(From top) Girls ride a swing, women offer each other paan and a girl takes part in the jhoti competition held at Rabindra Mandap on the occasion of Raja in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee and Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack/ Berhampur, June 14: Women across the state seemed to be going by the phrase, “Why should boys have all the fun?” while observing Pahili Raja or the first day of the three-day festival on Thursday.

The irresistible aroma of pithas, the fun of chewing the paan and the joy of enjoying on swings gripped the state on Thursday.

In the capital, women hit shopping marts and restaurants to spend their day with fun and frolic. Apart from going out in large numbers, girls were seen swinging at parks in the city where special arrangements had been made. It was business time for the pitha and paan outlets that had opened up across the streets in the city. Similarly, hammock sellers had a gala time, so did fruit sellers.

A number of cultural activities were held throughout the day on the occasion of Raja.

While the Badagada Bikash Parishad had organised Rajo Mahotsav with folk dance and Odia satirical poetry recitation, a film festival Basudha, dedicated to the spirit of womanhood, was on at the Bharati Vidya Bhavan.

Known for its Raja fervour, the celebrations in the millennium city of Cuttack this year too was no different.

Young girls, wearing alata (red paint for feet) and colourful tikas or dots in red and white on the forehead were seen playing traditional games such as puchhi and kowdi in different localities of the city. Women prepared podapitha and also played cards to enjoy the festival.

Beautifully decorated rope swings were hung from trees in and around the villages of the twin cities.

“Swinging is one of the major highlights of the festival and we love it. Rope swings are the best since they allow you a greater oscillation,” said Kavita Padhi, a college student. “Apart from that we love playing cards and ludo on Raja,” she added.

The most striking Raja celebrations were in Berhampur by 100 visually-impaired girls of a residential school managed by Odisha Service Centre for the Blind (OSCB) at Gosaninuagaon.

“I study in Class II in this school and everybody here enjoyed a ride on the doli (swings) at the Biju Patnaik Park on the occasion of Raja. It felt amazing,” said seven-year old Kakir.

“I joined this school 20 days ago and I am delighted to have got a chance to celebrate my first Raja,” said the girl.

The girls applied turmeric paste before taking bath and wore new clothes. They also put on colourful bangles, painted their nails and applied alata on their feet and henna on their hands. Then they were taken to the Biju Patnaik Park for the Raja celebrations on a special bus. They also relished pithas including kakara, arisha, podapitha.

Celebrations also began in the towns and villages in and around cities such as Puri, Paradip, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Baripada, Bhadrak and Balasore.

As a part of Raja fanfare and entertainment, the release of three films, all of them love stories, on the occasion has proved propitious for the producers as revellers thronged theatres.

Raja Jhia Shange Hoigala Bhaba, a film starring Arindam and Archita already opened last Sunday. Babushaan and Riya starrer Idiot hit theatres on Thursday along with Odia film industry’s latest couple Anubhav and Barsha’s Matric Fail – MA in Lovology.