<p>R<span class="italic">otti Habba</span> is one of the few festivals in the state that herald the joy of weaker sections. <br />Naturally, it has strong connections with soil and physical labour. </p>.<p>In most parts of North Karnataka and a few parts of Telangana, South Goa and Maharashtra, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> is celebrated during Shravana, which falls between July and August.</p>.<p>Since it is an essential part of <span class="italic">Naga Panchami</span> festival, it is also known as <span class="italic">Rotti Panchami</span>. </p>.<p>The celebration involves preparation of <span class="italic">jolada rotti</span> or jowar roti, a flat thin bread made of sorghum flour. <span class="italic">Jolada rotti</span> has been the staple food in most districts of North Karnataka. Rotti is also called <span class="italic">bhakri</span> in some places. </p>.<p><span class="italic">Jolada rotti</span> and various other dishes are prepared using sorghum flour in Andhra Pradesh, South Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.</p>.<p>“Rotti Habba is associated with nutritional value, weather conditions and farming practices,” says Shivaputra Patil, a progressive farmer from Vijayapura town. </p>.<p>Affordability of sorghum seems to make it popular among agricultural labourers and socially and economically weaker sections. </p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Preparations begin early</h4>.<p>Women start preparing for the <span class="italic">Habba</span> at least a week before it is celebrated. Apart from <span class="italic">jolada rotti</span> (sorghum bread), they also prepare <span class="italic">sajje rotti</span> using pearl millet flour.</p>.<p>Black sesame is added to the flour while preparing the dough, as it is highly nutritious and keeps the body warm in the rainy season. Once prepared, the <span class="italic">rottis</span> are kept near traditional furnace so that they become hard, crisp and flat. </p>.<p>These crisp variants, called <span class="italic">khadak rotti,</span> can be preserved for months. As North Karnataka is a dry region, most farmers reap a single crop in a year. People, therefore, needed a simple food that could be stored for a long period. <span class="italic">Khadak rotti</span> came in handy as it could be stored for a minimum of six months, Shivaputra explains.</p>.<p>For the <span class="italic">Habba</span>, over a dozen <span class="italic">palyas</span> (<span class="italic">subjis</span>) are prepared using various vegetables. Palyas with pulses, grains and cereals as ingredients are also prepared.</p>.<p>The <span class="italic">Habba</span> will be incomplete without dry and wet chutneys, besides over half a dozen salads. Dry chutneys include <span class="italic">uchchal pudi</span>,<span class="italic"> agasi pudi,</span> <span class="italic">shenga pudi</span>, and garlic <span class="italic">pudi</span>. </p>.<p>Wet chutneys include those made using ridge gourd, red chilli, green chilli, tomato, coconut, brinjal and <span class="italic">karihindi</span> (a type of chutney prepared using various ingredients, powder and cucumber). </p>.<p>Fried green chillies, okra, bitter gourd and cluster beans are part of the course.</p>.<p>Greens are an integral part of the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. While some are cooked, fresh bunches of <span class="italic">methi</span> leaves, lettuce leaves, scallions, bunches of radish green, radish, safflower green, carrot, tomato, cucumber and cabbage are used for salads.</p>.<p>On the day of the festival, people throng the markets right from dawn.</p>.<p>“We buy whatever vegetables, leaf vegetables are available in the market for the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. We cook and keep them ready by noon,” says Shanthamma, a homemaker from Kinnal, Koppal district.</p>.<p>At some places, women visit temples to offer <span class="italic">rottis, palyas, chutneys and salads</span>.</p>.<p>After they are back from temples, they offer the same food to cattle and then set out to exchange food with as many houses as possible without considerations of caste and religion.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, they keep receiving the same food items from others.</p>.<p>Every member of the family, friends and relatives gather for lunch. They share <span class="italic">rottis, palyas</span>, salads and dry and wet chutneys prepared in different houses.</p>.<p>“Rotti Habba testifies the adage — the family that dines together stays together,” Shanthamma says.</p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Deep-rooted</h4>.<p><span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> seems to be a deep-rooted cultural practice to develop harmony with nature, besides fostering social integration. </p>.