Odia sweets make Oman debut

By Dillip Pradhan

Muscat: Women members of the Odia Wing of the Indian Social Club Oman (ISC) organised a traditional and authentic sweet-making event at the ISC Hall recently.

Draped in traditional saris, women members of the community had displayed over 32 types of sweets such as Chenapoda, Chenagaja, Rasagola, Chudaghasa, Rasabara, Labanglati, Khaja, Gaja, Khirsagar and rasabali in the event.

Presented with perfect texture and taste, these sweets gave the members of the community a home-away-from–home feel.

Addressing the gathering, lady secretary of the Odia Wing, Dipti Mishra, said, “Odias are very sweet people in all regards as they have a very sweet background in the field of sweet (dessert) and it is a moment of pride for every Odia in Oman to showcase the wide range of authentic sweets of our state.

“We make sincere efforts to organize events where we can display the rich background of our state in different fields. Last year also we held Pitha-making competition to promote our Odia cuisine and that was also a grand success", she added.

An interactive session was also organised where famous psychotherapist and corporate counselor Dr Nishat Shams gave tips on how to transform negative thoughts to reduce stress in life.

Another member of the Odia community Surjeet Dash spoke on rich background of Odia sweets and enlightened everyone with many less-known facts about Odia sweets.

Participant Pratibha Sahoo who had prepared Chenapoda was extremely delighted as she was lauded by all for her unique way of making the sweet.

Participant Banajoshna Das said, “I am happy that I prepared Rasagola, the most famous Odia sweet for this event.”

Kadambini Patra, who made delicious steam sandesh and labanglati said, “I am feeling fortunate to be a part of this grand show.”

Kabita Mohapatra who was a volunteer in the event said, “It was wonderful to see so many authentic sweets on one floor and that too far away from our homeland.”

Jayalaxmi Satpathy who made rasabali , a sweet which consists of fried patties of cottage cheese that are soaked in thick milk , said that the event gave her a nostalgic feeling .

Neelu Rohra, Second Secretary of the Community Welfare Wing of the Embassy of India was the chief guest, while Satyabhama Das was guest of honour and renowned personality Sangeeta Rach was special guest at the event.