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Summer fete goes chic
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EVENT The Nishagandhi Festival was a big hit
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Food and fun: Ethnic cuisine from all over India Photo: S. Mahinsha
ALL ROADS led to Nishangandhi as people converged on the Kanakakunnu Palace grounds for the `Nishagandhi Festival 2005.' The fact that there was something for everybody at the festival is what saw the popular cultural venue teeming with visitors early this week. Besides dance and music recitals, there was a crafts bazaar, a flower show and a food festival. Visitors were treated to performances by folk artistes from different parts of India. The heat and the light showers failed to dampen the festive atmosphere.
What made it interesting was the manner in which the festival was spread out on the landscaped grounds of the palace. The contoured grounds featured different facets of the show. One hosted a crafts bazaar, another an `ethnic' flower show and the lowest level housed the food festival. Each level had its own stage for a performance by folk artistes. Those who came to attend the cultural programmes could walk around the crafts bazaar and flower show, have their fill at the food festival and watch the performance at the auditorium.
Handicrafts
The crafts bazaar saw artisans from different parts of India selling a wide range of handicrafts and clothes. Besides handicrafts, there was a huge collection of ethnic garments. Some of them were Chikankari, Bagh print saris from Madhya Pradesh, Kantha work, Bandhni, and Rajasthani block prints. Bright leather bags from West Bengal, beadwork wall pieces from Gujarat, footwear from Rajasthan, glass bangles from Firozabad, and mirror and beadwork bags added to the colour and mood of the festival. The stalls selling various potteries drew a number of buyers.
Teenagers made a beeline for the jewellery and garment stalls. It was a rainbow of colours and youngsters bargained for earrings, bangles and anklets.Various kinds of flowers were exhibited at the `ethnic' flower show - hibiscus of different colours, jasmine and `theti' flowers besides saplings of jackfruit and mango.
Food festival
After the crafts bazaar, it was the food festival that was the crowdpuller. Most of the major hotels in the city and its outskirts had put up their stalls, each serving a different kind of cuisine.
Tables and chairs were laid out in the open in front of the stalls; one could see tikkas, kothu parothas and tandoori rotis being made. The air was redolent with the aroma of all kinds of food, from biriyanis to tikkas and fish. For the not so adventurous there was Malayali cuisine complete with puttu-kadala and thattu dosa.
SHILPA NAIR
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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