Swings made of nylon strings available in the market Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, June 10: With Raja festival round the corner, it’s time to enjoy monsoon winds oscillating on a swing.

Gone are the days when a rope was tied to mango or banyan tree branches adorned with different flowers and leaves with young girls breaking into impromptu songs.

However, the modern day Oriya girls are successfully managing to uphold the age-old tradition but with a twist.

To make things simpler, they are buying colourful readymade swings available in the market that can be tied at any corner of the house.

“There are hardly any trees near my house. To make a swing I’ll have to walk a kilometre. Who will waste so much time. It’s better I buy a Raja swing,” said Rupali, an engineering student.

Made of nylon cords, although these modern day dolis are not as durable and reliable as the traditional ones, these makeshift ones are good enough for the three days of Raja festivities.

These swings usually come in a combination of two colours — red and green, yellow and blue, yellow and red and so on. They come in two sizes. The 15ft long doli costs Rs 150 and the 7ft ones are for Rs 70.

On these hammock like swings you can either take a ride or lie on your back and have a good nap.

“It’s been four years that I’m selling these swings and the business is good here. Every year my profit increases by one or two per cent,” said Ramu, who has come all the way from Andhra Pradesh.

However, these readymade swings have failed to capture the eyes of our older generation.

They feel that the modern day dolis are half as attractive as the handmade ones and the new generation is losing out on the essence of the festival.

“Its disheartening to see these young girls always going for shortcut ways. If they do intend to celebrate the Raja festival they should stick to the rules and follow traditions accordingly, ” said 67-year-old, Pradip Mohanty.

Contradicting the age-old belief, the new and improvised Raja dolis are selling like hot cakes. Take it home either to celebrate the festival or use it as a home décor in your balcony, the choice is yours.