Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming Kannada film ‘Bheemasena Nalamaharaja’ is a story about love and heartbreak revolving around themes of food. But did you know, the names Bheemasena and Nala Maharaja are famous mythological characters who are mentioned in the Indian epic Mahabharata? Here is a look at the culinary artists behind the culinary themed feature:
Bheemasena or Bheema, which many know him as, was the second born of the Pandava brothers and was also a brilliant warrior. But one lesser known fact about him was that he was a brilliant chef and had made many recipes. Among them is the famous South-Indian vegetarian dish – “Aviyal”. There are two seperate legends that depict him to have made it.
One legend says that he made it for the first time when he was 13 years old. After surviving a poisoning attempt by his cousin Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni, Bheema returned home to his death ceremony after he had been missing for the last 13 days. After finding out that he was alive, the “funeral feast” was cancelled which upset Bheema. So he made “Aviyal” with the remaining ingredients so as to satisfy his hunger. Another legend says that he made “Aviyal” when he was a chef during his 14-year period of exile. When he was asked to prepare a banquet with a limited amount of vegetables, he decided to mix them all together with some spices and accidentally created the famous dish.
Nala Maharaja, on the other hand, was a famous king who ruled the Nishadha Kingdom and was well known for his horse-riding and culinary expertise. In fact, the first ever cookbook “Pakadarpanam”, was dedicated to him. According to legend, he got his skills from the Gods by helping them to woo Princess Damayanti.
Princess Damayanti of Vidarbha was a great beauty who was coveted by both Gods and men alike. Damayanti having met Nala before, was able to recognize him from the multiple suitors who came for her hand, during her Swayamwara, due to the spices that clung to him. She decided to choose him as her husband over the divinity that was present in the court that day. A classic tale of “The way to a woman’s heart, is through her stomach”.
‘Bheemasena Nalamaharaja’ is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 29th 2020.
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