I was quite thrilled last week to pin the state of Odisha on print media for Odia New year. Here is full article I penned down for Mint Lounge food writer. The abridged version is available to read on this link here. It entails the stories right from Assam to Kerala, Punjab to Bengal, about April being the month of bountiful harvests, abundant kitchens and time-worn food traditions.

The onset of the odia solar new year is marked by various strong beliefs and fables on the astronomical calendar and hence coined as Maha Vishubha Sankranti , Mesha Sankranti,  Meru Sankranti, Theki Basa Sankranti, Jala Sankranti and finally Pana Sankranti. Reverence to our Holy scriptures remains as the backbone of Odia Sanskruti till date.

I have inherited the deep legacy about Odia tradition and culture from my mother. There is also a sad underline feeling how the state is on the lee-ward side. It fails to receive its due because of several socio-economic subjugation. The iota of information is there all over the internet but its all muddled, scavenged and suppressed. It is a rich state etched with temples and glorious tales but yet so obscure. The most important failure at the core level is the feeble sense of regional pride and the lack of personified panache to represent the state on the national forum. So I thought I will share all that I know about the Odia New year through this write-up. The format requested was in the form of an interview and has some interpersonal questions. I just copy-pasted it into this post due to lack of time rather than rephrasing it into paragraphs.

Childhood memories

• What are some of your memories associated with Mesha/Meru Sankranti while growing up? 

My childhood upbringing was a heady concoction of Bengal-Odia-Bihari cultures. Born and brought in Jamshedpur which is hailed as another “melting pot” of vivid cultures evolving into a harmonious whole.

Earnestly thankful to my parents who picked up all the good of every culture and fed it to us which eventually distanced us from cultural polarization. The foremost memories for any festival or puja started with my mum checking the Panji which is the Odia calmanac. The Odia Solar new year is marked on the calendar as the start of solar month Mesha because the sun transits to the Mesha rashi from this day.

I remember dad erecting bamboo stilts on either side of the Tulashi Chaura (A lotus shaped pot for the Tulsi plant) then taking a small earthern pot and making a small hole at the bottom and inserting a straw (kutta) into the hole.Then hanging it on the stilts over the Tulsi plant. This pot is traditionally called the Basundhra theki. I would quietly stand beside him and see him work.

Next morning even before we got up mum would offer water or pana into the pot which would trickle down drop-by-drop over the Tulsi. This purpose of filling the pot is done every morning for the entire month in order to keep the soil moist and wet. Odia fables consider Tulsi as the personified form Maa Brundabati who was blessed by Lord Shiva to be reborn as sacred Tulsi.

Food & Prasad

• Can you tell me what were the foods eaten on the special day? 

Mesha Sankranti also marks the onset of the hot grishma ritu or summer season. Women offer Pana to the Tulashi and as Prasad to family and friends to quench the thirst in the intense heat of Odisha. A gesture observed from the yesteryears and that is reason it is also called as Pana Sankranti.

There is another important Prasad which is offered and that is the Chatua. Both Wood apple and Roasted Bengal Gram flour are coolants and widely consumed all over Odisha during the summers. I still remember my mother tirelessly working on extracting the pulps and making them in a huge vessel while we watched her in action.

• Are there any cultural anecdotes, traditions behind eating the specific foods?

Odia Sankruti(culture) is heavily derived from the ancient puranas and holy scripture Geeta. My own mother derived meaning from the Bhagwata Geeta at every major turning point in my life. In the Bhaviswa purana there is a paragragh about Mesha Sankranti which is referred as the Jala Sankranti. Bhisma Pitmah lay in the kurukshetra (battlefield) on a bed of arrows as he was awaiting for the time of Uttarayana yatra in order to leave the earth. He was craving for water so Arjuna the greatest archer shot the deep water-table beneath the soil with his arrow and then Holy Ganga (water) gushed out from the ground as a fountain and quenched the thirst of Bhisma. He was utterly pleased so he blessed the Pandavas and mentioned that going forward anyone who offered water to the thirsty on this day would be freed of his sins. Hence people offer Pana or cold water to the parched souls.

. Do you celebrate it in United Kingdom ? Please elaborate. 

Culture evolves with a change in geographical location, climatic conditions and religious paraphernalia availability. So we garnish it to match with our current circumstance. Over the years cultural amalgamation has created a new kind of harmony in our lives. A boxed apartment life takes away oodles of liberties, which an open layout enjoys. I choose food as the best instrument to celebrate my spiritual connect. Cooking and documenting my anecdotes on the time-graph have been my essential tools for enriching my kids with culture and quenching my thirst. Mid-April is the onset of spring in United Kingdom so it’s still quite early to feel parched so I always end up making Pitha (rice & black gram crepes filled with sweetened coconut and dry fruits) and Chatua because Sattu is readily available. I am yet to find wood apple in London though. Sigh!

Chatua & Pana Recipe

The traditional recipe of Pana starts with extracting the wood apple pulp. This is the intricate bit because its made of fibrous threads and gelatinous seeds. So mum would carefully extract the pulp by squeezing the pulp out of fibrous fruit mass using her fist. Here is a little trivia for those who have not seen a wood apple , I would like to share about wood apple. They are tropical fruits and they grow on trees which have thorns growing on the branches. So climbing these trees was not an option. Dad used to use a long bamboo pole with a curved hook at the end to grip the fruit and make it fall on the ground.
The fruit has a very hard shell hence the name ‘wood apple’ so standing under the tree is considered foolish for reasons obvious. Accidentally if the fruits hits the head it could cause serious injury.

The other important recipe is Chatua, the traditional chatua is made of Sattu (Roasted gram flour) diluted with water into a thick paste mixed with dry fruits like cashews, kakudi(cucumber), nadia kora (shredded coconut), raw mango pieces and sweetened with sugar or guda (jaggery). The interesting bit about Sattu is it can be a mixture of roasted gram flour, barley, wheat germ, puffed rice flour and dry fruits. But for me it tastes best when it is in its purest form which no additions.