Sweet news: Special postal envelope to celebrate Joynagar’s ‘moa’
The Hindu
It will boost the business for highly perishable but delicious dish, say manufacturers
The moa of Joynagar — a region- and season-specific sweetmeat that is highly popular in West Bengal but not as universally celebrated as the rossogolla — finally appears to be finding its place under the sun. On Wednesday, the postal department will release a special envelope to celebrate this popped-rice ball that’s glued together with fresh date-palm jaggery and is exclusively manufactured in the town of Joynagar, near Kolkata, during the winter months. “There can’t be a matter of greater pride for us. The moa will become more famous now,” Ashok Kumar Kayal, founding secretary of the manufacturers’ association — Joynagar Moa Nirmankari Society — told The Hindu.Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”
The festival in Bengaluru is happening at various locations, including ATREE in Jakkur, Bangalore Creative Circus in Yeshwantpur, Courtyard Koota in Kengeri, and Medai the Stage in Koramangala. The festival will also take place in various cities across Karnataka including Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davangere, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.