Lighting Karthigai Dheepam with Palm-Leaf Kozhukattai

Kaarthigai Deepam [கார்த்திகை தீபம்] (celebrated December 08 in 2011),  is a festival of lights, celebrated in the Tamil month of Kaarthigai (Nov 17 - Dec 16 this year). It is celebrated on the full moon day of the Kaarthigai month.  In southern Tamil Nadu, it is a traditional practice that people make delicious 'panai olai kozhukattai' [பனை ஓலை கொழுக்கட்டை] made out of rice flour mixed with palm jaggery.  It is not only sweet, also sugar free, since the palm jaggery doesn't stay in the body.  This food is highly nutritious, which contains minerals and vitamins.  The speciality of this kozhukattai is that it is prepared covered by palm leaves and boiled in a pot; so it is eco-friendly.  Even today I could feel the taste of the kozhukattai with sweet smelling palm leaves.  It is culture-related.

We are to celebrate the festival in another few days, but I wonder if anyone will prepare this delicious panai-olai kozhukattai.  Even if so, they can be numbered.  Even if somebody wants to make this kozhukattai, where will they go for palm leaves?  No leaves?  Few years back, in southern districts, the community of palmyra tree toddy tappers used to make panai olai kozhukattai.  Also, it was easy for people from other communities to get palm leaves and palm jaggery to cook kozhukattai.  The toddy tappers would happily supply the palm leaves free of cost for brotherhood.  The situation has entirely changed now.  Very rarely the leaves are available in the market during this season.

People are not aware of the medicinal values of palm jaggery.  Its not just food.  Hence this practice, which was inseparable in our culture and heritage is slowly disappearing.  I am indeed panic over the fact that palm forests are destroyed.  Recently, I was discussing this issue with a celebrity, who also had similar painful experience of witnessing the deforestation of 45 acres of palmyrah forest, some years back in his birthplace, Sundaranachiyarpuram [சுந்தரநாச்சியார்புரம்].  Catholic priests those days felt that palmyrah toddy tappers are ruining their life and health by consuming palm toddy, which they considered as alcohol.  They thought they'll redeem the people from the practice by destroying the palmyra forest.  At least 8500 trees were cut.  Each tree takes minimum of 12 years to grow and yield.  They did not realize that it is not destruction of palmyra forest, but survival of a community, healthy environment, healthy food, medicine, and culture & heritage.  At the same time, the celebrity agreed with me that to change the practice of taking toddy, the palmyrah trees need not have been removed from Sundaranachiarpuram.  Our ancestors have taken pure toddy which is good for health.  If toddy is taken continuously for 40 days, it is good for eye sight.

Sweet idli, aappam, Toddy was used to make the mix sour.  Now yeast has replaced.  

During every season, we get some edible things from palm tree:

- From March to August, we get 'neera', contains lauric acid, which is found in breast milk.  So, its a natural health drink even for children.

- Palm jaggery and palm candy made out of boiled neera are good for cold, cough, asthma, cancer, and diabetes.

- Palm jaggery is preserved in another liquid form called 'vaarpu karupatti' in pots which they use for making sweets.  Whereas, palm jaggery is mostly used for making coffee.  This black coffee without milk can be consumed hot or cold anytime.

- Ice apple (nungu) is a cure for all diseases caused by heat in the tropical region like small pox.

- Palm fruit is not only tasty, but highly nutritious.

panankizhangu

- In the next season, i.e., from December to February, we get calcium and fiber-rich 'panai kizhangu', which is good for digestion.

In the life of Tamils, during all auspicious days, palm tree plays an inevitable role.  For marriage, palm fruits are used for decoration symbolizing the fullness of life.  A newborn Baby is given jaggery mixed with water as blessings from elders.

During Pongal festival, which is meant for Tamils, parents would present women colorful 'Seer Petti', a box made out of palm leaves filled with rice, sugar, coconut and other grocery essentials.  Now the colorful palm leaf boxes are replaced with harmful plastic buckets in this modern world.

It is high time to think about the emerging danger of losing palmyra trees, culture & heritage, survival and livelihood of palmyra tree toddy tapping community, which depends on palmyra trees for centuries.  When we welcome the modernity, let us take a pledge during this Karthigai Deepam, to go for reforestation of palmyra, our 'State Tree'.  Otherwise, we could witness the extinction of palmyrah trees which already happened in our neighbourhood state, Kerala.  As I conclude, let me remind volunteers of our Blaze Trust to join during Christmas holidays with us to spend with palmyra community, particularly with children.  Wish you a Happy Karthigai Dheepam. 

