Berhampur, June 15: Ten-year-old Minati put on new clothes and was decked up like a little bride today. She is one of the 70 visually challenged girls at a residential school in Paralakhemundi celebrating the Raja festival.

The festivities began early in the morning. Girls applied turmeric paste before taking bath and wore new dresses. They also put on colourful bangles, painted their nails, and applied alata on their feet. Then they were taken to the Biju Patnaik park for the celebrations.

The Berhampur Development Authority had arranged for free passes for the entry of the girls into the park.

“All of us enjoyed a lot. Right from dressing up to visiting the park, it was a memorable experience for us,” said 12-year-old Pankajini Swain.

“We cannot see what a doli (swing) is, but that did not deter us from enjoying ourselves to the fullest on this festive occasion,” added little Mausumi Subudhi.

These children have been staying in this residential school away from their parents in distant villages, said Bhabani Shankar Padhi, secretary of the Orissa Service Centre for the Blind (OSCB), which manages the school.