Talking of a kallu shaapu reminds me of our childhood( long back) when we used to have a couple of palms( Not sure what palms they were) on our land which were allowed to be tapped for Toddy. Talk was that if we requested the 'Cheetukaran' when he came down the palm for some toddy, he would willingly oblige. Though I never have been able to be near the palm at the right time, I have had the good fortune to taste the sweet toddy in its fresh form and it was heavenly. Dad would get bottles of fresh Toddy from Cheratala and keep in the Fridge, though it would get sour and taste more like vinegar after more than 24hrs.
Now there are no palm trees on our land and no 'Chetukaran's' either. The ubiquitous Kallu Shappu, though is still found along the length and breadth of Kerala. My earliest memories are of thatched roof rooms with creaky benches and mud flooring and full of laymen like us enjoying a drink after a day of hard labor at the fields. The first memories of the insides of a Kallu shaapu were experienced when as children we tagged along with our Chetans to buy kallu for Kallu-appam.
Now we have designer Toddy shops with separated cabins, fans and Menu cards, though those old thatched roof variety still exists and i personally find them so much more depicting the culture of Kerala. These kallu shappu's have been an integral part of Kerala culture and tradition. Kallu shappu is to Kerala what the Pub and Tavern is to the Western world. Sadly this culture is dying. Earlier, Toddy tappers took up the profession of their ancestors, but now with limited prospects for them and also the ingress of IMFL into the market, Toddy has been sidelined to being a ceremonial drink with very few patrons left and looked down upon as the drink of the lowly, unsophisticated peasant's.
According to BBC, Kerala is India's tippler country with the highest per capita liquor consumption in the nation. let me paste what BBC has to say in the report-
" A state-run monopoly sells alcohol. The curiously-named Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) runs 337 liquor shops, open seven days a week. Each shop caters on average to an astonishing 80,000 clients. This fiscal year the KSBC is expected to sell $1bn (£0.6bn) of alcohol in a state of 30 million people, up from $12m when it took over the retail business in 1984. Similarly, revenues from alcohol to the state's exchequer have registered a whopping 100% rise over the past four years." ( This is probably a two year old statistics but according to this template now the rise should be 500%)
But mainly it is the IMFL that rules. It is a status thing to drink foreign liquor( The 'Gora Sahab' or 'Sahipu' syndrome) in Kerala and drinking Toddy is looked down upon. Earlier Toddy was used in the preparation of traditional food like kallu-appam but now that also has started to be made without kallu.Toddy vinegar is hard to get too( ask my mother).
The govt should promote the traditional liquor just like it is promoting IMFL by 'Kerala State Beverages Corporation' ( I heard that consumers can even send text messages to their helpline number to record grievances)
I personally find sweet Toddy immensely refreshing. Moreover, the Toddy shop also provides a mouthwatering array of dishes to go with the Kallu. Beef, Pork, Chicken, Duck, Frog, Shell fish, Spotted pearl fish, crab, Prawns, Shrimp….. the list is endless and eaten with Kappa( tapioca) tastes heavenly. I can have this food everyday for all my life. It's sad that this tradition of Toddy shops are gradually but surely loosing the battle to the IMFL Bars mushrooming all around the countryside. In Kerala I any day prefer a Toddy Shop to a Bar. Due to the unavailability of Toddy the shops now have taken to adulterating the same with such unbelievable things as Crocin tablets, Toothpaste, Pesticides and acid( used in Arrack). This modified version of Kallu is no fun and can land you in hospital with serious damage to your internal system. Finding good Toddy is difficult nowadays.
A well-known actor NL Balakrishnan, a veteran of more than 200 films, who launched a lobby group called Forum for Better Spirit in 1983 which asks the government to provide liquor through the state-subsided public distribution system, boost toddy production, slash prices for elderly drinkers and supply free alcohol to drinkers over 90.This is what Mr Balakrishnan,67,says his father "initiated" him into drinking when he was four. "We used to go to the cinema together. After the show was over, he would take me to a toddy shop where he would drink. He would give me a few spoons of toddy too. It was an amazing experience," he says. He says when his father died at the ripe age of 98 after a "lifetime of heavy drinking", he wet his lips with liquor and not holy water, as is the Hindu custom.Mr Balakrishnan says that on his average day out with his drinking buddies he downs 22 shots of his favourite brandy - and "never has any problems".
"If you have willpower and have enough food to go with your drink, booze will never harm you," he says cheerily.
Well...i do not agree fully with him,but guess i am quoting this just to say that there are other like minded people like us around too. All in all whenever we talk about the Toddy shop, it brings myraid thoughts of local tipplers, mundu's tied high up on their chests, brawls and naadan paatu( Country songs). One thing is that anything in excess is bad and so is it with Kallu. Moderation is the name of the game. Amen !!
We are a couple of really environment conscious guys and would like nothing better than to save all endangered species and arts. And while thus on a mission to save the world, we came across the painful fact that the Palm tree is almost on the verge of extinction from our native place.