India, Sept. 15 -- Western Odisha came alive with festive spirit as people across towns and villages celebrated Nuakhai, the region's major agrarian festival that marks the ceremonial consumption of the season's first new rice.City & Local Guides

Celebrated a day after Ganesh Chaturthi during the Odia month of Bhadraba, Nuakhai holds deep cultural and agricultural significance in western Odisha. The word 'Nuakhai' comes from 'Nua', meaning new, and 'Khai', meaning to eat. The festival is seen as an expression of gratitude for the harvest and a celebration of prosperity, family and community.

In Sambalpur, the festivities began with the traditional offering of newly harvested paddy to Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of the city...