Bhubaneswar: Today, millions of households in Odisha are brimming with the festive spirit of Nuakhai — a festival that celebrates the first harvest of paddy and is marked with great pomp and celebration.
The literal meaning of Nuakhai is ‘Nua’ means New and ‘khai’ means eating.The new harvest crops are worshipped and people celebrate it by eating the first rice of the harvest together with their family.
Nuakhai Juhar is sharing gifts with your dear ones, wishing them on the occasion, and coming together as a family symbolizes unity. People leave behind differences and begin a new relationship afresh. In the evening, people greet each other by seeking blessings from elders.
This demonstrates the kind of unity, fraternity, and bonding festivals have in our culture. The festival finishes with folk songs, dances, drama expressing local culture and tradition of the various folds of society.
The objective of this festival is to celebrate social bonding and accelerate family ties. This day is celebrated by the farmers a day after observing Ganesh Chaturthi.
People who reside in different parts of the country come to their native places on this day to celebrate the festival by wearing new clothes, offering prayers, and preparing special food.
The festival has its origin from the Vedic period where the rishis used to discuss Panchyajna. The Pralambana yajna is the one that is meant for cutting new crops and offering prayers to the mother goddess.
This festival has been a tradition since the 12th century AD. People celebrate this festival with joy and happiness. The festival is celebrated by Chauvan Raja Ramai Deo at Patanagarh, which is now Bolangir district in Odisha.
The king understood the importance of agriculture in the economic development of the state. So he made sure to change the practice of hunting and gathering to an agrarian way of life in western Odisha.
The Nuakhai festival gives learning to the current generation about the relevance of agriculture and the role of farmers in the development of the country.
