IT IS safe to assume that anyone coming from Jaynagar would be carrying nolen gur (date palm jaggery), goes a local proverb. This locality in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district is known for its sweets since pre Independence days. Jaynagar moa, a sweet made of puffed rice, is even named after the place. However, nolen gur—the ingredient that gives most sweets of Jaynagar their unique flavour—has seen a fall in production in the past few years.
The jaggery is made of khejurer ros, the sap of the date palm tree, and is a delicacy unique to West Bengal. Though the tree is grown across the state, date palms in and around Jaynagar are traditionally considered to produce the best quality nolen gur. The tree secretes the sap only during the winters, November to February. Siuli, traditional workers who collect it, make cuts in the tree trunk during the day and collect the sap at night. “It is so sensitive to temperature that it begins to ferment with rise in temperature after dawn. I mark the cuts between 12:00 noon and 5:00 pm and collect the sap from 3:00 am to 8:00 am,” says Ratan Naskar, 66, a siuli who collects sap from over 100 date palms and pays ₹150 per tree per season to the owners. The process of making nolen gur, too, is completed the same day, else the sap becomes unusable. “One tree secrete 40-50 litres of sap a day, which sells at ₹200 per litre. About 7 litres of sap produces 1 litre of jaggery. I can earn about R3 lakh a season by selling it to sweet shops,” says Naskar, who has worked as a siuli for over five decades.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 01, 2021 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 01, 2021 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara