Kakkada Padnett

About

Kakkada is the fourth month in the Kodava Calendar, which extends from mid-July to mid- August. Kakkada Padnett is the 18^th day of the Kakkada Month which usually falls on August 2^nd or 3^rd. This is a special day for Kodavas, where juice extracted from a special medicinal Plant called “Justicia wynaadensis” is consumed on this day. This plant is referred as “Madd Thoppu” in Kodava language. The tradition of consuming food prepared from Madd thoppu on this day is practiced from ages.

Madd Thoppu

It is believed that on this day, the plant holds 18 types of ayurvedic properties and emits a sweet fragrance. Consuming food prepared from this juice helps in stabilizing the body temperature and keeping the body warm. The leaves are plucked and added to the boiling water and the leaves starts releasing dark violet color aromatic juice. Madd Payasa, Madd Putt and Kakkada Koli are usually consumed on this day.

Weddings and other festivities will not take place in Kakkada month as it is believed to be inauspicious.