Food festival in the forest

In the 1980s, Baripada, in Maharashtra’s Dhule district, had become a barren wasteland bereft of most of its forest cover. By the 1990s, the greenery had begun to reappear, owing to the efforts of determined locals.

By September 1, 2013, 10,000 Indian and foreign visitors gathered there for a unique food fair. The lush post-monsoon greenery on the rain-washed trees and shrubs provided the core ingredients for the food items. The villagers gathered leaves from the trees that on the hills nearby and using as little fuel as possible rustled up a number of dishes that were nutritious well as tasty.

Visitors to Baripada returned well-informed from the food fest. They had partaken of an unusual feast and had been told the names of the trees that had provided the leaves for a particular dish. They were told the names of the persons who had plucked those leaves and had been reassured that new leaves would replace the plucked ones in a matter of days.

Every year the villagers discover newer and newer species of trees that can make for yet another healthy, mouth-watering dish. So, regular visitors ‘taste something new each time.