“Ghore ghore pithe, anonde mete uthuk mon” – Let hearts be filled with joy with pithas made in every home.
For most Bengalis the winters are a dreaded time as they have to be hidden behind the monkey caps, three to four layers of sweaters and jackets, socks, and gloves and what not. Bengalis and seet (winters) do not get well together. However, there is something about the winters that make them smile. That is none other than the
- Pithas/patisaptas (jaggery coconut stuffed rice pancakes)
- Dudh pulis (rice dumplings in jaggery milk)
- Nolen gur payesh (date palm jaggery kheer)
- And, Melas (fairs/carnivals)
Nostalgia
My childhood memories of my mother making pithas and dudh puli is tinged with nostalgia. Back then, it would be an elaborate affair. A huge amount of milk and coconut would be accumulated the day before the grand fete – usually the Poush Sankranti eve.
On the day of Poush Sankranti Ma would be working like a true Dosobhuja (with ten hands) from wee hours of morning. There were two types of pithas to be made – half with kheer stuffing and half with coconut stuffing. While my father and I liked the kheer ones, Ma and my elder sister relished the coconut ones.
The real fun was in seeing the coconuts break and them being grated – we had to be extra careful not to let any brown skin go with the grating. While my sister and I grated them, we stuffed some into our drooling mouths. Some was also saved to be had with muri (puffed rice) and sugar later on – oh yes, this was a delicacy too.
As Ma mixed the grated coconut with the jaggery and prepared the stuffing, the whole house was filled with delicious aroma. This stuffing was common for the pithas and dudh pulis. For the kheer pithas, Ma prepared a separate stuffing by boiling the milk into a rabri like consistency.
Then came the most awaited part – while my sister put the stuffing into the pulis and turned them carefully into dumplings, my small job was to make the chosis (very small brothers and sisters of the pulis). This was a job I was very adept at as it was time consuming to make the chosis – in fact, I had mastered it so well that I was called upon my neighbourhood aunties to help them out. Although everyone enjoyed the majestic pulis in the jaggery milk, it gave me immense satisfaction to devour on the small chosis swimming around in the milk. What fun it was.
The fruit of the day-long labor were the huge pile of pithas/patisaptas – divided into two and the pot full of dudh pulis (not to mention the chosis).
Kalpataru Mela
Another vivid memory of the winters in Durgapur was the Kalpataru Mela. This was a huge attraction for us kids back then due to the Ferris wheels and sheer fun of gazing at the colourful spread of shops across the mela ground.
The Ferris wheel gave the thrill and excitement that we craved for the whole year long. Another of my favourites was the cotton candy – I looked in awe as the vendor weaved up tufts of candy from almost nothing. The hot pink color added more to the fun. Then it would be the part of eating it when huge portions of the candy would just melt into nothingness inside the mouth.
The memories of all the fun day long and then going home back limping from all the walk are still vivid in my mind.
To Date
Winters are still a nightmare for me, especially with Delhi ki Sardi. The only thing that brings back the fun and nostalgia are the pithas, pulis, and carnivals (as melas are known these days).
By Manjusha Dutta
Manjusha Dutta is a Senior Manager with a Software Insurance organization. A movie buff and an amateur dancer, she rocks in the videos that she creates for her YouTube channel. She can be reached at manjushadutta@gmail.com.
