60-Year-Old Feast in Trishal: Nearly 10,000 People Eat 1,324kg of Beef and Dal Cooked With 700 Bottle Gourds

Nearly 10,000 people ate together on Saturday at a community feast (mezban) in Dhanikhola Dakshin Bhatipara village in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh. The feast was held at the local Jahirul Ulum Dakhil Madrasa field under the initiative of the Nuruddin Khan Welfare Trust.

The trust organises this mezban every year in the first week of the Bengali month of Kartik. This year people joined from Trishal as well as Fulbaria, Bhaluka and various nearby areas. With people of different classes, professions and ages present, the event turned into a gathering of reunion.

The event began nearly 60 years ago. Kartik was then a month of scarcity, with food shortages in home after home. The feast started on a small scale out of a wish to give neighbours and relatives at least one good meal; the guests then numbered only 60 to 70 people.

The organiser, Nuruddin Khan, is now 85 years old. In the Pakistan era he worked as a thana inspector at the Agricultural Development Corporation. In 1966, when he was 25, he started this event on his own initiative. In the early days, people were fed with two to three maunds of rice and lentils.

Nuruddin Khan said he has been holding this event for nearly 60 years, having started on a small scale. This year he invited 9,000 people, but attendance grew further — nearly 10,000 people ate.

He said poor people of the area, relatives and people of various classes and professions are invited, and many also come from surrounding areas. His aim is to feed everyone one satisfying meal and to preserve goodwill and harmony among people. He wants to continue the event for as long as he lives. His four sons, all involved in business, are helping him keep the long-running event going.

This year's event cost an estimated 1.5 million taka. A total of 1,324 kilograms of beef was cooked. In addition, rice from 36 maunds of grain and 1,300 kilograms of mashkalai dal cooked with 700 bottle gourds were prepared.

Cooking began on 16 stoves after Friday evening. Food was served on Saturday from 11am to 5pm. About 1,200 people were served in each round.

About 300 young people and volunteers from the village worked to make the event a success. For two days they handled cooking, serving, seating arrangements for guests and overall management.

Delwar Hossain Khan, who supervised the event, said the village youth did all the work collectively without depending on outsiders. They were involved in preparation and management for two days.

Shanto, a local youth in charge of serving, said about 1,200 people were fed in each round. Even after eight rounds of serving ended, guests kept arriving.

Abdur Rashid, a retired teacher of Dorirampur High School who came to eat at the mezban, said this event is held every year, and the participation of so many people creates an atmosphere of joy and harmony in the area. Smriti Akter, who came from Trishal, said as a relative of the organising family she attends every year, and she enjoys meeting relatives and acquaintances and eating together with everyone.