Bhubaneswar, March 13: Raahgiri is not just a stage for the talented ones, but also for long lost friends. No one knows it better than two young men Ananta Prasad and Soumyaranjan Mohapatra. And the good thing is that they are not the only ones.

Ananta Prasad, a 27-year-old social worker, bumped into his schoolmate Soumyaranjan Mohapatra after more than a decade at the ninth edition of Raahgiri here today.

Prasad and Mohapatra had last meet in 2004. While Prasad had turned up to conduct storytelling sessions for children, his friend was only a curious visitor.

"We were good friends in school but lost touch after passing out. I had never expected to meet him here," said Soumyaranjan after the chance meetings with his old friend.

Soumyaranjan, a bank officer is posted at Koraput, was in town on an official assignment.

Gayatri Kar, a schoolteacher from Jamshedpur, was no less lucky. The schoolteacher, in the city on a holiday, wanted to visit Raahgiri. What made her visit special was meeting her friend Partha Samal, a tour operator, at today's event.

"Both of us volunteered for a children's festival and had become very good friends. We kept in touch through social networking sites, but never got a chance to meet. I am really happy to see him again after five years," said Gayatri.

For Partha, such instances are a regular affair now.

"I come to Raahgiri every week and come across at least one or two old faces from school and college. It kindles old memories," said Partha.

It is not only youngsters, but the elderly people, too, are having the best of their times. For those who are not much into social networking sites, Raahgiri has given them a platform to revive old memories.

"We are not so technology friendly, so, we fail to keep in touch. My wife and I make sure to come here every week as we get to meet old acquaintances and friends among the crowd," said Rudra Prasad, a 67-year-old retired government employee.

Rangoli art and "Kavitagiri" were the highlights of the event today. Children, women and youngsters showed their creativity with colours and created interesting designs on Janpath led by Balangir-based artist Khira Sindhu Bhoi and Bhawanipatna-based artist Manas Ranjan Panda. Smart City, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and APJ Abdul Kalam are some of the themes on which rangolis were made.

Around 20 women poets also recited poems as part of "Kavitagiri". A cartooning workshop and a kiosk on rainwater harvesting structures and its benefits also attracted crowd.

Jai Odisha, a social group run by people from various professional fields, set up a drinking water kiosk named 'Jeevan Dhara' and supplied more than 200 litres of mineral water to the people. They are also associated with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to distribute cycles among the public during Raahgiri.

"This is for the first time that we are coming to the event. We have been reading a lot about it and were quite eager to join the fun," said Abhishek Mohanty, a college student who had come along with his friends.

To retain the original character of Raahgiri, which seeks to promote non-motorised transport such as walking, cycling, skating and other physical activities, authorities have decided to restrict music and dance performances to only Zumba that promotes fitness.

"Instead of two, only one stage towards Master Canteen was set up today to control crowd. Safety cones on the cycling track were put up for walkers and cyclists," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena. He said nearly 60,000 turned up at today's event.

Impressed with the act here, Puri is holding its own Raahgiri since last week. In Puri, a large number of people had gathered for the event that had peace as its theme this week.