Darbhanga Vandana jha and women made Kumhrauli self reliant through social media

Darbhanga: In the race of modernity, many traditional dishes are getting lost in the darkness of obscurity. At the same time, some women of Darbhanga have not only revived one such forgotten taste of Mithila, but have also made it a means of self-reliance. We are talking about ‘Kumhrauli’, which was once a part of the kitchen of every house in Mithila, but today people pay high prices in the market to eat it.

New color given to old tradition
Vandana Jha, who is leading this initiative, says that there was a time when elderly women of almost every house in the village used to make Kumhrauli from urad dal and brown pumpkin. Which was used as a vegetable throughout the year. Vandana says that this is a famous dish of our Mithila. But gradually people stopped making it. We have simply restarted the same old tradition by modernizing it a bit.

Facebook and WhatsApp became medium of publicity
Vandana and her team used social media very well to take this traditional dish to the market. He started promoting Kumhrauli through Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Due to which he got a tremendous response. Vandana tells that there were many women who had this skill, but they did not know how to make it employment. She contacts us. We give them information on how to make and sell it in a new way through WhatsApp and Facebook.

Providing support to a family of 50 women
Today this small employment has become the support for the family of more than 50 women. These women together make Kumhrauli and are earning good income by selling it. According to Vandana, last year she had sold Kumhrauli at the rate of Rs 700 to 800 per kg. Due to increase in the price of urad dal this year, its price is likely to increase further. These women are not only preserving a tradition, but are also changing the fortunes of themselves and their families through their hard work.