Eastleigh's annual Indo-Pak Food Festival took place on February 25 at Places Leisure Centre. 

The festival describes itself as 'promoting intercultural harmony' and started with a group of five families discussing a way to showcase authentic cuisine from India and Pakistan which led to the creation of the festival. 

This year, the festival was a large melting pot of cultures, stories and traditions with 27 food stalls and a few activity stalls.

While some of the food stalls were from local businesses selling their menu and tasters, others were simply members of the community selling their homemade food for the public to try and enjoy. 

Even the Mayor and Mayoress of Eastleigh could be seen enjoying traditional Indian and Pakistani food. 

The quality of the food was something to praise. The large variety of stalls selling different types of food had a large impact on the mood of the festival. From the range of cakes to biryani, there was something for everyone to try meaning nobody had something they couldn’t enjoy.

There were also additional activities that originated from India and Pakistan such as the traditional henna as well as other stalls such as face painting for younger children and the musical entertainment that could be enjoyed while eating the traditional food from the stalls. 

Hampshire Chronicle: A tasty cake

Festivals such as the Indo-Pak Food Festival are important as they accurately represent cultures and traditions for the public to learn about in a fun way. 

A spokesperson for Madurai Masala food stall said: “We enjoyed coming together as a community to celebrate our culture and what is better than celebrating it with food? The whole family including the kids have been involved and it has been an enjoyable day.”

  • This article was written by Arjun Selva, from Wildern School, as part of Newsquest's Young Reporter scheme.