A festival of greens

The Shak Pitari Festival, a community-led rural gathering featuring communal dining, art, songs and film screenings, was held yesterday at Sonapatila village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, aiming to transfer elderly women’s knowledge of wild leafy greens to the younger generation.

The day-long celebration centred on showcasing dishes prepared from foraged wild greens and related artworks.

The event was initiated by Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts in association with the British Council, aiming to preserve inter-generational knowledge of edible plants.

Joba Rani, 28, of Sonapatila village took part in the event with six dishes prepared from leafy greens, including Ghima Tita, Bathua, Dhekia, Dulfi, Hengsha and Kolmi. She said she collected the leaves from around her house and nearby barren lands.

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She said she has attended the event every year since the festival began in 2022.

Nosiman Begum, 50, and Rejina, 45, of the village also attended the event with several dishes, saying it gave them a chance to meet others and sample each other’s cooking.

Chowdhury Fardin, a student from Sarkarpara in Thakurgaon municipality, who visited the event, said, “It is hard to imagine an event centred solely on leafy greens. I counted the dishes, and there were 80 different preparations of cooked greens, most of which I did not recognise. This was the first time I tried several greens, including Ghechu, Shushni, and Shulkas.”

Speaking about the event, Salma Jamal Mousum, research and planning director of Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts, said,  “The current generation does not know the names or benefits of many of these greens. Through various activities at the festival, that knowledge is being passed on and promoted.”