Shrestha Odiani contestants work on jhotis in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, April 3: The annual Odia pageant to identify and felicitate women who have thorough knowledge of Odia culture, the ‘Shrestha Odiani’ contest, has begun. The event that commenced on Utkal Diwas at Ekamra Haat, will continue throughout April.

Hosted by Sambhabana, a local organisation, the ninth edition of this pageant includes 12 different segments for the contestants who can choose their segments.

The first day saw two of the contests based on traditional cultural activities that Odia women were adept at. These are jhoti – the intricate designs made on floor with rice paste and the other one was puraana abruti or reading out the mythological texts in Odia in the perfect traditional tunes and styles.

On Tuesday, more than 60 women in the age group of 24 to 62 gathered at Ekamra Haat to display their skills of traditional art and decorated the amphitheatre gallery and floor of the venue with striking jhoti patterns. Later, they sat in groups to recite in turns, stanzas from purana couplets.

“It is a matter of pride to make yourself proficient in the amazing elements of your culture. There are sevaral traditional games in the Odia culture that younger generations of women are unaware of. We used to love these as young girls,” said 62-year-old Lobhabala Das.

Organiser Deba Prasad Parja said that each segment had attracted between 60 and 70 contestants.

“Last year, we had Odia women from other states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka taking part. But this time, the overall numbers are high as apart from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack women, we have many participants from Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Puri, Ganjam, Sambalpur and Jajpur,” he said.

The next rounds will be held on April 6, 7 and 8 when the competitors will cook traditional recipes such as pithas (country cakes) and other Odia delicacies.

There will also be paana bhanga or packing the betel leaf perfectly.

In the final session from April 11 to 14, the contestants will be judged on their sense of besa or dressing up as the perfect Odia woman with the right way of wearing the sari and accessories such as alata, nose and ear rings, anklet and so on. Other contests during this phase will conch blowing and hulahuli contests.

The results will be announced on April 28 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Odia pioneer Madhusudan Das.