<p>Ahara mela or the food festival that began on a unsavory note due to lack of arrangements by the sub-committee, however turned out to be a roaring success, with foodies thronging the place.<br /><br />Though there were umpteen programmes in the city as part of Dasara, food fair may be described as the focal point with locals descending on the place along with their guests, who had come to be a part of the grand jamboo savari. While the ‘bele obbattus’ (sweet dish) that was introduced for the first time in the food fair was sold out within a few hours, people did not mind to wait patiently to taste the hot akki rotis and yennegayi palya.<br /><br />Davangere benne dose had its own share of dosa lovers and a Rajasthan stall - Shantilal Chaats selling pav bhaji and authentic hot jalebis attracted the young crowd.<br /><br />A line of stalls selling Dum biriyani, Bannur pulav, kababs including a stall KRS fish centre selling fish and chicken and prawns curry were jam packed with the cooks freshly preparing them and serving them piping hot. Apart from this, samosas, kachoris, bajjis, sugarcane juice and a lot more by the locals too made good business.</p>.<p> The organisers’ idea to have separate themes - Bengali, North Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karavali were the highlights every day.<br /><br />A variety of competitions were also held at the mela and the idli munching contest held on Monday, the last day of the food fair had a large number of participants not only from the city but majority being from rural areas.<br /><br />However, many felt that the mela should be held for a few more days as people would like to attend the fair on Ayudha puja day, which is a government holiday and also on Vijayadashami day after the procession is over.<br /><br />Hotel Owners Association president and chairman of the sub-committee M Rajendra told Deccan Herald lamented that the food festival had to be wound up to vacate the place to facilitate VIP parking for jamboo savari on October 24. However, at least from next year the mela may get a better place without any hurdles, at least for 10 days. <br />Apart from food lovers who can feast on a variety of dishes, traders can also make a good profit carrying home the windfall.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Ahara mela or the food festival that began on a unsavory note due to lack of arrangements by the sub-committee, however turned out to be a roaring success, with foodies thronging the place.<br /><br />Though there were umpteen programmes in the city as part of Dasara, food fair may be described as the focal point with locals descending on the place along with their guests, who had come to be a part of the grand jamboo savari. While the ‘bele obbattus’ (sweet dish) that was introduced for the first time in the food fair was sold out within a few hours, people did not mind to wait patiently to taste the hot akki rotis and yennegayi palya.<br /><br />Davangere benne dose had its own share of dosa lovers and a Rajasthan stall - Shantilal Chaats selling pav bhaji and authentic hot jalebis attracted the young crowd.<br /><br />A line of stalls selling Dum biriyani, Bannur pulav, kababs including a stall KRS fish centre selling fish and chicken and prawns curry were jam packed with the cooks freshly preparing them and serving them piping hot. Apart from this, samosas, kachoris, bajjis, sugarcane juice and a lot more by the locals too made good business.</p>.<p> The organisers’ idea to have separate themes - Bengali, North Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karavali were the highlights every day.<br /><br />A variety of competitions were also held at the mela and the idli munching contest held on Monday, the last day of the food fair had a large number of participants not only from the city but majority being from rural areas.<br /><br />However, many felt that the mela should be held for a few more days as people would like to attend the fair on Ayudha puja day, which is a government holiday and also on Vijayadashami day after the procession is over.<br /><br />Hotel Owners Association president and chairman of the sub-committee M Rajendra told Deccan Herald lamented that the food festival had to be wound up to vacate the place to facilitate VIP parking for jamboo savari on October 24. However, at least from next year the mela may get a better place without any hurdles, at least for 10 days. <br />Apart from food lovers who can feast on a variety of dishes, traders can also make a good profit carrying home the windfall.<br /><br /></p>