Pune’s Bhimthadi Jatra

Jump to Comments

27th November, 2008; Agricultural College Grounds, Ganesh Khind Road:

Folk tunes rang out in the background as the buzz that emanates from any large gathering continued to rise and fall. Artistes performed a street play as people stood around and watched. Children tugged at their parents’ clothes, crying to either be taken to the mery-go-round and giant wheel or for some cotton candy. The mood was festive as it should have been because that’s what a Jatra is all about. The people who had come together in Pune weren’t going to let the ongoing terror attacks in Mumbai dampen their spirit.

Every year, self-help groups and small organisations from every district in Maharashtra come to Pune to congregate with their handicrafts, textiles, food, music and performances that culminate as the state’s cultural cauldron. There could be no better place to host such a culturally rich event than Pune itself.

If you were fortunate enough to visit the Jatra then you would have heard Marathi of several different dialects, Malwani, Konkani and many other tongues that one will seldom hear at one gathering. Dances and folk tunes from across the Konkan, Marathwada and Vidarba could be witnessed.

There were stalls in numbers that would drive one crazy – selling varieties of packaged food items, sarees, slippers, vegetables, lamp shades, board games and even rabbits! The sheer magnitude of the festival was awesome and the enthusiasm with which Punekars embraced the festival was a joy to watch and be part of.

The prepared food section had atleast 40 stalls from all over the state and we decided to indulge in delicious Konkani Surmai Fry, a full-blown Kohlapuri thali that included mutton, fish and very spicy rasa with bhakris, topping it off with some good old sugarcane juice – the Puneri variety. In our books, the food was certainly the highlight of the whole evening! We strongly advice our readers not to miss the next Jatra for anything!

Text and photos by KSN.

2 Comments

Filed under Culture, Festivals, Food

Tags: Pune Student Chronicle, Maharashtra, KSN, Marathi, Jatra, Agricultural College Grounds, Malwani, Konkani, Marathwada, Konkan, Vidharba, Surmai Fry, Kohlapur, sugarcane juice, Maharashtrian Cusine, Maharashtrian food, Bhimthadi Jatra