Heritage Rice Food Festival & Exhibition in NAGERCOIL
Category: Campaign News, Rice Culture & WisdomRice is the staple food for three fourth of the Indian population.
Rice is not only the dominant staple food but also an integral part of our culture. In many rice growing states in India farmers habitually serve particular rice varieties for certain occasions. The immense genetic diversity in rice landraces reflects multicipility of nutritional characteristics. Therefore each rice variety has its own cooking character, taste and nutritional value. Rice varieties contain starch, protein vitamin and minerals etc. Some varieties are suitable for making rice (choru) some are for steamed food, some are for making porridges (kanchi) and some are for making snacks etc. and some are used even as medicines ( Navarai of Kerala, Kadudai Ownan of Tanjore)
Rice is mostly considered starchy staple food and is very easily digested compared to other starch food. Over the years, because of the changes in life style, food habits also slowly changed. Our elders know well how to cook rice without loosing its nutritious value and taste. The rice recipes in hundreds are different from place to place, but all are nutritious and healthy. Most of the recipes are not known to the present generation.
It is also felt that if the recipes are not popularized or if the people who are making the recipes are not encouraged, in due course our traditional rice food items shall vanish as traditional rice varieties disappeared from farm fields. Rice is not only our culture, but also our livelihood. Our elders treated rice as a spiritual commodity and there was no ritual without rice. From birth to death it was accompanying with us. Even now people use to celebrate “the first rice feeding to children” as a ritual. But today the things are different, people who do eat rice three times a day even not seen rice plants and even not thinking of the holy farmers who produce rice for our sake. Therefore making the younger generation a binding on rice and its producers is indispensable under the present contest of socio economic changes.
Considering the importance of rice and with a view to popularise traditional rice foods among younger generation who are nowadays mad after western origin junk food, CREATE and THANAL have proposed to organize Heritage Rice Food Festival and Exhibitions in various parts of Tamilnadu and Kerala.
As a part of the proposal, the first programme “The Heritage Rice Food Festival and Exhibition was conducted on 15-10-2008 at Women’s Christian College in Nagercoil.
District Collector Mrs. B. Jothi Nirmala inaugurated the programme and highly appreciated the efforts of CREATE and THANAL for bringing back the varieties and values of heritage food. In the exhibition in total 127 food varieties were displayed and listed for competition. There were 28 varieties of local rice preparations (choru) 8 varieties of rice porridge preparations, 39 steam baked food varieties, 6 types of payasams and 48 other varieties. The main condition of the preparation was that rice should be the major ingredient of the recipe.
In the exhibition 47 women groups including SHG, 20 individuals and 40 college students participated as contestants.
The exhibition was inaugurated at 11.30a.m and food items were displayed till 4’o clock. About 1400 persons both students and public witnessed the exhibitions and clarified the exhibitors that how to make the recipes.
Mr. Dharic, H.O.D of AJK Catering College, Coimbatore, Mr. C.S. Surendran of NALAN Hotel Management and Catering Nagercoil served as judges in the selection of winners.
Before the inauguration of the exhibition a formal meeting was organized. The principal of the college Dr. Cinthikeyal delivered the welcome address Mr. R. Ponnambalam, Managing Trustee of CREATE briefed the concept behind the programme. Dr. P. DuraiSingam, Chairman of Fedcot presided over the function, special guest Tmt. B. Jothi Nirmala, District Collector delivered special address. Dr. Jasmine Aasir, General Secretary of Nagercoil Women Consumer Protection Centre. Dr. R.S. Lal Mohan, Chairman Indian Trust for Art & Culture (INTAC Nagercoil Chapter) Prof. S. Peer Mohamed former chairman Fedcot, Rev Sister Lcy Jacob, District Coordinator of WSF, Mr. Ajithkumar Lal Mohan, correspondent, AJK Arts Science & Catering College, Coimbatore, Tmt S. Usha and Mr. R. Sridhar of THANAL, Mr. R. Sudersan, Senior Manager IOC Madurai, Tmt K. Prema Assistant Manager IOC, Tirunelveli and Dr. Selvi Devadhas project officer NSS also spoke on the occasion. In evening session prizes were distributed to the best contestants enlisted by the judges.
Since there was wide media coverage in Tamilnadu we are getting requests from Erode and Nagapattinam to organize similar type heritage rice food festival in their areas.
Mr. R. Ponnambalam
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