-by Sheela Rani Chunkath
I am still in Ithaca, United States and enjoying the fuss being made for Father's Day on 17th June. Our daughter treated her 'parental units' as she calls us to a lovely dinner. But what caught my interest was how Cornell celebrated the National Vegetables Day on 16th June. The Albert R. Mann, Agriculture, Food Sciences and Biosciences Library in Cornell University is a truly amazing place and had gone all out to create awareness regarding the topic. There were many new book acquisitions related to the topic such as books on organic gardening, the History of Garlic, Edible Wild Plants, and How to Grow Heirloom Plants. Several of the library staff picks for the day were also on the same topic. I borrowed a few books and was amazed to read about a huge movement among farmers and citizens to preserve their own traditional seeds. There was one book called Heirloom Gardens: Simple Secrets for Old-fashioned Flowers and Vegetables. According to the author, Mimi Luebbermann, the heirloom flowers, fruits and vegetables she grows are original varieties that remain just the way nature intended them -- fragrant, flavourful and blooming, the traditionalist's answer to the square tomato and the scentless rose and I must add here the -- tasteless eggplant. I recently bought a huge beautiful looking eggplant from the supermarket because it looked so good. After two hours spent cooking it I had to throw it away because it remained like a sponge, flavourless and unappetising to the tongue.
In India, the home of the eggplant, we have hundreds of varieties each with a different taste and texture. From the violet to the different shades of green, the striped varieties to the ones with thorns, from the long to the round. However, many traditional varieties are fast disappearing and have been supplanted by often poorer tasting hybrids. I remember that a particular green variety of eggplant called 'Kottampatti' brinjal which was famous in Kottampatti near Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. It tasted wonderful in Sambar or made into a spicy dish with tomatoes. But the last time I visited Dindigul, I tried my best to get hold of seeds of this variety but there were none to be found.
Many of our 'heirloom' traditional seeds are quickly becoming 'extinct'. If any readers have traditional seeds that have been in use in your family, please share them with farmers and preserve these traditional varieties for our future generations. Many Ayurvedic remedies call for herbs that grow in the wild but many of these herbs are not easily available. I remember looking at recipes which require wild snakegourd seeds and fruits. Many ayurvedic vaidyars are forced to use cultivated varieties as the wild ones are not easily available. The long snakegourd which used to be 3 feet long has become completely stunted. The varieties now available are less than a foot long and bear little resemblance to the long stately snakegourd of yore. Snakegourds were also available in many colours -- from plain dark green to light green and even striped. So too with the bottlegourd, which has transformed from a curvaceous shapely vegetable to a squat cylindrical one. Slowly our vegetable heritage is being stamped out and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves with vegetables like the inedible brinjal the size of elephant yams.
The Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit organisation to preserve plant genetic future for humankind, was started by Craig Whealy of the United States. In India, organisations like the Centre for Indian knowledge Systems in Chennai have started collecting traditional seeds and are slowly trying to collect traditional seeds from farmers. Annadana in Auroville, Pondicherry has also started a movement for seed conservation. More such organisations and movements are needed if we want to preserve the wonderful and rich biodiversity that is India's heritage.
--- The writer was earlier Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and is currently Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/