Rice Mela in Bangalore shows off grain varieties

There is more to food than just filling the stomach; many varieties of grains have medicinal properties, but these varieties are not being cultivated on a large scale because people don't know about them in the first place.

Krishna Prasad of Sahaja Samrudha—a group of organic farmers—shared this view at the inauguration of the three-day Rice Mela held at Basava Bhavana on Friday. He said certain indigenous varieties of rice are packed with essential minerals and fibre, which make it healthier than the polished rice people normally eat.
He said polished rice contains only carbohydrate and starch, and is devoid of other nutrients. Indigenous varieties, on the other hand, are a healthy option. In fact, there are certain varieties that are beneficial for patients of arthritis and diabetes.

Prasad said the International Rice Research Station has standardised the 11234 variety, which is a high-yield species and has become popular. Most paddy farms in the country grow this variety, and as a result indigenous varieties have almost become extinct. He said there were not even any takers for it. He lamented that local varieties were becoming extinct. He said although Karnataka has thousands of varieties of rice, Sahaja Samrudha was able to trace only 372.
 
Scented rice, medicinal rice, millet rice, sticky rice, fine/bold size, red rice and black rice are just some of the varieties exhibited there.