Sambalpur, Sept. 16: The people of west Odisha have started preparations for Nuakhai, the agrarian festival that welcomes the harvest of new crops every year.

The festival is celebrated with fervour in this region.

Nuakhai will be celebrated on September 18. The people of the region worship their presiding deities as a mark of gratitude for bumper crops, good rain and favourable weather conditions for farming. Customarily, each farmer offers the first grain of the harvest to the deity and then partakes it. Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur, Pataneswari in Balangir, Sureshwari in Sonepur, Sekharbasini in Sundargarh and Manikeswari in Kalahandi district are worshipped as the presiding deities.

The preparation for the festival begins a fortnight before with the cleaning and whitewashing of the houses. New clothes are also worn on the festival day. Because of the upcoming festival, markets here are flooded with customers buying items for Nuakhai.

Sambalpur city is buzzing with activities for the festival. People could be seen thronging shopping complexes and splurging in jewellery. Those residing outside the state have come home. They were also seen rushing to the markets to prepare for the rituals on Friday.

The village houses are also wearing a festive look, while potters are busy rolling out earthenware, which are in great demand during the festival. Earthen pots are required to cook the new rice, which is offered to the presiding deity.

"There is a tradition to cook the new rice in new earthen pots. In this age of aluminium and steel utensils, people here buy the earthen pots to cook the food during Nuakhai. The sacred rice is cooked in the new earthen pots. Even in the urban areas, people buy new clay pots," said local resident Satynarayana Tahakur.

"The festival is also a symbol of friendship, love and affection. Nuakhai in west Odisha is not a festival of any particular group, caste or creed. People of the entire region celebrate it. The festival promotes harmony, help, co-operation and equality," said Deepak Panda, another local resident.