Odisha celebrates ‘Pakhla’ thali with elaborate feasts

Bhubaneswar: Despite rain, people across the state celebrated World Pakhala Day with great enthusiasm on Wednesday. The day was marked by ‘Pakhla’ feasts and festivals.

In the Twin City, people and several organizations organized community ‘Pakhla’ feasts, hotels started ‘Pakhla’ celebrations, while social media platforms were busy with a large number of people posting pictures of their ‘Pakhla Pasara’.
Governor Raghubar Das and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted the people on the occasion and expressed their love for this delicious dish. Stating that ‘Pakhla’ has always had a special place in the Odia food scenario, Naveen wrote that the relationship of Odia people with ‘Pakhla’ is very old and it is a unique identity of Odia food diversity. He wrote, “Like every Odia, Pakhala is my favourite.” The chief minister had hosted a ‘Pakhla’ lunch for national leaders like then President Pranab Mukherjee, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, BJP stalwart LK Advani and CPI(M) stalwart Sitaram Yechury at his residence in 2018.

Similarly, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday posted pictures of himself on Instagram eating ‘Pakhla’ with Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Hairavansh, National Monuments Authority Chairman Kishore Basa and former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Pakhala is not just a soul food but an integral part of the cultural identity and culinary heritage of Odisha. Glad that more and more people are discovering the health benefits of this indigenous Odia cuisine and making it a part of their diet,” he wrote on the platform.

Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar also took to Ax to spread the word about Pakhala. He wrote, “The much-celebrated Pakhala Day is a humble tribute to this simple, yet potent dish, an elixir for the scorching heat.”
The initiative to celebrate March 20 as World Pakhala Day was started in 2015 by a group of Odias to popularize the traditional food of the state across the world.