Bhubaneswar, June 13: When you find lively groups of women with perfect make-up and at least half-a-dozen shopping bags in each hand flooding the capital’s streets, you know Raja is round the corner.

Though the folk song for the occasion — Barasaku thare asichhi Raja — may not be echoing in the twin cities, the zeal to celebrate the three-day Odia festival dedicated to womanhood, which begins on Thursday, is evident here.

Sales and discounts at apparel stores, rise in the sale of fruits such as litchi, mangoes and jackfruit, and cultural programmes throughout the city, have created a festival feel.

Swings with their ropes decorated with flowers and hung from branches of trees are visible in villages in the vicinity of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. But within the city, hammocks have been set up on verandahs and balconies for women to enjoy themselves during Raja.

The markets are buzzing with the chatter of excited young girls, who have little knowledge of the festival’s rituals, but nevertheless believe firmly in Raja festivities.

“I have been celebrating Raja since I was a child. We used to observe it at my maternal grandparents’ house in the village,” said Lipsa Mishra, a college student.

“I may not remember the traditions of the festival, but I always wait for Raja, because it celebrates Mother Earth’s fertility and the spirit of womanhood. I love the theme of the festival,” she said.

Her friend Pragyan added: “Raja, to me, is all about fun, because I get to buy new clothes, wear alata and gorge on pithas (country cakes).”

Traditionally, women put up their on the three days of Raja — Pahili Raja, or the first day; Raja Sankranti, or the main day of the festival; and Baasi Raja, or the concluding day.

They eat paan (betel leaf), prepare pithas, play kowdi, dice and outdoor games such as puchi, wear make-up, new clothes and sit in swings.

“We used to make footwear out of banana stems as girls are not supposed to step on Mother Earth barefooted. The women and girls of the entire village would come together to sing, dance and make merry by making different types of pithas,” said veteran author Pratibha Satpathy.

In the cities, other than shopping malls and theatres, it is the hotels where there is a rush of customers. Many hotels have come up with special food festivals and are selling pithas to celebrate the occasion.

“We offer all types of pitha, as there is a great demand for readymade pithas in the cities. All our Pantha Nivas outlets across the state offer poda pitha, enduri pitha, arisa pitha, chandrakanti, monad pitha, kakara and chakuli pitha,” said Manoranjan Patnaik, general manager of the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation.