As Durga Puja approaches, Hindu families in Bera upazila of Pabna become busy preparing naru and moa, traditional festive sweets. In some homes, people grate coconuts, while others prepare thick molasses syrup.
Some roast sesame seeds, while others mix molasses with puffed rice and flattened rice to make moa. The tantalising aroma wafts through their kitchens.
Families serve these sweets to guests and send them to the homes of relatives and close acquaintances. Although the prices of ingredients have risen over the years, enthusiasm for preparing naru and moa has hardly diminished.
This year, too, households across Bera pourashava and other parts of the upazila are busy preparing a variety of naru and moa ahead of Durga Puja.
Women keep the traditional flavours alive
Women in the family are the main artisans behind these traditional sweets. Families often invite neighbours or women skilled in making naru to help with the preparations. During the Puja season, around eight to 10 women in Bera pourashava can be found travelling from house to house to prepare naru and moa in exchange for payment.
Indubala Halder and Geetarani Halder, from the Charpara neighbourhood, are among them. Their workload increases during Durga Puja. This year, they have already prepared naru and moa in more than 10 homes, with visits to several more households planned.
Indubala and Geetarani said they expected to earn Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000 each by making naru and moa in different homes.
In many places, women from neighbouring households also work together in groups to prepare the sweets. They may make naru and moa at one person's home one day and gather at another neighbour's house the following day. Alongside the work, they share stories, laughter and conversation. This tradition also offers a wonderful example of mutual support and cooperation.
Men, meanwhile, are primarily responsible for buying the ingredients needed to make naru and moa. The taste of the finished sweets depends on experience and skill, including how sweet each variety should be, how thick the molasses syrup needs to be and when to add each ingredient.
A wide variety of naru and moa
Families prepare numerous varieties of naru and moa for Durga Puja. Popular traditional sweets include coconut naru, sesame naru, kheer naru, roasted gram flour naru, puffed rice (moori) moa, dhyap moa, jhuri moa.
Each sweet has a distinct taste and texture, depending on its ingredients and preparation method. Coconut and molasses naru have a familiar sweetness, while sesame naru carries the distinctive aroma of roasted sesame seeds. Roasted gram flour naru combines the flour with sweet ingredients. Moya, meanwhile, is made by mixing puffed rice or popped rice with thick molasses syrup. Varieties such as kheer naru and peanut motka offer additional flavours through their different ingredients.
Prices have risen, but the tradition continues
This year, the prices of almost all ingredients used to make naru and moa have increased. Families now have to spend more than before on coconuts, molasses, sesame seeds, puffed rice and other ingredients. Despite the higher costs, households continue to prepare a variety of sweets according to their means. After all, naru and moa are more than just food; they are also part of the joy and heritage of Durga Puja.
Bhriguram Halder, president of the Bera upazila Puja Celebration Council, said that serving guests a variety of naru and moya during Durga Puja had long been a tradition among Hindu families in Bera. As a result, households of all sizes and income levels become busy preparing these sweets during the festival.
Nimai Karmakar, a resident of Karmakarpara in the municipal area, noted that the prices of all the ingredients, including coconuts and molasses, had risen. He said: “We cannot simply abandon our traditions. For nearly 60 years, I have seen neighbourhood households prepare different varieties of naru and moa whenever Durga Puja comes around.”
“Sharing strengthens bonds of harmony”
Shikha Raha, a resident of Maitrabandha in Bera municipality and a schoolteacher, said: “The naru and moa prepared for Puja are much loved by all my Hindu and Muslim acquaintances. The joy of the festival seems incomplete without them. We do not make these sweets only to serve guests; we also send them to the homes of people close to us.”
According to Shikha Raha, this tradition also has a distinct social significance. The appeal of naru and moa extends beyond religious boundaries. Sharing these sweets among friends and acquaintances strengthens harmony and cordial relations.