Nat’l Pitha Utsab ends

Visitors look at traditional cakes on display at Jatiya Pitha Utsab held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

The nine-day National Pitha Utsab jointly organised by Jatiya Pitha Utsab Udjapan Parishad and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on BSA premises ended on Wednesday.

Cultural affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor was present at the closing ceremony as the chief guest. Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy director general and also convener of the pitha utsab organising committee Liaquat Ali Lucky delivered the welcome speech at the event. Jatiya Pitha Utsab Udjapan Parishad president M Hamid presided over the closing ceremony.

Cultural personality Nasiruddin Yousuff, artist Mustafa Monwar, musician Rafiqul Alam, dancer and choreographer Minu Haque and actor Ilias Kanchan, among others, were also present at the programme.

This year’s National Pitha Utsab, which was the eleventh edition of the event, featured around 150 different types of traditional pithas and experimental dishes at 44 stalls.

Apart from the common traditional pithas like patisapta, bhapa, pakan, chitai and others, there were many experimental dishes such as Malpoya, Malai, Pata, Rosh Phul, Bhajapuri, Bou Pitha, Kola Pitha, Rosh Golap, Ilish Pitha, Jhinuk Pitha, Hriday Haran, Jamai Pagal and others.

Besides, the event also featured cultural performances like poetry recitations, traditional songs and dance recitals every day in the afternoon to the delight of the visitors.

‘I have tried many delicious pithas and experimental dishes at the pitha utsab. Besides, the cultural programmes featuring dance recitals and traditional songs added diversity to the event,’ Prethee Majbahin, a student of criminology department of Dhaka University, told New Age.

Pithas, traditional cakes made during the winter, has long been an integral part of winter festivities in Bangladesh and it has become a part of the urban life.

‘We have been organising the pitha utsab for the last ten years to promote the traditional cakes among the city dwellers. This year we held the eleventh edition of the utsab. Apart from satisfying our sweet tooth, pitha can also be a source of foreign currency earnings. There are various pithas which you can preserve without using any preservatives. Such pithas can be exported abroad,’ Khondoker Shah Alam, secretary of Jatiya Pitha Utsab Udjapan Parishad, told New Age. Medline Pubmed