From the dawn of Makar Sankranti, the aroma of pithe fills the air. Everything around seems to hum with sweetness. There's tremendous hustle and bustle in every household. Mothers and grandmothers have already ground rice into flour the night before. From noon, that rice will be kneaded. Then the filling will be added. Finally, it will be boiled in pots or fried on griddles with sizzling sounds. Ah, heaven.
Sitting close to grandmother, filling pithe with stuffing. Meanwhile, sneaking a little bit into one's own mouth. This is the routine every year. But this time there's no school holiday. What to do? So the students of Kesharambha Vidyasagar Vidyabhavan in Dantan, West Midnapore, organized a grand pithe-puli festival right in the school grounds. And the teachers joined them with great enthusiasm.
And what a variety of pithe there was. What wasn't there! There was also a grand battle between fusion and traditional varieties. Fusion items like kadam pithe, golap pithe, prawn pithe, biscuit pithe, and chitai pithe faced off against traditional patishapta, dudhpuli, pora pithe, mug sauli, khirbhara, and satpuri.
It wasn't just a festival. Competition and business ran simultaneously. Who doesn't know that Lakshmi resides in commerce? How could there not be healthy competition there! Prices ranged from 2 rupees to 15 rupees. Sales were brisk too. The locals didn't hold back at all.
Eighteen stalls were set up in the school grounds. Students from fifth to twelfth grade sold pithe-puli there. Each stall had 4 to 5 students who managed the sales. Along with fusion and traditional pithe, mouth-watering winter brand ambassadors like carrot rasmalai, jaggery payesh, and khir malai were also present in all their glory.
The teachers also encouraged such activities by the students. They stood nearby with gentle smiles and gave great encouragement. The school's headmaster Ekkari Mahapatra had a broad smile of satisfaction on his face, "There was no holiday. So yesterday (Tuesday) we decided to hold the pithe-puli festival at school itself. I couldn't imagine such a beautiful arrangement would happen with just one day's notice."
Sanchari, Sanchita, Jagannath, and Debdulal's joy knew no bounds. As if they had won the World Cup. But then again, is winter pithe any less than that? In unison they said, "We made all the pithe at home. Of course, mothers and aunts also lent a hand."
The pithe-puli festival continued until 4 PM. Then it was like a fair breaking up. However, nothing was left over. Everything was sold out. Police and local administration officials were also present. They had special invitations.
Results were announced at the end of the day. Stall number 16 won. Ankita, Alo, Moumita, Amrita, and Krishna were present with traditional pithe. Pithe lovers bypassed Bengal's fusion varieties and placed their trust in traditional ones. But in the end, it was pithe that had the last laugh. And yes, Bengal's festival also smiled.
