Column | Window Seat

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee

Raja Festival

Raja (which literally means menstruation, and pronounced as Ra-jaw) Parba is a four day long fertility-festival that welcomes the agricultural year all over Odisha. Through biological symbolism it marks the moistening of the sun dried soil with the first showers of the monsoon in mid-June thus making it ready for productivity.

There are several legends associated with this festival. It is believed that the mother goddess Earth or the divine wife of Lord Vishnu undergoes menstruation during the first three days. The fourth day is called as Vasumati gadhua or ceremonial bath of Bhudevi.The term Raja has come from Rajaswala (meaning a menstruating woman) and during medieval period the festival became more poular as an agricultural holiday remarking the worship of Bhudevi, who is the wife of lord Jagannath. A silver idol of Bhudevi is still found in Puri Temple aside Lord Jagannatha.

During the three days women are given a break from household work and time to play indoor games. Unmarried girls decorate themselves with new fashion or traditional Saree and Alatha in feet. All people abstain from walking barefoot on earth. Generally various Pithas are made of which Podopitha,and Chakuli Pitha are main.People play a lot of indoor and outdoor games.Girls play swings tied on tree branches whereas aged ladies play Cards and Ludo.Many villages organise Kabbadi matches among young men.

It falls in mid June, the first day is called Pahili Raja, second day is Mithuna Sankranti, third day is Bhu daaha or Basi Raja. The final fourth day is called Basumati snan, in which the ladies bath the grinding stone as a symbol of Bhumi with turmeric paste and adore with flower, sindoor, etc. All type of seasonal fruits are offered to mother Bhumi. The day before first day is called Sajabaja or preparatory day during which the house ,kitchen including grinding stones are cleaned, spices are ground for three days.

During these three days women and girls take rest from work, wear new Saree, Alata and ornaments and indulge in fun and merry making.

Riding swings is one of the popular fun-activity during this festival.  The swings are of different varieties, such as 'Ram Doli', 'Charki Doli', 'Pata Doli', 'Dandi Doli' etc. Songs specially meant for the festival speak of love, affection, respect, social behaviour and everything of social order that comes to the minds of the singers. Through anonymous and composed extempore, much of these songs, through sheer beauty of diction and sentiment, has earned permanence and has gone to make the very substratum of Orissa's folk-poetry.

While girls thus scatter beauty, grace and music all around, moving up and down on the swings during the festival, young men give themselves to strenuous games and good food, on the eve of the onset of the monsoons, which will not give them even a minute's respite for practically four months making them one with mud, slush and relentless showers, their spirits keep high with only the hopes of a good harvest.

As all agricultural activities remain suspended and a joyous atmosphere pervades, the young men of the village keep themselves busy in various types of country games, the most favourite being 'Kabadi'. Competitions are also held between different groups of villages. All nights 'Yatra' performances or 'Gotipua' dances are arranged in prosperous villages where they can afford the professional groups. Enthusiastic amateurs also arrange plays and other kinds of entertainment.

Food is another important part of this festival. The special variety of cake prepared out of recipes like rice-powder, molasses, coconut, camphor, ghee etc. goes in the name of "Poda Pitha" (burnt cake). The size of the cake varies according to the number of family members. Cakes are also exchanged among relatives and friends. Young girls do not take rice during the three-day festival and sustain only with this type of cake, fried-rice ('Mudi') and vegetable curry.

Window Seat

Giving up on the Window Seat is a sign of aging.
- Anonymous
Did I tell you that at the age of 76 my mother still fights with her grandson/daughters and great granddaughter for the window seat on any train journey.

As my book Window Seat is poised for formal release, I realise the importance of window seat to provide you a break from the humdrum and drudgery of the accustomed scenes- and probably life.

Film Actress and Unicef ambassador Angelina Jolie once said, “Wherever I am, I always find myself looking out of the window wishing I was somewhere else.” Windows have that mesmerizing power to unsettle you, to make you wish for a change. Window in a way triggers and propels movement. Window eggs you on to explore the unknown. In a way it makes you rediscover yourself.

