Raja (pronounced "raw-jaw") is Odisha's festival of girlhood and of the coming rain, kept for three days around Mithuna Sankranti in mid-June. The earth is believed to be in her period before the monsoon, and is left alone: no ploughing, no digging. Girls and women are likewise freed from all work. They wear new clothes and alta, do not walk barefoot, and spend the days on rope swings hung from mango and banyan trees.
The story
The three days are Pahili Raja, Raja Sankranti and Basi Raja or Bhudaha. The fourth is Basumati Snana, when the grinding stone, standing for the earth goddess, is bathed with turmeric and dressed, and work begins again.
It is a festival that honours menstruation as the sign of fertility in both woman and land. The songs of the swing, Raja Gita, tease, boast and complain, and are made up as they go.
ବନସ୍ତେ ଡାକିଲା ଗଜ, ବରଷକେ ଥରେ ଆସିଛି ରଜ
The elephant has trumpeted in the forest: Raja has come, as it does once a year
A Raja swing song
How the days go
- DoliSwings of every kind: Ram doli, Charki doli, Pata doli, Dandi doli.
- Poda pithaA slow-baked cake of rice, black gram, coconut and jaggery, with a burnt crust.
- Raja panaSweet paan, eaten by everyone.
- No workNo cooking, cutting or grinding by the girls; no farming by anyone.
- GamesCards, ludo, kabaddi and all-night jatra plays.
Why this date
Raja Sankranti is the civil day on which the Sun enters Mithuna, and is the date shown here. Pahili Raja is the day before and Basi Raja the day after.
Raja in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Monday | |
| 2027 | Tuesday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Friday | |
| 2030 | Saturday | |
| 2031 | Sunday |
More Odia festivals
5 JulyRatha Jatraରଥଯାତ୍ରା
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaଅକ୍ଷୟ ତୃତୀୟା
14 JulyHari Sayana Ekadasiହରି ଶୟନ ଏକାଦଶୀ
20 AprilHanuman Jayantiହନୁମାନ ଜୟନ୍ତୀ
15 AprilRama Navamiରାମ ନବମୀ
18 JulyGuru Purnimaଗୁରୁ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମା
Where to see Raja
In Odisha
- Cuttack and the coastal districtsOdishaWhere the festival is kept most fully, with swings in every lane.
- PipiliOdishaThe applique village on the Puri road, whose bright canopies shade the swings.
- BhubaneswarOdishaThe city's parks hold Raja fairs with swings and pitha stalls.
Across India
- Kamakhya, GuwahatiAssamAmbubachi Mela, a week later, keeps the same belief: the temple shuts for the goddess's period.
- KolkataWest BengalBengal marks the same days as Ambubachi, when the earth is not dug.
- SabarimalaKeralaThe shrine opens for the first of the Malayalam month of Mithunam.