The Swadeshi Festival , organised by the Gandhi Centre for Rural Development, that is currently on at Gandhi Bhavan in the city brings a touch of ‘green’ and a pinch of ‘health’ into lives of people in the capital city.
The festival is being held in association with the Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi.
The festival features more than 300 varieties of organic food items made from backyard plants and indigenous fruits and vegetables.
These items are made in homesteads in order to promote grassroots entrepreneurship and generate income for a large number of homemakers. The raw materials are collected from various households and are thus unadulterated and natural, say the organisers.
The best seller at the exhibition is the ‘chakka varatti’, the mouth-watering jelly made from jack fruit.
Health tonics made from nutmeg, Amla, unripe mangoes are also a big draw. Squashes made from jack-fruit, mangoes, and the outer cover of nutmeg are delicious and have many takers.
Available in ready-to-serve packages, these drinks can keep the body hydrated and fresh for a longer time, to beat the heat. Pure honey and many varieties of pickle and glycerinated oil, which are not available commercially, are also for sale.
It does not end with just food items, as anti-allergic cosmetics and perfumes made from natural raw materials are also the highlight of the exhibition.
Soaps made from turmeric and tulsi, pine oils, lemon grass extracts are all on sale at the exhibition, reminding every visitor about a lifestyle Malayalis have long forgotten.
Munnu Tomy Kallany
