By Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 31: That a food court put up at the ongoing Adivasi Mela in the city would serve just regular fare and ignore tribal cuisine came as a disappointment to many visitors to the fair.
Most of the visitors said they came hoping to try out some tribal delicacies but were disappointed on not finding even one stall offering tribal cuisine.
Sanjeev Patra, a senior citizen who visited the fair, said there was nothing out of the ordinary at the food court. “I was expecting tribal fare, but no stall was selling any. There are food stalls offering dishes like arisa pitha, podo pitha, mixed vegetable pitha, and muri mangsha, but these are what we get to taste often enough. There is nothing new. If tribal delicacies like palua pitha, kangu kheeri and other such dishes were included, it would have been wonderful,” Patra said.
“Seven stalls have been put up inside the food court, with all of them selling mainstream fare. The fair is meant to promote the tribal way of life, but it seems tribal cuisine, a very important part of tribal identity, has been given a miss by the authorities. A couple of food stalls have listed tribal food items on their menus but the items have not made their way to the plate,” said another visitor.
For lack of options, visitors were seen relishing muri mangsha and podo pitha.
“I heard a lot about the famous muri mangsha of Baripada, so I tried the dish at the mela and it was really delicious. Since it is a tribal fair, I was also expecting to relish some tribal delicacies but I wasn’t able to find any,” said IT professional Rajiv Sharma.
