Hill Fair: A taste of the youth festival

The Chittagong Hill Tracts cover one-tenth of the country’s total land area. After the July 2024 uprising, the energetic young people of the hills are in the throes of the wheel of change in the country. With the determination to build a beautiful Bangladesh, the hills and Bengalis are sharing joy shoulder to shoulder, maintaining good relations. The young people were at the forefront of the leadership of the July uprising. The youth of Bangladesh were awake, are awake, and will remain awake for the time being. Everyone believes that this young people will never let the sun of independence fade in the festival of youth. The Chittagong Hill Tracts town is participating in this festival of youth.

‘Come and change the country, change the world’ – everyone is now busy with the determination to build a beautiful Bangladesh. The young people and the people of the hilly regions are trying to unite in the mainstream of development in the continuity of the country’s development and change in the youth festival. The hilly youth are not limited to just Zoom farming and Puja Parvan festivals, but have added a new dimension to the beauty of the hilly region, education, culture, sports and the expansion of the Hilly Mela in the bond of harmony. The Youth Festival of the Chittagong Hill Tracts To give a gift to a small part of the hilly towns, the hilly Bengalis are busy decorating the stalls of the Hilly Mela at the Chittagong Hill Tracts Complex premises on Bailey Road in Dhaka from January 29 to February 1 of this year. There will be about 80 stalls including hilly products in this year’s fair. The Hilly Mela and Youth Festival-2025 are going to be celebrated in a festive atmosphere. It is worth noting that the fair will continue from 9 am to 10 pm on the 30th. Stall construction work is underway. This fair will become a gathering of hill people and Bengalis. There will be variety in the hill food menu for entertainment. In addition, cultural programs will continue from 6 pm to 10 pm.

The food culture of Bangladesh is diverse. The geographical structure and the food culture of different regions have enriched our food habits. Among them, the food of the hilly region occupies an exceptional food store. The proximity to nature and the easily available variety of food ingredients in the food of the hilly region have made the hilly food store creative. The hilly nature, weather, hills, mountains, rivers and springs, creepers, vegetables, fruits, the liveliness of green trees and the mixture of local traditions have made this region different from the plains.

The people of the hilly regions prepare nutritious, healthy and incomparably delicious dishes using fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, and spices mixed with various natural ingredients. This cuisine fascinates us and opens up a new horizon of taste.

The food menu at this year’s Hill Fair will include popular hill vegetables, natural spices, fish, meat and young bamboo. Boiled young bamboo, bamboo shoots, small fish cooked with bamboo and a mixture of vegetables will enhance the taste of the bamboo food fair. Bamboo chicken is a popular dish for the residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It is basically made with chicken meat, turmeric, green chili, ginger, garlic, coriander, salt, and other spices in whole pieces of bamboo. The hill chicken is mixed well with spices and stuffed into the bamboo and cooked on low heat, adding smoke and the smell of wood to the meat. The delicious meat bamboo skewer is ready when the bamboo shell bursts while it is on the stove.

At the fair, dried sea fish cooked with various spices and vegetables, tied cabbage, gourd, pumpkin, betel nut, potato, etc. will be served. The taste of cooking with hill potatoes, mixed vegetables, dried shark with brinjal, kathal, and beans is also incomparable. Pajan cooking is another traditional vegetarian food of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Cabbage, sweet pumpkin, betel nut, poon, radish, etc. are required to prepare this food. Another interesting cooking item is pajan. Food prepared with pajan does not require additional spices or oil. This daily necessity of the hills is likely to be present at this year’s fair.

Steamed or boiled Hebang food will further enhance the taste of the buyers interested in the fair. The use of little oil in these foods and the combination of various ingredients will make the food fresh and nutritious. Nappi food is made by processing dried shrimp, small fish and crabs, which is a popular food for the taste of the hill Bengalis. Hebang made of eggs with good spices will further enhance the attraction of the hill fair. In addition, there will be snail broth food.

At the Parbatya Mela, a grand event organized by the hill management will feature Tulshimala rice chicken biryani for everyone, including the capital residents. Its aroma will intoxicate the visitors to the fair. There will also be Sunny Pitha, Banana Pitha, Black Binni Rice Pitha, Laddu, System, Khangmoy, Bampo Suit, Ijor, etc. Boiled vegetables will bring perfection to the filling. Boiled dhenkishak, boiled cauliflower, boiled beans, etc. will be used to make fillings with chili, dried sidal, coriander leaves, onion, and salt. The dried bara pitha and turmeric flower filling will keep the filling lovers entertained all the time. There is no comparison to the hill fruits. Mango, banana, papaya, and pineapple will increase the appeal of the food lovers at the fair. There will be delicious sugarcane juice to attract the guests coming to the fair. Along with these foods, the stalls of the fair will be decorated with various colorful clothes for everyone, young and old, from the traditional hill culture weaving industry. The traditional clothes of the hill people, their own designed clothes, textile products and handicrafts will attract all kinds of buyers. Buyers will be able to shop here according to their needs.

It is important to mention here that those who have food allergies, high blood pressure and diabetes should participate in the culinary delights of the mountain fair with the advice of their doctor. The people of the hilly areas are accustomed to eating such mountain food that is in harmony with nature and the environment. These foods made from natural ingredients are delicious, nutritious and healthy. These mountain foods will complete the culinary delights. The diverse fair will become a festival of youth.