Hela Viru Rasa Udanaya 2014:

Reviving tastes of a bygone era

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana reporting from Nuwara Eliya

Pan fresh food to titillate one's taste buds

The mouth-watering Jaffna stall

A Bonjo bands that entertained the crowds

Foreigners enjoying corn on the cob

"Suwandai muwe mal peni, nethangin hele nilmini, Maa jeewithe pana weni, nelwen duwe roshini..."

These beautiful musical notes of Sumith Ahangama played by many bongo bands simultaneously was the welcome anthem that was gently brought to our ears by the cool breeze that wafted in Nuwara Eliya, when we stepped into the first ever authentic food festival in the country organised by the Sri Lanka Army.

Having the picturesque Gregory Lake in the backdrop, the multiple stalls set up on the meadow served hot and spicy exquisite cuisines of all time the country had ever produced. The atmosphere was filled with the fine aroma of warm food being served every minute. It was mouth- watering and of course inviting to try a bite.

A cup of warm Belimal or Ranawara to rejuvenate the burnt out energy in this cool climate or a chilled mug of beer to back the traditionally grilled slice of piping hot fish or boiled corn were ideal beverages to go with the sweet and spicy delicacies to be displayed at each stall. In other words, Hela Viru Rasa Udanaya was a haven for both local and foreign foodaholics who happened to visit Nuwara Eliya this new year season.

The authentic food festival commenced on April 15 and was held for eight days running, attracting over a crowd of 93, 000 from many parts of the country, from 12.00 noon to 10.00pm everyday. The intention of this festival was to revive the unique Sri Lankan food culture that is being slowly and steadily ignored and forgotten by many of us. A nation's culture is preserved by virtue of many aspects. One of the main identities of the uniqueness of a civilisation is the authentic food of that particular country or region.

When a country has a unique food culture, different parts of that same country has different varieties of food cultures. But with the passing of time, many of these food varieties are forgotten by people who would invent and embrace newer cuisine.

Major General Udaya Medawala, Commander of Security Forces Headquarters Central, who was the main person behind this one- of- a- kind food festival said that it is not only for the first time in Sri Lanka but perhaps for the first time in the world, a country's Army has organised such programs to reintroduce and promote authentic and heritage foods of that particular country. Unlike many big countries, Sri Lanka being a small island has a rich diversity in its nine provinces which is climatically and culturally unique features. Likewise, the food belonging to each of these provinces also differ from each other. Another aim of this program was to gather hundreds of varieties of such food in one place, which would be a rare experience not only for eager tourists but also for exploring locals.

Reintroducing these typical foods of different provinces was not an easy task as the military had to do lot of homework prior to the exhibition. Different regiments and brigades in each province had to do research for several months prior to the event as to enlist and find the heritage foods of that respective province and their recipes. This was a tricky business as many old dishes which are hardly to be seen nowadays, were known only by a handful of senior citizens in those areas. Army Chefs and food researches had to meet these people to get the recipes and to learn how to prepare them. Hundred and eighty carefully selected chefs of each regiment and brigade covering all the provinces and main cities were summoned to cook food for the festival which were displayed in different stalls in a colourful manner.

There were nine main stalls belonging to the respective provinces named in a unique and attracting way. The Western Province stall was named as 'The place that creates many flavours', Central Province - 'Flavours of the Hill Country', Uva Province - 'The aromas of Wellassa', Sabaragamuwa Province - 'Flavoursome cuisines from Sabaragamuwa', North Western Province - 'The diverse flavours of fertile Wayamba', Eastern Province - 'Cuisines from the land of the rising sun', Southern Province - 'Local flavours of the south', North Central Province - 'The distinctive taste of the reservoir rich land' and Northern Province - 'A range of flavours amidst Palmyrah Palms'.

Not only foreign tourists from the West but even the locals were amazed to learn that there were over 600 types of foods being displayed at each of these varied stalls. It was also interesting to note that the festival was enriched with all types food found in Sri Lanka, from different varieties of rare rice dishes and vegetable and fish and meat curries to rare yams and grains to exquisite sweet desert delicacies hardly found on the rural Sinhala and Hindu New Year domestic food table to popular burgers and fries and Mediterranean specialities found in Colombo and its suburbs. From not very common foods found in the urban areas like Thalapa, Anama and uncommon names like Bondi Aluwa and Patta Dodol from Hambantota as well as Midi Wedi from Mannar were some striking specialities.

People were busy trying out the various food types with their desired drinks of that nature. Something which the organisers noticed was that there were different trends in trying different foods depending on the age categories. Most of the youth were y attracted to urbanised western food like burgers, sausages and French Fries whereas the middle aged groups always wanted to try something new and rare from each province. The older visitors depend on authentic food that originate from their own areas.

There were many fun- filled activities to entertain the foodaholics arriving in droves .

A carnival atmosphere prevailed, evening musical shows the large beer garden and not forgetting the unique feature of all, the Bongo Bands entertained the crowds that thronged the venue.

There were 44 military Bongo Bands from all Corps of which 22 bands played everyday. It was a distinctive feature t watch all 22 bands play the same song simultaneously scattered across the food festival giving a novel musical experience to those who indulged in the delicious and delectable food.

Following the success of the food festival. the Army is planning to hold this as an annual national event and include it in the Army calendar. The first festival was held in Nuwara Eliya as it is the top destination of many during the Sinhala and Hindu new year holidays.

In the future the program will be taken to different provinces to give it a different look.

The military has also introduced various competitions for a staff of over thousand soldiers and officers to take part in the event. The best stall will receive a cash price of Rs.20, 000. Second and third places would also receive attractive merit prizes.