Rajbanshi community celebrate Bhakka Piththa Festival

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Jan 12: The Rajbanshi community celebrated the First Bhakka Piththa Festival in Mechinagar for the first time on Sunday.

The Rajbanshi Samaj Bikash Samiti, Mechinagar, organised the festival at Itabhatta in Mechinagar–7, where participants prepared bhakka using 500 kilograms of rice flour.

Dinesh Rajbanshi, municipal chair of the organising committee, said the festival aimed to promote and preserve Bhakka as a traditional indigenous food. Chief guest Gopalchand Budhathoki stated the festival, organised with a focus on language, art, customs and cultural identity, would also contribute to tourism promotion. He said the Rajbanshi community maintains a significant population in the municipality, which is home to more than 25 ethnic groups.

Thirty Rajbanshi women from all 15 wards of the municipality prepared various bhakka dishes while wearing traditional attire and ornaments. The indigenous Rajbanshi community of Jhapa and Morang in the eastern Tarai has followed the tradition of eating bhakka for generations. Prepared from rice flour, Bhakka remains nutritious and tasty, which has increased its popularity across the eastern Tarai.

Since December, people from the Rajbanshi and other communities have sold bhakka in urban and rural markets, including Kakarbhitta, Itabhatta, Birtamod, Bhadrapur and Damak. Ward Chair of Mechinagar–7, Pralhad Oli, asserted Bhakka benefits health as people steam it using water vapour and add no form of adulteration. He added that Rajbanshi communities across the district have observed Bhakka day for the past nine years.  (translated from RSS Nepali news)