<p>Renuka Hiremath, a homemaker from Dharwad, views <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> as an occasion for people to bond over. “It keeps us connected to the members of society as we exchange <span class="italic">rottis</span>, besides feasting with family members, relatives and friends. The practice develops a sense of unity,” she remarks.</p>.<p>Every year she exchanges <span class="italic">rottis</span> with about<br />30 families in Mansur and Managundi villages of Dharwad district.</p>.<p>“These are people belonging to different castes, communities and religion, but we feel like we all belong to the same family,” she says.</p>.<p>“I’ve been an eye-witness to Rotti Habba for the last 80 years,” says R R Magalad, a retired headmaster in Alwandi, Koppal district.</p>.<p><span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> is an equaliser as well. People exchange <span class="italic">rottis </span>irrespective of their social strata. The basic purpose of the festival is to create equality, he adds.</p>.<p>According to Magalad, neither history nor religious texts have any reference of this festival.</p>.<p>“More than a religious practice, it is basically a social practice. People equate <span class="italic">rottis</span> with <span class="italic">prasada</span> offered at temples. Perhaps, it is the only festival that surpasses discrimination between the rich and the poor,” he says.</p>.<p>“The sorghum we harvest is of excellent quality. <span class="italic">Rottis</span> made using that sorghum could be stored for months. In the past, sorghum would be stored in granaries. About 50 years ago, we accidentally discovered a granary full of sorghum. Even elders of two generations didn’t know about it. The granary was over 100 years old. The sorghum was still fresh. We made <span class="italic">rottis</span> using it and celebrated the <span class="italic">Habb</span>a,” he recalls.</p>.<p>For Magalad, <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> is a classic example of social harmony.</p>.<p>Prof Tejaswi Kattimani, vice-chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkatnak, Madhya Pradesh, identifies Rotti <span class="italic">Habba</span> as a festival that strengthens the bond between the soil and farmers. “We worship <span class="italic">rottis</span> while celebrating the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. I always accompanied my mother when she visited the temple at Hatalageri village in Gadag district to offer <span class="italic">rottis to the deity,” Kattimani, who hails from Koppal district, says.</span></p>.<p>The practice of offering <span class="italic">rottis</span> to deities is in practice even today in many villages of North Karnataka.</p>.<p>For Kattimani, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> was launched as a cultural response to the festivals that are centred around rice.</p>.<p>“Poor people couldn’t afford to buy rice. They were dependent on <span class="italic">rottis</span>. <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> began to establish the superiority of sorghum,” he explains.</p>.<p>According to him, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> could be a centuries-old practice. It speaks volumes about productive capabilities of weaker sections.</p>.<p>“I believe that the <span class="italic">festival </span>existed in different forms since the time millets began to be consumed by humans. They did not just prepare, exchange and consume <span class="italic">rottis</span>, but revered it,” Prof Kattimani adds.</p>.<p>Cultural critic Prof Basavaraj Donur of Central University Karnataka, Kalaburagi, terms the <span class="italic">Habba</span> as a coalescence of cultures.</p>.<p>“The mass exchange of <span class="italic">rottis</span> should be seen in the context of mass culture. The festival has secular credentials as it is the result of the confluence of different types of cultures,” he explains. </p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Revival needed</h4>.<p>Change in farming practices and seasons due to global warming and the erosion of varietal diversity seem to have affected the <span class="italic">Habba</span>.</p>.<p>“We should explain the importance of <span class="italic">Habba</span> to the new generation. We should include festivals like<span class="italic"> Rotti Habba</span> in the curriculum,” he adds.</p>.<p>“We should promote <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> as it brings people of diverse social and cultural backgrounds on a single platform, where they sit and eat together. The <span class="italic">Habba</span> promotes socialisation which is crucial for a social order that leads to mutual respect and love,” Prof Donur says.</p>.<p>It’s celebration time in North Karnataka as people bond over <span class="italic">rottis</span> today.</p>
