Orissa villagers celebrate harvest festival Nuakhai

Villagers in Orissas Bargarh District today celebrated Nuakhai festival, which welcomes the new harvest season.

Remta (Orissa), Sept 16 : Villagers in Orissa's Bargarh District today celebrated Nuakhai festival, which welcomes the new harvest season.

As part of the celebrations, new grains are first offered to cultivated lands and deities before being cooked for self consumption.

In Remta village of the district, villagers gathered at cultivated fields to pray and made offerings to their crops.

"We believe that by worshipping our deities and offering new paddy to our lord, we will get good crop. Some worship with devotion to our deities and offer the new grains," said Sribatshya Pradhan, a villager.

Ahead of the festival, villagers whitewash their homes and put on new clothes for celebration.

"First, we clean our homes and clothes. We do the white washing. Then on the day we prepare 'khir' and 'puri' and traditional cakes with new grains then offer them to our deities. The head of the family does it, then he distributes the Prasad (offerings) to the other family members," said Purna Chaudhary Pradhan, another villager.

Agriculture is the means of livelihood of about two-thirds of the work force in the country.

ANI