Pickle extravaganza

In our culture, pickles have always held a special attention in our hearts and our taste buds. With age-old recipes, the personal touch of innovativeness of an individual and the care and dedication towards making them, pickles have always been very dear to us. Therefore, the makers of these pickles, masterminds by their own right, ought to be held in high regard too.

On 19 April, 2013 the gala award giving ceremony of Pran-Prothom Alo Pickle Competition 2012 was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. Running this pickle competition for the thirteenth time, Pran believes that making pickles is no less than an art many people in our country have mastered, and that their special talent must be recognised and rewarded. With this intention in mind, Pran organises the national pickle competition every year.

The nationwide competition has been divided in four categories: sweet pickles, sour pickles, hot pickles and 'mixed'. As the names suggest, the competition calls for pickles in these four basic categories, from where winners of each category are chosen. On top of that, Pran rewards the Pickle of the Year award to the maker of the best pickle across all categories.

This time, the competition saw around three thousand participants from all over the country, with more than eight thousand pickles prepared by them. A panel of judges decided the winners, considering a wide variety of criteria, such as innovativeness, preservation period, taste, presentation, etc.  Afroza Rahman Nipa from Dhaka won the Pickle of the Year Award for her pickle being the best amongst all the categories. Meanwhile, a total of twelve women won awards in the four categories and another thirty five participants were also awarded for their talent.

Before the main portion of the event -- which was the award-giving ceremony -- the occasion was marked by enthralling songs and performances captivating the audience.