Mysore/Mysuru: The three-day Siridhanya Sambhrama (The Millet Diversity Festival) began at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry on Vinoba Road in city this morning.

The festival will be open for public from 10 am to 8 pm till its conclusion on Dec. 21.

As part of International Year of Millets-2023, Sahaja Samrudha has organised the event in association with Department of Agriculture, SWISSAID and Research Institute of Organic  Agriculture (FiBl), under the CROPS4HD (Consumption of Resilient Orphan Crops for Healthier Diets) Project. 

Rare Millet Varieties

As many as 1,000 varieties of traditional millets including Korallu, Same, Navane, Oodalu, Sajje, Haraka, dryland treasured crops of pulses, greens and vegetables are being displayed. It also shows seed diversity and food products and provides opportunities to interact with seed savers from different regions. The saplings of various fruit bearing plants are also being sold at the fest. It will be a unique experience for visitors from Mysuru and other cities, to witness such a kind of a festival that has some of the rare millet varieties that one has never seen or heard of — Black and Red Foxtail Millet, Red Jowar, Milky and Black Little Millet and the list is endless.

The traditional equipment earlier used in the households like cudgels, sickles, winnowing fan made of bamboo, winnowing basket made of metal, shovel among others are on display, at the entrance of the Choultry.

The make-shift kitchens preparing hot rotis in a range of plain, herbal to spicy is another attraction of the festival. The art of making Ragi Shavige (Vermicelli) will also be demonstrated. The ‘Finger Millet’ is a healthy cereal and this shavige is going to be a new way of using the cereal in one’s diet.

The instant and healthy food can be enjoyed for breakfast or on any time of the day.

Millet seed threshing is a drudgery for women and the threshing machine is here for all to see and try your hand at.

Sessions for knowledge

Sessions by experts in the field of millet production, seed saving, processing, by-products and value addition are also organised. The traditional ragi harvest — ‘Ragi Kana’ — which is a revival of an old ritual of harvest where farmers gather and heap their harvest of ragi and together celebrate the year’s bounty, can also be seen here.

‘Instant Foods’ that are simple, fast and convenient food, hygienic and ready to cook items like breakfast, health drinks and instant mixes of traditional products that are prepared with small millets and ready to eat  cookies, snacks, bakery foods are being brought to you from all over the State that is prepared by women micro enterprises, well researched range of products by University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dharwad, Small Millet Department, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru, Agro Enterprises, Institutes like Indian Institute of Millets Research from Hyderabad with their ‘Eatrite’ brand, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) from Mysuru have a range of products that can be bought and easily placed in your daily diet.

G. Krishna Prasad and Seema Prasad, Founders of Sahaja Samrudha and actor Akshatha Pandavapura were present.