakala Foundation, a well-known Rasalila team from Mathura. The artistes enacted as Radha, Krishna and gopis. Wearing glittering attires such as ghagra-choli, the female dancers showed how ecstatic the followers of Krishna used to become during the monsoons. They showcased the Mayura dance wherein all artistes adorned peacock feathers and beautifully moved around the stage dancing to folk tunes from Mathura. Scenes of lathmar holi, another cultural festival based on similar themes, were performed by the troupe.

A dance drama that depicted the mischievous tricks of Krishna and his friends to steal butter and curd regaled the crowd. Women and children also performed various cultural programmes on the occasion.

“Teej is basically a festival for women and girls wherein we wear new clothes and celebrate swinging and having fun playing games and also singing, dancing and preparing special dishes. It was wonderful to see the same in Bhubaneswar today,” said Mina Agarwal, convenor of the manch.

Many families of the Marwari, Punjabi and Gujrati community of the city were also present on the occasion.