Bhubaneswar: The aroma of ‘poda pitha’ wafted in the air in Australia as Odias living in different states of the southern hemisphere country celebrated Raja to ensure the generation born abroad gets a first-hand experience of Odia festivals.
Raja, a celebration of womanhood, was celebrated by ORIOZ, the parent association of Odias in Australia, at Canberra, Perth (Western Australia), Brisbane (Queensland), Melbourne (Victoria), and Sydney (New South Wales) in which over 1,000 Odias participated.

“In Odisha, we have innumerable festivals and our children and grandchildren who were born in Australia should know about their roots. So, every year we organise this grand community engagement,” said Manoj Nayak, president of ORIOZ and a scientist.
The festivities are confined to one day unlike in Odisha, where it is celebrated for three days. But this does not reduce their enthusiasm settled far from home. Women readied different kinds of pithas, particularly the ‘poda pitha’ which is synonymous with Raja, ‘chhena poda’, ‘kakara’, chandrakanti, dahi-bara & aloo dum with ghoogni, aloo chop and ‘bara’. The Odia delicacies were all cooked by participating women in their homes.
It was followed by a shared spread of Odia lunch, particularly mutton curry, specially made by community cooks or local restaurants. “Food was definitely the focus of the celebrations bringing back memories of childhood spent in Odisha,” said Rozaline Raut, the ORIOZ Canberra community lead.
All the meals were rounded up with the paan that is specially eaten on Raja amidst the dances to the tune of Raja songs. Different states organised Odissi recitals and folk dance performances too. “We invited Thai and Nepalese families to make the celebrations a multi-cultural affair,” said Bighnaraj Mohanty, the ORIOZ head of Western Australia and a chartered accountant. In Melbourne, the ORIOZ members had invited Dandenong city’s mayor Lana Formosa, Victoria Premier’s representative MP Eden Foster and opposition leader’s representative MP Ann-Marie Hermanns, said Amitav Mohapatra, state lead of ORIOZ, Victoria.
Besides the food, the ORIOZ members indulged in many fun-filled activities like playing cards, engaged children in different games, played on swings or just relaxed with loads of chit chat, following the Raja spirit to a T. “Many little girls wore the ‘alata’ preserving our tradition,” said Smita Samantaray, ORIOZ head of New South Wales. The best part was that all members were involved in organising the event in their own ways, said Chinmayee Mohanty, ORIOZ head of Queensland.

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