Participants at the 79th Akhil Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelan will get an opportunity to partake the staple food of the people of north Karnataka. The food committee of the event has planned to serve, among other items, jowar roti, groundnut chutney, curd and mango pickle, to literature lovers. “For the people of north Karnataka, even the mention of jowar roti and groundnut chutney, makes their mouth water”, according to the district president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat Mallikarjun Yendigeri.
The parishat is spending Rs. 1 crore on food to be served to literature enthusiasts.
Speaking to The Hindu , C. Sridhar, Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies Department, who is making all arrangements related to food, says that preparations are on to serve food to an estimated three lakh people, for which orders have been placed with various contractors.
While orders have been placed for three lakh rotis at a cost of Rs. 3 per roti, a philanthropist has agreed to donate one lakh rotis, and the Department of Women and Children Development has promised that it will get self-help groups donate two lakh rotis.
“Since north Karnataka is basically a dry area and most farmers reap a single crop a year, people needed a type of simple food that could be stored for a long period. The jowar roti came in handy as it could be stored for a minimum of six months,” said R.B. Desai, a writer and native of Bijapur. Mr. Desai said that even today many students and bachelors who reside in hostels away from home carry with them jowar rotis from their hometowns because they can be stored and consumed over many days.
“Residents of Talikot hobli will donate one lakh ‘Shenga holige’ (a sweet made out of wheat flour, groundnut and jaggery). The Karnataka Milk Federation will supply milk, curd and ghee,” Mr. Sridhar said.
The food committee has also planned to serve sweets on all three days.