My Grandma and Palmyrah!

My maternal Grandma, Magadalena Mary, was my best friend from my childhood who taught me the philosophy of life.  She was a mother of 11 children and grandmother of 48, but I am certain that I was the most favorite among them all.  I was not regular to school till Standard IV (middle school), but learnt a lot from her.

There were various kinds of trees & flowers in her home.  The most fascinating favorite, for me, was the palm tree in the backyard.  There was a well without walls, but full with water anytime of the year.  She'll make me to sit under this palm tree while washing the vessels.  This was the time that I had the opportunity to listen to some most interesting stories.  While listening to her stories, I'll enjoy watching birds like palm swift building their nest.  Most of the time, ripened ice apple ('Kadukaai', கடுக்காய் in Tamil) falls from the tree.  I would run to pick it and eat, but my Grandma would never allow me to eat them.  The reason she would tell me, "Ice apple is good for health, but not Kadukaai (ripened Ice apple).  It will cause stomach ache."  Her explanation would not suffice the adamantly screaming child that wants to eat them.  Grandma immediately would ask my uncle to bring ice apples from her palmyrah tree farm.  Imagine a 3-year-old kid eats 10 to 15 ice apples a day!  But that was what I was having for my breakfast, no wonder.  And there brings grandma, my coffee, made of palm jaggery.  Oh! how I love it!  The very taste still waters my mouth.  When its eleven in the morning, I'll get hot 'padhaneer kanji' (பதநீர் கஞ்சி) made out of the natural drink neera from palmyrah and rice.  In the evening, I get palm 'kilangu' பனங்கிழங்கு and palm fruit.  Needless to say, I grew up as a healthy girl getting all the nutrition / vitamin from all edibles from the palm.  The palm fruit, especially, is very delicious.  It subsides the excess heat generated in the body.

Panai Jaggery is being prepared from Palm Juice

Every year, my grandma used to plant new palm saplings.  I remember, once, I asked her this question, "Why are you doing it as a custom?"

Her answer was, "Don't you like the palm fruit?  ice apple? palm candy?"

"I love them grandma!"  I answered.

She then asked me "Don't you like the pond of our village?"

"Sure!" I said, "Its full with beautiful lotus.  The ever-living waters where you taught me swimming."

Now she said, "To save the traditional tree which is bound to our culture and heritage, my dear, we need to plant more."  She went on to say in her own style, "Planting palm tree preserves mother earth, nature, the water bodies like our village pond.  Do you know, my child, this tree is the best friend of mankind?  Let me tell you... each and every part of this tree is used in one way or other."

Yes, what my grandma said was absolutely correct.  Even now, as I re-live that evergreen talk, I remember, I was fanning the breeze with palm leaf!

Not long after that conversation, it was time for my grandma to say goodbye to this world.  After her, I was brought up in town and never wanted to visit the village again.

Several years later, I had to visit the same village for some cause.  Wait...! Did I say 'same village'?  No, it wasn't the same.  While my heart pounded to see that pond, that palm tree, and the beauty of the place, I never thought that I would see what I saw.  To make the long tragedy short, most of the palm trees in that village were cut, for money, by the farmers themselves who planted it.  They've gone to look for alternative trade.  I couldn't locate the pond.  People showed me a thorn bush and said that's where the pond used to be.  I had to return absolutely disheartened.  Since then, my mind was contemplating over this loss and I ended up making a decision.

Not long after..., I started learning the uses of palm tree and started working with the palmyrah farmers.  Thanks to my profession, being a professor, I invest at least a part of my lecture, to inculcate environmental consciousness, awareness, and values.  For the past six years, I have engaged my beloved student community with palmyrah tree toddy tappers in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts.

Me and my students with palmyra toddy tapper in the field.

I gratefully acknowledge my friends and supporters, Dr. Sethu Kumanan, Chairman, Sethu Bhaskara Group of Institutions, Mr. Bharathi, Director, RUDSET, and my co-worker, Samson.  Now, I am happy to see my grandma's assignment continued with farmers planting palm seedling.  This has made me feel that I have successfully crossed few milestones, but I agree with Robert Frost when he says, "Miles to go before I sleep."

The palmyra tree is one of our nature's best defense mechanism that can be saved; as well as our planet.