Shinni: A ‘new-age’ twist on Bangladeshi communal healing

My grandmother, whom I fondly called Bubu, used to bring us batashas -- a sugar candy -- from her visits to her homeland in Pirojpur, Barishal. She would tell us it was a tabarak or shinni, which is a sweet gift or grace from her visits to Holy places.

So, even now, the sugary memory of a white porous batasha is associated with the word shinni for me.

Shinni is the food prepared and served with love by any community for spiritual cleansing. The long-lost word popped up again recently when vegan restaurateur Faiza Ahmed of Shanchayita decided to hold an event called "Vi-rohana Shinni", or healing food, in Dhaka, on November 16, at Jatra Biroti. 

She stumbled upon this forgotten belief that if a community is in distress, then preparing and sharing a shinni wards off social, natural, and other disasters plaguing the people of that society. "I am strictly not adding any religious connotation to Vi-rohana Shinni. It is my wellness initiative to allow Dhaka people to heal their chi and let good energy flow around them," she says.

The essence of her shinni event is community healing, and she hopes Dhaka will pick this tradition from rural Bangladesh. Cooking a community shinni reflects the true spirit of Bangladesh -- diverse, yet united.

In one of her sojourns, she saw two elderly friends from two different faiths, preparing a big pot of rice pudding or kheer, as shinni, in a makeshift open kitchen under the village's favourite banyan tree, which is the regular place for all to convene and chit chat. This typical pastoral Bangla scene inspired her.

"What surprised me most was the purpose of this feast -- to bring communal harmony in the face of a major crisis. They pool their resources, cook together, and share a meal, hoping to bring positive change. I discovered that contrary to popular belief, shinni holds no religious connotations. It's a communal gathering, a symbol of unity, resilience, and the power of collective hope," explains Faiza Ahmed.

Faiza's feast will bring to Dhaka the cherished treat of Sylhet, Tusha shinni. It is a vegan dessert made from flour from any kind of grain, molasses or cinnamon-infused sugar syrup, and oil, then decorated with almonds and raisins. Puffed-up luchi, a flour-based deep-fried flatbread, and sweet paan supari will be the sides. 

This is community healing at its best. Just like it is done in the villages where everyone chips in with whatever they can contribute; this event is also taking place for the support from well-wishers with their time, talents, and resources, and Jatra kitchen and staffs to help cook the shinni.

Be there to soak in the positive energy from the moon beams. Candle-lit ambiance, with soft notes of flutes playing will set the perfect therapeutic mood for Dhaka.