Celebrating banana festival in Mysuru to showcase its diversity 

Festival will be held from November 22 to 24 at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry 

A three-day banana festival will be held in Mysuru to celebrate the rich diversity of native bananas and underline the imperatives of their conservation.

Being organised by Sahaja Samrudha in collaboration with Akshaya Kalpa Organics, the event will be held from November 22to 24 at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry.

The event will showcase a variety of bananas, value-added products, banana fibre-crafts and banana-based cuisines.

Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samrudha said Karnataka is renowned for its banana diversity and is home to unique varieties such as Kamalapura Red Banana, Elakki Baale, Nanjangud Rasabaale, Kallu Baale, Naati Baale, Boodu Baale, Hampi Sugandhi, Sakkare Baale, Hulibaale, and Chukke Baale.

‘’Unfortunately, the arrival of commercial varieties like Robusta and Cavendish has led to the decline of native varieties,” he added.

“The event is being organised to create greater awareness among the public of the varieties and also give a push for their conservation,” said Mr. Krishnaprasad.

The world of bananas is all-encapsulating. Bananas are not only a significant part of the local diet but also contribute to the economy of Karnataka, with many farmers relying on them for their livelihoods, according to the organisers.

They vary in taste, colour, size. As the birthplace of bananas, India boasts of hundreds of varieties, according to Sahaja Samrudha which pointed out that in the forests of the northeastern States, wild bananas dominate the landscape.

The ‘Bheem Kal’ from this region grows to impressive heights, with its stems resembling pillars while Kerala’s ‘Sahasra Baale’ variety grows tall and bears 8-foot long bunch, while certain varieties produce small-sized bananas, said Mr. Krishnaprasad.

Among the participants in the festival will be a banana farmer Vinod Nair from Kerala, who has to conserved 550 varieties. He is expected to exhibit at least 75 of them during the festival.

Prasad Hegde from Sirsi, who has preserved 80 varieties, will bring rare saplings, which includes the 8-foot-tall ‘Sahasra Baale’, the world’s tallest banana variety.

Another banana farmer is Senthil Kumar from Erode in Tamil Nadu who has conserved more than 100 desi banana varieties and will bring 40 desi bananas for display.

On November 22 at 11 a.m., Bakahau Millet Adda and Abhay Natural Food Processing Unit will conduct a training session on banana value addition wherein farmers and entrepreneurs from Hunsur and Chamarajanagar will share their experience and will provide inputs. 

On November 23, organic banana cultivation expert and Rajyotsava awardee Shivanapura Ramesh will share his insights

On November 24, JSS Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Suttur, will host a children’s art competition and a banana cooking contest at 10:30 a.m. Interested participants can register by calling 94821 15495.

Published - November 20, 2024 04:43 pm IST