Mysuru: Pulses have been the backbone of Indian cuisine, shaping its rich and vibrant culinary traditions. From the colourful beans of the Himalayas to the field beans of Tamil Nadu, the moth beans of North Karnataka, the lentils of West Bengal, the cowpeas of Odisha, the toor of Maharashtra, the horse gram of Andhra Pradesh, the moong of Madhya Pradesh, the urad of Uttar Pradesh and the valar papdi of Rajasthan — India’s pulse diversity is truly remarkable.

To celebrate this incredible heritage, Sahaja Samrudha, in collaboration with Vishwa Agro Tech and Bio Tech, is organising ‘Desi Dal Mela’ on Apr. 5 and 6 at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry in city between 10 am and 8 pm.

Akshata Pandavapura, winner of Best Actress (Female) award, will inaugurate ‘Desi Dal Mela.’

The event will showcase over 100 traditional pulse varieties, including rare and indigenous ones such as winged beans, lima beans, black and green chickpeas, rice beans, Himalayan beans and Vietnamese cowpeas.

Notably, the Gulbarga Toor Dal, which holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, along with North Karnataka’s Jawari Toor Dal, will be on display and sale.

Seed savers

Farmers and seed savers from across India will bring their unique produce.

Shankara Lunguti, a well-known seed saver from Belagavi, will present black chickpea, renowned for its medicinal properties in dissolving kidney stones, along with a rare green chickpea variety.

Devdanya Farmers Producer Company from Dharwad will bring black horse gram and other local dals, while a women’s group from Haveri will exhibit 18 varieties of groundnut.

Visitors can also learn about chemical-free pulse storage techniques from GrainPro. More than 25 stalls will feature organic produce, millets, seeds and value-added products. [Contact Suhas on Mob: 70900-09944.]