BHUBANESWAR: The traditional Odia dish, ‘Pakhala’ (watered cooked rice), a summer delicacy took social media by storm with Odias across the globe observing ‘Pakhala Dibasa’ on Tuesday.
It all started a few days back when individuals and social media groups posted pictures of bowls full of ‘Pakhala’ and its accompaniments, inviting foodies to observe the day on March 20.It got further boost when internationally acclaimed sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik posted a sand art on Monday. The sand sculpture post went viral within an hour.
Among hundreds of people wishing Odias on the occasion was US Consul General in Hyderabad, Katherine Hadda. She took to the twitter and wished Odias Happy Pakhala Dibasa in her tweet quoting the post of Sudarshan. Much to the delight of Pakhala lovers, she posted her tweet in Odia.Despite his busy schedule in Parliament, cine star-turned Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty took to facebook to post a message on Pakhala. Anubhav, who got a picture clicked in front of the Upper House with a placard carrying the message, wrote ‘I love Pakhala. Ama Pakhala, Ama Pai Amruta’. He wished all on the day. “Proud to be Odia. Happy Pakhala Dibasa.”
Along with numerous NRIs and Pakhala lovers from across the country, political leaders cutting across party line also tweeted the significance of the dish and its benefits. Rourkela BJP MLA and former Union Minister Dilip Ray tweeted, “Greetings to everyone on #PakhalaDibasa. An absolute delight and a rejuvenating dish for the scorching summer”. A blogger and digital media enthusiast from West Bengal Agnivo Niyogi posted an encouraging message on Twitter asking Bengalis to learn from Odisha. “Odisha is celebrating #PakhalaDibasa today. Pakhala is nothing but Panta Bhat! Beautiful how they celebrate their culture. Bengalis MUST learn....”
A tweet from a parody account of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja read: Wishing a very Happy Pakhala Dibasa To Lovely People Of #Odisha. 20th March Is Celebrated By Eating #Pakhala (made from rice) To Welcome Summer Season With Odisha’s Traditional Food”.Tweeterati also posted photos of people having Pakhala in star hotels in Mumbai and New Delhi citing that the increasing demand of the staple food and popularity of #PakhalaDibasa has made hotels in metros to serve the delicious dish.