'Bisu' celebration rediscovered amidst new year festive fervour

The age-old  tradition of Tulunadu came alive at the traditional house ‘Guthina Mane,’ organised by Pilikula Nisargadhama Society in Dr Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama in Mudushedde, Mangaluru. The atmosphere was filled with festive spirit, on the eve of Tulu new year ‘Bisu’ on Tuesday.

‘Bisukani,’ a decorative arrangement of newly cultivated fruits, vegetables and other crops, was the centre of attraction at Bisu celebrations. The newly harvested crops were arranged beautifully, along with placing auspicious things such as lamp, mirror, betel leaves, arecanut etc.

All the products were grown in the fields and plantations in Pilikula.  Also, household devices such as sickle, grating table,etc were placed in Bisukani.

Dr Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama Cultural Committee President and Hampi Kannada University Former Vice Chancellor Prof B A Vivek Rai said Bisu marks the beginning of new year, according to Tulu calender which starts with Paggu month. Bisu signifies peace and prosperity. The celebrations are not only for display but also to introduce Tulunadu culture to the present generation.

Nowadays, agriculture is becoming less. Celebration of Bisu, holds a special significance with respect to agriculture. The celebrations are not for mere display but also to create awareness among youth. Prof Vivek Rai said that in coming days, efforts will be made to observe other celebrations of Tulunadu as well, at Pilikula.

Deputy Commissioner and Pilikula Nisargadhama Society President A B Ibrahim hoped that Pilikula Nisargadhama will become a cultural hub of Tulunadu, rather than only being a picnic spot.

Pilikula Nisargadhama has been observing Aati month celebrations from the last couple of years. Bisu celebration is being introduced from this year, as an effort to revive age-old tradition of Tulunadu. The Tulunadu culture is getting vanished today and people’s encouragement is necessary to preserve the heritage, the DC said.

Traditional lunch

A sumptuous and traditional lunch comprising of around 23 items was another highlight of the programme. During a sit-down lunch, typical Bisu vegetarian cuisine was served on plantain leaf.

The items were pickle, raw mango chutney, green gram kosambri, long yard beans palya, cashew and ivy gourd upkari, moode, green gram and pumpkin gasi, rice, tender jackfruit and long yard bean seed gasi, horse gram gasi, gherkins cake, pappadam, sandige, mango sasmi, cucumber sambar, brinjal boluhuli, majjige huli, holige, moong dal payasam, banana podi, breadfruit podi, sweet potato podi and buttermilk.  Prof B A Vivek Rai, ADC Sadashiv Prabhu and N G Mohan helped in serving lunch to people.

Rangoli contest

Rangoli competition was conducted for women on the occasion. Special coupons were provided to people at Rs 200, which was inclusive of lunch and visit to Pilikula biological park, herbarium, artisan village and boat ride in Pilikula. Hundreds of people took part in the day long celebrations.

Superintendent of Police S D Sharanappa, ZP CEO P Sreevidhya, MCC Commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, Vijaya Bank DGM Uday Kumar Shetty, Pilikula Regional Science Centre Director Prof K V Rao, Pilikula Nisargadhama Executive Director Prabhakar Sharma, Zoo Director Manjunath Bhandary, ZP Member Yashavanthi Alva, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kumar Kalkura were present among others.