I remember Paily, the old sacristan of St.
Mary’s church, a jolly person. He used to say that a bottle of ‘Elaya Kallu’, toddy which is
absolutely fresh right from its source, is brisk and fine. A couple of glasses
of this elixir make a man merry and a merry heart lives long! The natural palm wine, no doubt, is a
healthy drink. This is very refreshing and puts you in a creative mood. He who
drained bottles of ‘Mootha
Kallu’, fermented toddy,
which was kept for some time, would take him to an exhilarating height just
like hard liquor. The toddy could be distilled into arrack, a more intoxicating
drink. If too much of fermented toddy or arrack is consumed it makes you
totally intoxicated. Beware, if you have unlimited quantity of toddy or arrack
one would get addicted and intoxicated. Due to the ‘Delirium tremens’ one might tend to babble and to stagger from side to
side, a reason for wordy
altercation or even a melee might ensue which may lead further to a
serious felony. For a labourer who toils hard all day, toddy definitely
stimulates his energy. The spurious toddy on the other hand might steal the
consumer’s health and in extreme cases his life as well.
I have seen the toddy tappers who venture out
in the morning and evening to perform their task of tapping and collecting
toddy. Their attire is unique. A short loin cloth is used to cover their
privies as they have to climb the coconut trees with ease. A wooden pad which
provides a sheath for their sharp ‘Chethu
Kathi’, tapping knife, is
fastened over this cloth around the waist. A black coconut shell, with an
opening at the top, filled with mire too is carried with him on the waist band.
He holds on to a braided ‘Churakka’pot (a large and oval shaped fruit’s
cover used as a pot, which is braided with coir rope) to collect the toddy from
tree top. These tappers have a different way of climbing up the coconut trees.
They place their steps on pieces of coconut husk firmly tied on to the tree
trunk and climb up and down as if he is climbing on a ladder. On reaching the
top, he climbs on top of the tree-crown with the support of a sturdy and strong
palm leaf and settles down comfortably to start his work. These tappers get a
panoramic view of their neighbourhood and the activities therein. It is interesting
to watch the toddy extraction procedure. The palm wine which had oozed the
previous night into the pot atop the tree is collected and brought down. He
then cuts a little bit of the ripe coconut bud end and ties the bud with a coir
yarn, beat it from top to bottom with a bone and rubs a little mire or mud at
the cut end. It is believed to produce more yields. Then he moves on to other
trees he is tapping. If the tapper is in a fine mood he might give a few
bottles of toddy to those who ask him for it in exchange for money. This entire
process is repeated in the evenings as well. “The watering of the palm trees
during summer improves the yield,” says Kunjappan Vazhavelil, a veteran tapper.
True he says from his practical experience.
Normally, the contractor of the toddy shop
earmarks a few high yielding coconut palms which are fifteen to forty years old
to tap toddy. The rent of the tree used to be hundred and fifty rupees per tree
which was paid by the licencee or contractor who auctioned the toddy shop. This
fetched the farmers a sizeable income. Tapping was a livelihood for a lot
of Ezhava men on the Island. I knew Raman Vazhavelil, his son Kunjappan, Kandu
Kunnunkal and my neighbor Kumaran Kalappura and his son Babu were experienced
tappers of this locality.
‘Appachan’,
occasionally bought a few bottles of fresh toddy to make vinegar. It was kept
for a few days after which it was strained and stored in large bottles. The
sediments and precipitates were cleaned every thirty days. After six months the
final product obtained was unadulterated concentrate vinegar. This was used in
for making various pickles and salads. Vinegar was also made by adding sugar to
coconut water and fermenting it in the same way. By boiling the toddy one can
obtain ‘Chakkara’ a medicinal jaggery
I knew Sanku Vazhavelil, Kelu Puzhangathara,
and Velayudhan Karikkanthara eked out their living by making vinegar. They used
to sell this to hoteliers and other customers in town. Gone are those days as
now this authentic brew is hard to find.
The thought of total prohibition of liquor is
insincere, immature and absurd. The State of Tamilnadu and Kerala tried it
once. Those governments found it difficult to rehabilitate the traditional
employees engaged in the trade. They too miserably failed to curb the trade in
spurious liquor and drugs that flowed from within and out of the state, which
is more injurious to health. Therefore, they were forced to withdraw the same.
I suggest an alternative method of imposing heavy penalty on those habitual
drunkards who misbehave in public places.
I wonder why the government is promoting and
monopolizing the trade in the coloured spurious arrack branded as foreign
liquor. Consumption of this is injurious to health. The great Chanakya, in
“Arthasastra,” an authority on statecraft, suggested revenue, by sale of liquor
or by deal in prostitution or by consecrating a deity atop a hill and giving
propaganda of miracles done to attract the crowd, only on the occurrence of a
rarest of rare event, where a government has no other source to raise funds to
manage their affairs. It is not advisable for a government to embark on such a
trade or business. It is against great ideals. At the same time it is difficult
to enforce total prohibition. I would suggest liberal licensing to coconut
growers to tap toddy, which would help the agriculturists to obtain a
reasonable income and the common man would get a healthy drink.
Excerpts from
NEED OF THE HOUR
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
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