Communities usher in New Year on a gastronomical note

THANE: From feasting on traditional vegetarian sadya and authentic mangsho and maach bhaat to binging on festive sweets like of payasam, kada prasad and mishit doi, citizens across various communities in the lake city ushered in the New Year on a gastronomical note.

As Sunday and Monday marked the beginning of the harvest festival across the states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab and the North East, citizens hailing from these regions went to great lengths to replicate the traditional festivities and food to stay connected to their roots.

Swarnendu Bhattacharya who celebrated the Bengali New Year with his family and friends on Monday said, “Staying away from our hometowns makes it difficult to stay in touch with our traditions. However, we make the most of these festivals to remind us of our roots.”

“While we start the day with prayers for the New Year, wearing new festive clothes and end it by attending Rabindra Sangeet events and other festivities, the main part of the celebration is the food. Dishes like mangsho and maach bhaat are an essential part of the feast, followed by sweets like rasgullas and mishti dahi,” Bhattacharya added.

Agreeing with him, Manpada resident Sashikumar Nair who celebrated Vishu on Monday, added, “We start our day by praying to Lord Krishna for the New Year and gifting the children in our homes. We then go on to one of the most enticing part of the festivities, which is the tradition vegetarian meal on the banana leaf or the sadya. We have over 17 types of dishes including vegetables, rice, sambars, khichdis, papadams and payasam as part of this meal.”

The Tamilian community, who had their Puthandu celebrations on Sunday, also topped off their festivities with a buffet of various types of vegetables including avial and French beans, rassams, sambars, rice and payassam to welcome in the new year.

As Sunday and Monday marked the beginning of the harvest festival across the states, citizens went to great lengths to replicate the traditional festivities and food to stay connected to their roots.