Weddings say a lot about a society and the people tying the knot. While weddings can be occasions for the young couples to rebel and show their progressive stripes, they are also an opportunity for couples to live up their one day in life. To most, austerity seems like a lost opportunity. In a society that strongly preaches that you marry only once, and divorces and remarriages are grudgingly accepted, most tow the line down to the last ritual because you do it only once;…Continue Reading “Marriage Rituals in Odisha: Tradition or Regression?”
Bhubaneswar did 2 protests yesterday. Some 100 people showed up. But that is not the only reason why I never disclose I am an Odia. Here are a few more reasons why I think being an odia is shameful: 1. Not a single progressive social movement after independence. Once a leader in dowry deaths, the trend slowed down only after law was implemented strictly. 2. The tribals are from another universe. Have you ever heard a single Odia raise issues of the tribals, deforestation and mining…Continue Reading “Ashamed to be an Odia”
Last time I was in Odisha, brand Adisha was making a lot of noise. I saw it first on social media and spotted an under renovation near Rupali Chhak. While I thought it was a new brand, I was told they have been around for decades. Unlike a Utkalika or a Boyanika, I had never heard of this Odia brand. But I guess that is set to change. My Koraput Coffee is straight from the store. The store is still being stocked. The cashier asked…Continue Reading “Odisha has a coffee now – Koraput Coffee”
A guest post by Sujata Dehury Yesterday, I called my uncle and my father in law and spoke to them about rice. They both became happy, sad, nostalgic-all at the same time. All these rice they and I (to a certain extent) grew up eating,are no longer harvested. Farmers have moved on to high yielding crops to avoid risk. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A friend informed that a group of farmers are doing a Desi Bihan Mela (an exhibition…Continue Reading “Heirloom rice varieties from Odisha”
The bus stand in Cuttack has a trademark soundtrack. A nasal voice on a loudspeaker warns you about jadu, kachu, kundia and advises you to use Tarun Ayurvedic’s Scabidol. This morning while we drove past, we heard the same advertisement. The billboards have changed – now there is a Scabidol, Scabigun and etc etc, all of them warning you of copycats. While the world does not need BTex lotion anymore, Cuttack still needs Scabidol on their inner thighs.
All of us know there is a massive hole in Odia food writing. I am not talking about recipes, I am speaking of writings that deliberate on cuisines, compare cooking methods and practices in different parts of Odisha as well as giving a historical context to what we eat. And, then there is the issue of exploring lesser known regions. The recipes currently floating are majorly coastal Odisha. Rarely something is seen from the north, west or south or regional variations in cooking. I have…Continue Reading “Appeal to Odia food writers and bloggers”
We called it Kolatha in Odia. As I came to know only recently, it is also known in North India, Kulath, it is called. I was surprised, I thought this dal was eaten only in Odisha, rather only in my village, in our sai, there is no equivalent term in English, may be clan. Anyway, the point being it is a very unglamorous dal. Moong was used in puja and on special days, arhar was, even then, a prized dal. Chana was the hardworking common…Continue Reading “Kulath Dal”
My first Punjabi lassi was in Delhi in 2001. It was that shop under the tree in Ber Sarai. We had just landed in Delhi a couple of days before, I was to join Dschool and a friend had to join IIMC. We were looking for a place for him. Anyway, the lassi. It came for 15 bucks, a tall steel glass, all white with froth at top. He kept it on the counter. I waited. I had paid 15 in advance, he was not…Continue Reading “Lingaraj Lassi, Bhubaneswar”
Odisha. Odias on my timeline may not agree. But as a friend just said, odisha is a majoritariant caste Hindu state. I agree. There are not enough Muslims in Odisha, less than 2% last I knew. The state has no culture of promoting intellectualism or liberalism. The Jagannath temple is the most regressive of all temples, the costal folks either don’t know or abhor the tribals and western odias. Odias are regressive and only seemingly mild because the dalits and tribals are in such bad…Continue Reading “Why Odisha will be next to fall for Hindutva”
I am the wrong person to write about temples. Because, I hate them. Most of them. At least, the ones with deities inside. I am indifferent to mosques and churches. Why? I have never been harassed in a mosque or hounded for money in a church. Actually, no one really cares when you are there in an Indian church. Apart from the peculiar Indian habit of leaving shoes outside, churches here are really nice, calm and friendly places. Mosques have ruled about shoes and head…Continue Reading “About Rajarani temple in odisha and a few others”
This has been one of my most favorite sweets since childhood. But I knew nothing about it, until I put the question on a food group. Seems, as I suspected, it is related to Mysore Pak. Mahisur being a local pronunciation of Mysore. The version in the picture is called honeycombed mysore pak, I am sure that is not the local term. Anyone know the local names, please let me know in the comments. It is made of besan (gram flour), same as Mysore Pak….Continue Reading “The mystery of Mahisur, Odisha”
This is called pakhala. There are other strange folk who call it by many other names, but those are all translations. This, though a fancier version of the original, is the real deal. The odia pakhala. This summer delight is the the perfect stick to beat the heat with. And, what a beating it is. This boy is the coolest star in tinsel town, everyone wants to be in the frame. The accompaniments can be mashed potatoes, crushed badis, laal saag, namkeen and cucumbers, deep…Continue Reading “Odia Pakhala”
Recently, there has been marginal rise in interest in regional cuisines. A small parsi starts doing well, a kashmiri place in Gurgaon draws crowds, South Indian means more than the dosas and idlis, Gujarati thali places run full houses, a quirky café that repackages regional dishes becomes chic. Bengali outlets in CR Park have always done well, so I will skip adding them to the list. All in all, it seemed a small tide was bringing in regional places to Delhi. So, I was really…Continue Reading “Mandaa, Hauz Khas Village”
We used to have a house in Salepur, home of Bikalananda Kar rasgula, the most famous shop in Odisha. My paternal village is nearby too. The rasgulas are sweeter, the syrup thicker and they last longer due to high sugar content. My favourite ones, though, are white tiny ones from Govindpur, a place near my maternal village. Between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, there is a small place known as Pahala. Almost fifty sweet shops on each side of the road for nearly hundred meters – this…Continue Reading “Pahala – The Rasgulla district of Odisha”