The Hindu : Karnataka News : Food for the guests getting ready

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Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Food for the guests getting ready

Firoz Rozindar

Cooks have begun their work with preparing sweets in Chitradurga

AN ICING ON THE CAKE: Cooks preparing sweets in Chitradurga on Tuesday.

Chitradurga: The sweet aroma of dishes being prepared is palpable at the Government Hostel for Boys where nearly 100 cooks are engaged in preparing food for the participants of 75th Kannada Sahitya Sammelan.

Traditional sweets such as bundi, dry jamun, Mysore paak, and badampuri is being prepared to serve nearly 3.15 lakh people who were expected to attend the grand event to begin from February 4.

“Since we can preserve sweet items for days, we are first preparing them so that we get enough time for remaining regular food that will be prepared from the first day of the event,” head cook Sundar said.

While supervising the works, he told The Hindu that some 100 cooks, including assistants, were preparing sweet dishes since Monday. The preparation of sweets would be over by Wednesday evening. “Based on the requirement, the cooks would be preparing more sweets, but as of now, we are ready to serve at least 50,000 people,” Mr. Sundar said. Some 100 quintals of sugar and other ingredients for sweets had been stored.

Mr. Sundar claimed that in a day, 100 cooks could prepare food for around 50,000 people. While some 300 quintals of rice had been received, the four-day event might need over 300 commercial cooking gas cylinders, he said.

While sweets were being prepared here, around 1.30 lakh jawar rotis, 25 quintals of groundnut chutney, some 1,150 kg of mango pickle and 50,000 papads were prepared in Bijapur.

The contract had been taken up by a Bijapur-based Jyoti Pickles and Food Processing Industry. The industry had engaged some 120 women for preparing food items where each woman was said to be preparing 120 to 150 rotis a day. The industry was learnt to have prepared additional 15,000 rotis, besides the volume of order received. The food was expected to reach here on Wednesday to be transported in two trucks hired for the purpose, the sammelan authorities said.

Massive stage

Meanwhile, several of artists are busy giving final touches to the massive stage being prepared for the event. The large stage has been set up at the Onake Obavva Stadium, which is the venue.

Special attention has been given in preparing the stage, mainly to highlight the tradition and culture of the historic district.

The local artists with the assistance of Pratap Bahuroopi, an artist of Belgaum, are designing the background of the stage.

Mr. Bahuroopi, who has been designing the major portion of background, said that as per the format, the artists would be incorporating prominent monuments of the district.

“Monuments such as Fort, Gaali Mantap, Vani Vilas Sagar dam, besides the portrayal of Vonake Vobbavva and Madakari Nayak would be displayed,” he said.

While the central portion would have an emblem of the Sammelan, the portrayals of Jnaa Pith Award winners would be displayed on the either side of the central banner.

Mr. Bahuroopi, who holds the credit of creating such backgrounds in many events, including 71st Kannada Sahitya Sammelan which held in Belgaum, said that in the Belgaum sammelan, he drew portrayals of presidents of the past 69 Sammelans. Here, a huge 24-foot tall and 80-foot wide space had been used to create the background that would be placed on the large stage, which could accommodate nearly 100 people. The stage would be called as Ta. Ra. Su. Vedike while a large marquee being erected would be called Madakari Mahamantap. Durgadasiri Kala Sangha, a city-based private organisation, has taken the responsibility of preparing the blueprints of the stage

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