Pics: Spoorthi Ullal/Abhijith N Kolpe
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (KR)
Mangaluru, Jun 3: ‘Halasu Habba’, the jackfruit festival, will be held for the 6th year in a row, from June 3 to 4.
The public came together in large numbers to celebrate the inauguration of the ‘Halasu Habba’ at Balam Bhat Hall, near Sharavu Temple here.
Every year, this festival brings together people from all over Mangaluru, who share a common love for jackfruits, to experience the different varieties and delicacies this versatile fruit has to offer.
The festival was inaugurated following which the place was bustling with hundreds of people exploring the various stalls featuring mouth-watering delicacies like jackfruit chips, jackfruit seeds, jackfruit idli, jackfruit sheera and kheer, jackfruit gassi, jackfruit manchurian, etc. There is also a variety of snacks and packaged goods including oils, pickles, jams, bamboo rice, papads and jackfruit millet dosa mix, to savour and enjoy.
The jackfruit holige is the highlight of the event and a definite ‘must-try’. It is freshly prepared at the festival and a large number of people were lined up at the counter to savour this delight. In addition, various stalls selling jackfruit halwa and jackfruit ice creams attracted the people as everyone wanted a cool snack to beat the heat.
The festival showcases, mainly, three varieties of jackfruits, the Chandra Halasu, Rudrakshi and Yekadashi. One of the stall owners, who has been selling jackfruits to customers for over 10 years, stated, “The Chandra Halasu variety of jackfruit has more demand in Mangaluru. Here, there is a lot of rain and a lot of moisture, so the jackfruits don’t grow very well. If it rains a lot, the jackfruit is not very tasty. That is why they make papad and chips out of the jackfruit.”
A stall owner displaying his products said, “We have handmade natural soaps and lip balms. We have a medicine called ‘kula’ which is an antiseptic to heal wounds and is made from boiling and straining coconut water. We have homemade medicines for kidney stones and blood sugar. And we also have our own ice cream - mango, jackfruit, coconut, etc.
“Today, it is just getting started, the crowd is good, but tomorrow we are expecting more people. Please come and visit our products and purchase and support us,” he said.
This seasonal fruit is a favourite in many homes in Mangaluru and the festival offers the citizens an opportunity to encourage small businesses by buying their products, while at the same time, relishing and celebrating the jackfruit.
“I am very happy to come to the Halasu Mela. This is my third year coming here. I came last year too, but we did not get to taste a variety of jackfruits. This year we came and bought jackfruit and we are very happy to taste the jackfruit chips and jackfruit kheer. We hope that similar jackfruit fairs should be held more often,” remarked one of the customers visiting the festival.
The ‘Halasu Habba’ will take place from 7 am on Saturday to 7 pm on Sunday.