India is set to host its first-ever tomato festival, ‘Toma Terra’, inspired by Spain’s famous La Tomatina, at Experium Eco Park in Hyderabad on May 11.
While the event promises a day of messy fun, live music, and food stalls, it has sparked a wave of backlash online, with many questioning its timing and relevance in a country grappling with hunger, food insecurity, and water shortages, reports Hindustan Times.
Promoted as a lively celebration featuring large-scale tomato fights and entertainment, Toma Terra is being marketed with tickets ranging from ₹499 to ₹3,499, while children under 10 are allowed free entry with adult supervision. However, not everyone is celebrating.
A post on Instagram by the page Unstumbed announcing the event triggered an outpouring of criticism. “Do we have an excess of tomatoes? We could use them to feed the many people in desperate need of food instead,” one user commented. Others echoed similar concerns, calling the event "wasteful" and “insensitive,” particularly in light of farmer distress and widespread poverty across the country.
“Why bring a wasteful practice here?” another user asked. “We should be championing sustainability instead. People don’t have enough water, there are farmer suicides, and you want to waste perfectly good food just so that some people can have fun?”
Another user expressed concern over hygiene and public health risks, writing, “It’s a waste of food and resources... and it will be the most unhygienic thing to do in India.”
The festival's organizers have not yet responded to the criticism, but the debate underscores the growing tension between global cultural imports and local socio-economic realities.
As the countdown to Toma Terra begins, the controversy highlights deeper questions about priorities in a country where festive excess can clash with everyday hardship.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
