Ancient grain storage tradition fading fast in Srikakulam district Premium

The ancient grain storage tradition of Paathara in Srikakulam district is rapidly fading due to modernization and space constraints.

On a foggy morning, a week before Sankranti, a 52-year-old woman gathered clay, wildflowers, and paddy grains from her freshly harvested field. Marla Dillemma was preparing the traditional offering for Paathara—an ancestral practice of grain storage observed by farmers along the banks of the Mahendratanaya River in the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, near the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha border.

As part of the ritual, Ms. Dillemma drew a bindi—similar to a forehead mark—on the Paathara and placed wildflowers and paddy grains on top while offering prayers. “This year, nearly 30 bags of paddy have been stored in our Paathara. Stored until the monsoon, it is meant entirely for our household consumption and rituals,” said Ms. Dillemma of Jalantara Saasanam village in Kanchili Mandal.

Ms. Dillemma’s family owns five acres of land, including four-and-a-half acres under tenancy, all located in the command area of a canal of the Mahendratanaya river. The river originates in the Mahendragiri hill range of Odisha and meets the sea at Baruva Mandal in the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district.

A traditional Paathara—an ancestral practice of grain storage observed by farmers— at Poorna Saasanam village of Kanchili Mandal in Srikakulam district. | Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU

In Odia, the Paathara tradition is known as Khoni—a storage pit in which freshly harvested grains, mostly paddy, are stored. The pit is dug in a rectangular shape, plastered with straw and clay, and sealed with a layer of cow dung on top. Earlier, the Paathara was built in front of thatched houses and was an integral part of rural architecture, symbolising a thriving joint family system. Every paddy-growing family stored enough grain for its annual needs.

However, in Jalantara Saasanam, a village of nearly 200 households, only two Paatharas were constructed this year—one belonging to Ms. Dillemma near the canal and another built by Juttu Moinamma in the heart of the village.