The Dec 4-5 festival, aptly titled 'sattvik' or pure, at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campus here, aims to popularise the huge variety of grains and vegetables still used in rural or tribal regions.

Ramesh Patel of the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (Sristi), said this will be the second edition of the festival with a real difference.

Sristi, a 15-year-old NGO, is active in documenting and propagating traditional knowledge of farmers employing sustainable agriculture.

"The festival evoked a very encouraging response when it was held the first time in February. So we decided to organise it again this year," Patel told IANS.

One of the highlights of the two-day fair will be a contest where urban participants will be encouraged to come up with recipes based on lesser-known herbs and minor grains like ragi, banti, bavto, kodra, bajra and jowar.

The festival will also focus on organic food, apart from food diversity and higher nutrition value.

So, the cereals, pulses, spices, vegetables, oil and other ingredients to be used in the dishes to be sold at the festival will be mostly organic.

The occasion will provide a meeting ground for more than 100 participating farmers, mostly from tribal regions, and consumers of organic products.

The increasing numbers of organic food vendors in the city and in the rest of Gujarat are expected to participate in the festival, too, the NGO said.

Besides, the festival will feature cultural programmes, an educational exhibition, games, songs, a painting competition and jingle contests for children.

While the first festival was essentially confined to farmers and consumers from Gujarat, the second 'Sattvik Traditional Food Festival' will have representations from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Uttaranchal.

Organisers expect 50,000 visitors, up from the 15,000 that came for the first festival.

--Indo-Asian News Service