Devdas Kapikad Inaugurates Aati Food Festival at Hotel ‘Simbly South’
Mangaluru: The Aati Monsoon Food Festival was inaugurated at Hotel Simbly South, Balmatta here on July 17.
The programme began by welcoming the gathering. Coastal wood actor and director Devdas Kapikad inaugurated the programme by lighting the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries on the dais. Later the Aati Monsoon Food Festival was inaugurated by Dayanand Kattalsar by pouring the dough into the jackfruit leaves.
Addressing the gathering Devdas Kapikad said, “For Tulu, we do not have a dictionary, we have to learn the language from our elders. Many children are hesitant to speak, they are addicted to English or other languages. Parents should insist their children to learn Tulu. Nowadays in Mumbai, youth are very much keen on learning Tulu. I have seen many youth compere in Tulu because they have an interest in learning the Tulu language. Tulu is a rich language and Tulunadu has a rich culture and tradition. In olden days during the Aati month, people did not get proper food to eat and were consuming fruits and vegetables. But now even though we have enough food to eat, we still remember the Aati month and prepare food which was consumed during that month”.
Devadas Kapikad further said, “Tulunadu means treasure because it is famous for Temples, food, hospitality and education. Even most of the celebrities including Sachin Tendulkar come to Tulunadu to offer prayers in the Temples. Popular Bollywood stars Suniel Shetty, Aishwarya Rai have great respect towards their hometown and they speak Tulu. Suniel Shetty specially speaks very good Tulu. The Tulu language has a good punch which is seen in Tulu Movies and stage plays. We can hear rib-tickling comedy only in Tulu movies. Hotels owned by the people of Tulunadu are famous in Mumbai and other countries. I urge everyone to speak Tulu and also teach their children to speak Tulu language.”
Artiste Dayanand Kattalsar speaking on the occasion briefed on the significance of Aati and also briefed on how people in earlier days were slogging to find food during the month of Aati. He also said, “Now people do not face any problems because of development. Today at Simbly South we have inaugurated the Aati festival which is very meaningful. By organizing such festivals our youngsters will understand the difficulties faced by our elders to find food during the month of Aati. Parents should make their children understand the plight of their ancestors, how they struggled to get food during the month of Aati. Our elders used to eat jackfruits, mangoes and whatever vegetables that were available during Aati”.
Speaking to mangalorean.com, Director of Hotel Prestige Simbly South, Damodar said, “From past four years we are holding the Aati Food Festival. The Aati month begins today and we have inaugurated the Aati festival at ‘Simbly South’. The food that was prepared in olden days during the Aati month, will be prepared this month for the Aati festival. I urge the people of Tulunadu to come and taste the special Aati food. Nearly 23 varieties will be available during the Aati food festival.”
The Aati Monsoon Food Festival will go on for a month and the food is available at a very reasonable price. People of Tulunadu who miss the Aati food can drop in at “Simbly South” and taste the variety of food prepared during Aati.