<p>R<span class="italic">otti Habba</span> is one of the few festivals in the state that herald the joy of weaker sections. <br />Naturally, it has strong connections with soil and physical labour. </p>.<p>In most parts of North Karnataka and a few parts of Telangana, South Goa and Maharashtra, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> is celebrated during Shravana, which falls between July and August.</p>.<p>Since it is an essential part of <span class="italic">Naga Panchami</span> festival, it is also known as <span class="italic">Rotti Panchami</span>. </p>.<p>The celebration involves preparation of <span class="italic">jolada rotti</span> or jowar roti, a flat thin bread made of sorghum flour. <span class="italic">Jolada rotti</span> has been the staple food in most districts of North Karnataka. Rotti is also called <span class="italic">bhakri</span> in some places. </p>.<p><span class="italic">Jolada rotti</span> and various other dishes are prepared using sorghum flour in Andhra Pradesh, South Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.</p>.<p>“Rotti Habba is associated with nutritional value, weather conditions and farming practices,” says Shivaputra Patil, a progressive farmer from Vijayapura town. </p>.<p>Affordability of sorghum seems to make it popular among agricultural labourers and socially and economically weaker sections. </p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Preparations begin early</h4>.<p>Women start preparing for the <span class="italic">Habba</span> at least a week before it is celebrated. Apart from <span class="italic">jolada rotti</span> (sorghum bread), they also prepare <span class="italic">sajje rotti</span> using pearl millet flour.</p>.<p>Black sesame is added to the flour while preparing the dough, as it is highly nutritious and keeps the body warm in the rainy season. Once prepared, the <span class="italic">rottis</span> are kept near traditional furnace so that they become hard, crisp and flat. </p>.<p>These crisp variants, called <span class="italic">khadak rotti,</span> can be preserved for months. As North Karnataka is a dry region, most farmers reap a single crop in a year. People, therefore, needed a simple food that could be stored for a long period. <span class="italic">Khadak rotti</span> came in handy as it could be stored for a minimum of six months, Shivaputra explains.</p>.<p>For the <span class="italic">Habba</span>, over a dozen <span class="italic">palyas</span> (<span class="italic">subjis</span>) are prepared using various vegetables. Palyas with pulses, grains and cereals as ingredients are also prepared.</p>.<p>The <span class="italic">Habba</span> will be incomplete without dry and wet chutneys, besides over half a dozen salads. Dry chutneys include <span class="italic">uchchal pudi</span>,<span class="italic"> agasi pudi,</span> <span class="italic">shenga pudi</span>, and garlic <span class="italic">pudi</span>. </p>.<p>Wet chutneys include those made using ridge gourd, red chilli, green chilli, tomato, coconut, brinjal and <span class="italic">karihindi</span> (a type of chutney prepared using various ingredients, powder and cucumber). </p>.<p>Fried green chillies, okra, bitter gourd and cluster beans are part of the course.</p>.<p>Greens are an integral part of the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. While some are cooked, fresh bunches of <span class="italic">methi</span> leaves, lettuce leaves, scallions, bunches of radish green, radish, safflower green, carrot, tomato, cucumber and cabbage are used for salads.</p>.<p>On the day of the festival, people throng the markets right from dawn.</p>.<p>“We buy whatever vegetables, leaf vegetables are available in the market for the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. We cook and keep them ready by noon,” says Shanthamma, a homemaker from Kinnal, Koppal district.</p>.<p>At some places, women visit temples to offer <span class="italic">rottis, palyas, chutneys and salads</span>.</p>.<p>After they are back from temples, they offer the same food to cattle and then set out to exchange food with as many houses as possible without considerations of caste and religion.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, they keep receiving the same food items from others.</p>.<p>Every member of the family, friends and relatives gather for lunch. They share <span class="italic">rottis, palyas</span>, salads and dry and wet chutneys prepared in different houses.</p>.<p>“Rotti Habba testifies the adage — the family that dines together stays together,” Shanthamma says.</p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Deep-rooted</h4>.<p><span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> seems to be a deep-rooted cultural practice to develop harmony with nature, besides fostering social integration. </p>.