Taste of Sweet Sap

Written by Buddhadev Nandi


A few decades ago it was a common sight during the winter season when you see some people balancing slender bamboo stakes (locally called ‘bnak’) on their shoulders with earthen pitchers tied with ropes hanging from both sides. The openings of the pitchers filled with watery substance would be covered with clean white or red loincloths. Those pitcher-carrying persons who were none other than date palm sap vendors would be eagerly awaited by roadside people basking in the sun in winter mornings. The price of date sap would vary as per the sizes of the glass and the quality of the sap.


Date palm sap popularly known as ‘khejuir ras’ in Bengal is extracted from the date palm trees in winter. Date palm sap with high sucrose content collected from the vascular bundle of the trunks of date palm trees is a sweet and delicious drink. Besides preparing ‘nolen gur’ (date sap jaggery), a large part of the sap would then be relished directly without processing in both rural and urban areas of the Bankura district which is famous for date palm trees. But most of the date palm sap vendors would rarely sell pure sap. They would pile saccharine and water with the sap for undue profit.


However, we were fortunate enough to taste pure date palm sap in every winter. Our old house was then situated in an area surrounded by date palm trees. Before dawn, we would reach the ‘mahal’ (a makeshift date palm jaggery manufacturing center) where date palm sap was collected to prepare ‘nolen gur’. The owners of the ‘mahal’ aka ‘mahalders’ were prodigal enough to quench our thirst with sweet sap free of cost as there were hundreds of date palm trees that they would take on lease either for a song or in exchange of ‘nolen gur’ and ‘khejur ras’ to the owners of the trees. The extreme sweetness of the sap attracts bats and birds and pests. Therefore, the containers to collect sap from the trees would be covered with nets to prevent sipping of the sweet sap by birds, bats and pests like squirrels and even poisonous snakes.


After collecting the sap, the trees were rested for three days to maintain both the quality and quantity of the sap and prevent premature death of the plants. The first date palm sap collected after giving rest for three days is popularly called ‘jiran kata’ which is considered as the best sap for preparing the best quality ‘nolen gur’. The ‘mahalders’ would generally be reluctant to sell jiran kata sap. After earnest entreaty, we would be served with only a glass or two of such quality sap. The fragrance of the sap would stimulate my olfactory track and feelings of the taste of the extremely cold sap while passing through the esophagus track seemed to bring the savour of the nectar that the gods imbibed after Samudramanthan (churning of the sea).


A few days ago I requested a date sap vendor of my past acquaintance to fetch some date palm sap. The first draught of the unfermented drink seemed to transport me to my childhood days. I could not resist my polydipsia for the date palm sap. He served me glass after glass. Despite being a diabetic, I drank the sweet drink to my fill like a dipsomaniac. However, the vendor also brought a pitcher of fermented date palm sap locally called ‘khejur tari’. He offered me to drink a few glasses. But I refused to consume the alcoholic sap as I did not want to spoil the heavenly feeling that I had relished after imbibing the earthly nectar.


Read also: My intention for 2023


Read also: The Unknown Gift