Plastic Menace

Ever since its conception in 1974, World Environment Day (5 June) has had a special theme relating to the pressing environmental concern at the time. The theme for the year 2018 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”, and is a call for individuals to take charge of their surroundings and realise the severity of using plastic in daily life.

 Nowadays, plastic is pretty much everywhere and besides creating litter the non-biodegradable substance is killing millions of creatures on the planet. What most people don’t realise is that a lot of oil is also being used to manufacture the vast amounts of plastic we use, causing further harm to the environment.

Cartoon by Aswini-Abani from Odisha. This cartoon has been selected for Special Prize in the National level cartoon contest on 'beat plastic pollution', organized by Cartoon Watch in Association with CECB in June 2018.

Here are some easy ways to cut down your use of plastic. Because seriously, it’s not fair that a fish has to die every time you go grocery shopping or a seed cannot germinate because you threw that plastic wrapper.
1. Say no to plastic straws.
2. Buy products that come in glass jars or cardboard packaging.
3. Carry your own water with you. Don't buy water bottles.
4. Carry cloth bags when you go shopping. Avoid plastic carry bags.
5. Avoid disposable products like plastic tea cups and glasses
6. Buy refills whenever possible. Whether it’s pens, liquid soaps, oil, or any other product, opt for refills whenever possible. With pens for example, instead of throwing away the entire pen when you’re done with it, you can keep the outer part and just replace the inner bit with a refill. Or better still use ink pen.
7. Switch to cloth diapers. A baby requires approximately 3,500 diapers per year. That’s a lot of plastic! Switch to cloth diapers instead – they can be washed and reused time and again, and are much better for your baby’s skin.

Water Crisis in Hill Stations

Shimla is reeling under severe water crisis. There are areas in the city, where there was no water supply for up to a week.  There have road blockades over this issue. Water is distributed under police protection. Local people are asking the tourists on social media not to visit Shimla in summer months. Its famous Summer Festival has been cancelled.

 The unusual water crisis in Shimla has prompted an unusual response from the state’s highest judicial authority. Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, who is heading the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s special bench hearing the petitions related to the present water crisis, paid a surprise visit to the four control rooms of Shimla Municipal Corporation and  spent almost the entire night there to ensure that water control rooms were functioning without any hindrance. 

Water crisis is raising its head in almost all hill stations. Rampant and unplanned building activities, excessive increase in population and increasing demand on water has resulted in this crisis, which will only grow in coming years- unless we plan properly and use water judiciously.

Song from Shimla

Crisis brings out different sentiments in men. Some get angry and do something outrageous. Some are outraged and try to get over the feeling by creating laughter. Here is a song, on the water crisis, which I got from social media, a parody modelled on the famous song Aaj Jane ki zid na karo, sung by Farida Khanum and later by Asha Bhosle, used as a background music in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding.

Aaj nahane ki zid na karo

Yun hi chupchap baithe raho…

Aaj nahane ki zid na karo…

Hai mar jayenge

Hum to loot jayenge

Itna pani piya na karo

Aaj nahane ki zid na karo…

(Don’t insist to take bath. Just sit like that. Don’t even drink much water.)

Tailpiece: Why one paisa rise?

Reporter: Sir, Why only 1 paise reduction in Petrol- Diesel prices ? 

Arun Jaitley: I  was deeply inspired to do so after listening to the song... "Gareebo ki suno, woh tumhari sunega , tum 1 paisa doge, wo das lakh dega ....!

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The author a journalist turned media academician lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He also writes fiction. English translation of his Odia novel Shakti and compilation of his columns titled Window Seat is being released during Kalinga Literature Festival, Bhubaneswar this week.

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This column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based English daily Sikkim times and www.orissadiary.com

10.6.18