<p>Renuka Hiremath, a homemaker from Dharwad, views <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> as an occasion for people to bond over. “It keeps us connected to the members of society as we exchange <span class="italic">rottis</span>, besides feasting with family members, relatives and friends. The practice develops a sense of unity,” she remarks.</p>.<p>Every year she exchanges <span class="italic">rottis</span> with about<br />30 families in Mansur and Managundi villages of Dharwad district.</p>.<p>“These are people belonging to different castes, communities and religion, but we feel like we all belong to the same family,” she says.</p>.<p>“I’ve been an eye-witness to Rotti Habba for the last 80 years,” says R R Magalad, a retired headmaster in Alwandi, Koppal district.</p>.<p><span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> is an equaliser as well. People exchange <span class="italic">rottis </span>irrespective of their social strata. The basic purpose of the festival is to create equality, he adds.</p>.<p>According to Magalad, neither history nor religious texts have any reference of this festival.</p>.<p>“More than a religious practice, it is basically a social practice. People equate <span class="italic">rottis</span> with <span class="italic">prasada</span> offered at temples. Perhaps, it is the only festival that surpasses discrimination between the rich and the poor,” he says.</p>.<p>“The sorghum we harvest is of excellent quality. <span class="italic">Rottis</span> made using that sorghum could be stored for months. In the past, sorghum would be stored in granaries. About 50 years ago, we accidentally discovered a granary full of sorghum. Even elders of two generations didn’t know about it. The granary was over 100 years old. The sorghum was still fresh. We made <span class="italic">rottis</span> using it and celebrated the <span class="italic">Habb</span>a,” he recalls.</p>.<p>For Magalad, <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> is a classic example of social harmony.</p>.<p>Prof Tejaswi Kattimani, vice-chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkatnak, Madhya Pradesh, identifies Rotti <span class="italic">Habba</span> as a festival that strengthens the bond between the soil and farmers. “We worship <span class="italic">rottis</span> while celebrating the <span class="italic">Habba</span>. I always accompanied my mother when she visited the temple at Hatalageri village in Gadag district to offer <span class="italic">rottis to the deity,” Kattimani, who hails from Koppal district, says.</span></p>.<p>The practice of offering <span class="italic">rottis</span> to deities is in practice even today in many villages of North Karnataka.</p>.<p>For Kattimani, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> was launched as a cultural response to the festivals that are centred around rice.</p>.<p>“Poor people couldn’t afford to buy rice. They were dependent on <span class="italic">rottis</span>. <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> began to establish the superiority of sorghum,” he explains.</p>.<p>According to him, the <span class="italic">Habba</span> could be a centuries-old practice. It speaks volumes about productive capabilities of weaker sections.</p>.<p>“I believe that the <span class="italic">festival </span>existed in different forms since the time millets began to be consumed by humans. They did not just prepare, exchange and consume <span class="italic">rottis</span>, but revered it,” Prof Kattimani adds.</p>.<p>Cultural critic Prof Basavaraj Donur of Central University Karnataka, Kalaburagi, terms the <span class="italic">Habba</span> as a coalescence of cultures.</p>.<p>“The mass exchange of <span class="italic">rottis</span> should be seen in the context of mass culture. The festival has secular credentials as it is the result of the confluence of different types of cultures,” he explains. </p>.<h4 class="CrossHead">Revival needed</h4>.<p>Change in farming practices and seasons due to global warming and the erosion of varietal diversity seem to have affected the <span class="italic">Habba</span>.</p>.<p>“We should explain the importance of <span class="italic">Habba</span> to the new generation. We should include festivals like<span class="italic"> Rotti Habba</span> in the curriculum,” he adds.</p>.<p>“We should promote <span class="italic">Rotti Habba</span> as it brings people of diverse social and cultural backgrounds on a single platform, where they sit and eat together. The <span class="italic">Habba</span> promotes socialisation which is crucial for a social order that leads to mutual respect and love,” Prof Donur says.</p>.<p>It’s celebration time in North Karnataka as people bond over <span class="italic">rottis</span> today.</p>