On a foggy winter morning, the sprawling Keystone Foundation campus at Kotagiri in The Nilgiris is abuzz. Irula men and women dance rhythmically to a tune played on drums and pipes as the Habba, the central event of The Nilgiris Earth Festival begins. A walk tour of stalls showcases the bounty of the region including colourful varieties of red, black, and wild ginger, black turmeric that has high medicinal value, millets, several varieties of greens, vegetables like cap brinjal, tubers like greater yam, noorai kizhangu, and koorka (Chinese potato), and sustainable honey sourced from honey collecting tribal communities including the Kattunaickens, Kurumbas, Sholigas, Irulas and Todas of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.
I try the jamun honey. Bursting with the sweet flavour of the fruit, it leaves a tangy aftertaste. This honey blend is gathered from the nectar of jamun flowers. More honey tasting follows with lip-smacking flavours as varied as multi-flowers, ginger, pepper, and saffron, and a taste of honey-soaked cured gooseberry candies, wild figs, and dry fruits.
