BENGALURU: There’s much colour and celebration involved in Indian festivals. Even as food usually takes precedence, how many actually know the significance of the festival or even a dish prepared specially on the occasion? This book called Rtu Rasya is meant to decode the mythological significance of 18 festivals of all faiths.
The coffee table book was launched by the Federation of Industry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) women’s wing – Federation of Ladies Organisation (FLO), Bengaluru, chaired by Jyotika Kapoor Kalra. “We did not have a ready reckoner in the market for a book like this. Rtu Rasya is an exploration of the season, reason, tradition and the dishes associated with each festival,” says Kalra about the book, which was launched by DGP of Karnataka Praveen Sood.
The building blocks for the book began during July 2020 when an all-women’s team started researching, collating and editing the book. According to Kalra, the theme for 2020-21 was ‘Made in India’ stories. “The book is a tribute to our heritage with an emphasis on our festivals and related recipes. It is also a moment to celebrate our cultural lineage and help millennials understand their roots,” says Kalra.
The 278-page book is priced at Rs 1,500 and the proceeds will go towards various initiatives of FICCI FLO Bengaluru Chapter.The book explores the customs and significance of festivals, starting with a chapter on the upcoming festival of Ugadi and goes into the details of Lent, Ramadan, Deepavali, and others.
Sheetal C, editor of the book, is not new to writing about festivals, having previously written on Sindhi festivals. “We had to condense vast amounts of information available on Indian festivals into capsules for everyone to understand, especially the youth,” she says.
Moreover, this book also has myths surrounding festivals. “The book will contain what one should watch out for. We are also planning for a sequel to this book. Interestingly the announcement of the book happened during the Varalakshmi Puja day in 2020 and released on Holi,” says Kalra.