Community Cooking During

Shradh

: Stories from Villages

Quick Summary

Villages across India observe Shradh not just to honour the departed but also to connect with the community over food. Men and women come together and cook traditional dishes, not only to honour ancestors but to create moments of shared memory and community support. These feasts transform grief into connection, and the simple act of eating together becomes a powerful way to keep traditions and relationships alive.

Deep Dive

The period of Pitru Paksha or Shradh is traditionally marked by offerings to ancestors, especially in Hindu households. While rituals and mantras are central to these ceremonies, food occupies a unique place – not just as an offering to the departed souls, but as a social ritual involving entire villages. In rural India, this manifests as elaborate community cooking and feasts (shradh bhoj), which carry deep religious, social, and cultural meanings.

The Role Of Food In Shradh

Villages across India observe Shradh as not merely a private observance, but a communal event. Families perform rites to honour their deceased relatives, followed by the preparation of simple sattvic food – without onion, garlic, or meat, which is first offered to ancestors, then to the Brahmins, and finally to guests or the poor.

Most traditions across Hindu households first serve the food to the departed souls, usually symbolised by offerings on banana leaves or on the ground. The food must not be tasted by anyone until the offerings are completed. Crows, dogs, or cows eating the food is seen as a sign of ancestral acceptance.

The Community Cooking During Shradh

It all started in villages where life was simpler and community was the heart of everything. Even today, in many villages, Shradh brings people together. Bringing people together over food is more than a ritual; it’s a way of finding solace in community, especially during a period of mourning.. 

You’ll see the typical scenes of men chopping vegetables and tending massive iron kadhais, and women rolling out puris and chopping vegetables. As the food cooks, firewood smoke curls up through the trees as the cooking begins at dawn. The food itself is simple but sacred – khichdi, sabzi from seasonal vegetables, kheer, and puris made from what’s grown nearby. 

When A Feast Becomes A Village Event

When it’s not a financial constraint, even in smaller villages, there’s a certain pride in pulling off a ‘bhoj’ that feeds everyone from the next five hamlets. Feeding people isn’t just a ritual – it’s a way to honour the deceased with dignity, and bring together communities.

Shibu Shoren’s Shradh

The Shradh feast becomes the social highlight of the season, for some villages, depending on the fame and reach of the family whose dearly beloved has passed. Take Nemra village in Jharkhand, where, after the passing of politician Shibu Soren in 2025, over one lakh people showed up to honour him with food. Not just any food – there were 101 dishes, including tribal delicacies. The prep involved chefs from Kolkata, local cooks, and an army of volunteers.

Babuji the Bull

In Kurdi village, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the community mourned a locally beloved bull known affectionately as ‘Babuji’. He was about 20 years old, known around the village, and especially loved by children. When Babuji died of natural causes, the villagers pooled resources, held traditional funeral rites, and organised a Shradh feast for about 3,000 people. The feast itself became a way for the village to express collective grief, affection, and respect.

Away From Villages, Finding Joy

Moving away from villages, a story from Shuktara Trust (UK) details the ritual held by his family after their patient, named Anna, passed. The family performed traditional rituals and ended the day by eating Anna’s favourite food – fish curry together. They offered the fish tail (Anna’s favourite bit) to the departed first, then everyone ate together. Though away from a big village structure, this shows that even in institutional settings (trusts, homes), Shradh can be deeply personal and full of love.

Gratitude Over Grief

Spiritual leaders like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sadhguru highlight Shradh as a time not just for loss, but for gratitude – toward ancestors, for what one has, for the families and rituals that bind generations. Shradh encourages reflection – people remember shared meals, laughter, stories, and the small details that made someone unique. Cooking the person’s favourite dish can feel like letting them live again, even briefly.