Odias unite to celebrate ‘pakhala’

BHUBANESWAR:  Odias across the globe united on Saturday to observe Pakhala Divas. From Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to youths and food bloggers, everyone got together to savour the flavours of pakhala on the day.

The Chief Minister took to Twitter to share a 2018 photograph of himself having pakhala with LK  Advani, Sitaram Yechury, Pranab Mukherjee and HD Deve Gowda who had visited the Capital city for the  launch of the ‘The Tall Man Biju Patnaik’.

“It is always a pleasure to relish Odia cuisine, especially my  favourite pakhala. Remember fondly the appreciation of guests from outside the State and country  whenever we served them pakhala”, he tweeted. Social media was abuzz with pictures and posts on pakhala with Twitter users attempting to trend the hashtag #PakhalaDibasa. 

While Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a message urged people to popularise Odia cuisine including pakhala, sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik created a sculpture on Puri beach to celebrate the State’s most favourite wholesome meal. Similarly, restaurants across Bhubaneswar hosted pakhala festivals on the day.