Can you imagine of a family that still uses only clay pots in its house in this age of aluminium and plastic?
No. Then let’s visit to Sarita Panda’s house.
Sarita Panda, a social worker living in Berhampur town, still swears by clay pots for her kitchen. A peek into her kitchen will reveal that her kitchen doesn’t have a single item of steel, aluminium, silver, non-stick or plastic.
Be it a pot, or a water pot, frying pan, pressure cooker, plates, or glasses, all are of clay. The dishes used for dining are also of clay. However, for cooking and serving purposes, Sarita uses wooden spoons.
She also serves food items to her guests in these clay pots. She has kept a good number of such clay pots and plates in store for such a situation.
She believes her style of living is a step towards living a healthy life.
“If food items are cooked in clay pots and eaten from clay plates, it is good for health. Once try cooking dal in clay pots you can feel the difference,” asserts Sarita.
Echoing the same, Sarita’s husband Prof Debashis Panda says, “In the last seven to eight years, we have never fallen ill, except for clod and cough. So we have assumed it that using clay pots is good for our health.
Recently, a potter family, living in a nondescript village of Samara under Gudvela block in Bolangir district sent out a huge message for preserving the environment.
Chaka Rana, a potter, treated as many as 1200 invited guests with a grand feast on the occasion of his son’s wedding ceremony.
The most uncommon thing noticed in the feast was that different kinds of delicacies were being served to the guests on clay plates.
Water was too served in clay glasses. Not only that, these items were also cooked in clay pots. The guests heaped praise on Chaka for organising such a unique and environment-friendly feast.
“With the leaf plates and bowl have disappeared and our family business is on the verge of extinction, we took such an attempt to keep the tradition alive and at the same time, make the feast an environment-friendly one,” said Chaka.
Our modern lifestyle is inviting diseases. But Sarita’s kitchen and Chaka Rana’s unique feast are believed to go a long way in encouraging people to use clay pots.