Madua cakes disappear from tribals' Xmas platter

RANCHI: Locally made cakes are fast disappearing from the platter of tribal families living in urban Jharkhand. Plum cakes, fruit cakes and pancakes have now replaced the locally prepared Madua cake, known for its rich iron content.With patisserie and bakeries coming up in every nook and cranny, the traditional madua cake has few takers. There was a time when Christmas celebrations were incomplete without madua cakes, which are made from rice millet and jaggery.The tribal Christians of Chotanagpur division used to usher in the Yuletide spirit with the consumption of these cakes. The once must finger millet and jaggery dish has been ignored in recent years with households having lost the recipe."We used to have madua cakes even until a few years ago, when my grandmother was alive. My mother doesn't know how to make it," groused Vishmit Marshall, a college student. Kevin Johnson, a budding musician echoed similar sentiments. "When there are so many outlets, there is no point in baking cakes at home," he added.People from the older generation are, however, still crave for the Madua cake. "The dough is similar to normal cakes. The preparation resembles that of a chapatti," said Fr Alex Ekka, director of Xavier's Institute of Social Service (XISS).Ekka, who fondly remembered having Madua cakes from the days of yore, said people in urban pockets are not even aware of such things."Not many remember that finger millet is extremely nutritious owing to its high-iron content," Ekka said.Social activist for tribal rights Vasavi Kiro said though the rural households are still holding on to the tradition because of paucity of money, measures must be taken to keep the tradition alive.Mentioning the work of several self-help groups (SHG) in Ranchi, Bokaro and Khunti districts, Kiro said: "Like the initiatives for value addition to forest produce and agriculture produce, there should be some mechanism from the government end whereby the village women can bake the cakes and supply them in the markets," Kiro said.