Anjili, a tree of many uses

Which is the most used tree that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India? The answer is ‘anjili’. Other common names of this wood include ayini and Hebbalasu in Karnataka. In English it is called ‘wild jack’ or ‘jungle jack’. The botanical name is Artocarpus hirsutus Lam (Moraceae).

 

The statement ‘endemic to the Western Ghats’ needs some explanation. Anjili is seen mostly from Konkan to the south. And it grows from sea level to 1000m elevation, where the rainfall is 1500mm or more. Strangely the tree grows better in lower areas.

Anjili can grow to a height of 45m and attain about 4.5m girth. The durable timber is very good, almost the same quality as teak. It effectively resists white ants and fungus and survives well in saline water.

In old buildings (see photo above and Kerala Architecture: Nalukettu, ettukettu, pathinarukettu ) anjili was used for roofs, ceilings, walls, doors and windows. Even in many modern houses this wood is prefered for doors, windows and furniture.

One of the major uses for anjili wood is for vessels, from tiny canoes to sea going dhows and fishing boats. The famous houseboats of Kerala are made from anjili. So are the snakeboats and other racing boats and palliyodams.

Kerala kitchen – some implements of the past shows some of the wooden kitchen implements used in the past. What is not included in this post is ural in which rice is pounded for de-husking, and making powders.

Chakram: The wheel that turned agricultural fortunes, which is used for controlling water level in the paddy fields, is made of anjili. Now this wood is also used for building truck bodies.

Anjili is a cousin of jackfruit tree which is called plavu in Kerala. Plavu normally does not grow as tall as anjili. Its wood is ideal for furniture. Its fruit, which is the largest tree borne edible fruit in the world (see Jackfruit, the jumbo) has several culinary applications.

Anjili too has a fruit that is identical, except in size. Jackfruit is huge but the other one is just mango sized. It is called anjili chakka or ayini chakka. The thin layer of flesh that covers its nuts is tasty. The nuts can be roasted and eaten. The birds and the squirrels love the fruit and play an important role in propagating the tree. They scatter the seeds far and wide.

If a seed happens to fall on your property and sprouts, take good care of it because of the tree’s commercial value. The attention to be given is very simple – just cut off the branches that start growing, till the plant is about twenty feet tall.

The price of anjili timber is high. It is claimed that felling for commercial purpose can be done when the tree is 25 to 50 years old. In my opinion, it should be 50+.

A good study on anjili is Biocultural Diversity of the Endemic ‘'Wild JackTree’ on the Malabar Coast of South India by Sam P. Mathew, A. Mohandas, S. M. Shareef and G. M. Nair. It can be accessed at:

http://www.erajournal.org/ojs/index.php/era/article/view/99/85

All photographs (copyright reserved) are from Olavipe. Click to enlarge.

Weddings, then and now

A joke heard in Cochin: If you have a son or daughter to be married, follow these steps in the given order - arrange a good caterer, book a hall, fix time with temple/church, and then, start looking for a bride/ bridegroom. During wedding seasons there is such a rush to book halls and caterers.

People often end up arranging places that they can ill-afford for the wedding reception. Sometimes it is the other way. Social snobs could feel that a venue is below their status. In such cases a whispered apology accompanies the invitation, ‘Sorry, we couldn’t get a better place’.

There was a time, not too far back, when holding a wedding reception in a hotel/ public hall was not the done thing. (I am talking about Kerala and more specifically, Syrian Christians.) The inference was that the host neither had a house good enough for the function nor the people to organize it. Even now, some prominent families hold marriage parties at their residence.

Inviting for the function was a time consuming process. The hosts had to visit the houses of relatives and important people and personally invite. There would be categorized guest lists: (1) those to be personally invited, (2) cards/letters to be sent by hand, (3) invitation to be mailed, and (4) those to be invited/instructed by supervisors to attend.

Personally inviting too had certain rules. Ladies would attend the function only if a lady was involved in inviting. No card or letter was to be given to close relatives. The invitation to them was actually a request to conduct the function.

And they would come, days ahead of the wedding. Those who were not from the same locality would stay with the host. Actually, each function was a family get together – wonderful days spent jointly in a clannish atmosphere.

It was the right of the ammayi (father’s sister) to bring the sweet to be given to the bridal couple after the marriage - that was known as ‘ayini’. Originally ayini was ‘churut’, a savoury made with coarse rice powder and palm syrup filled in a crisp, thin cone. Some used grated coconut with sugar instead. In course of time, most people switched over to cakes.

Along with ayini, Ammayi would bring many baskets of sweets and delicacies. The quantity would depend on her husband’s finances – own or borrowed.

This is running too long. I’ll cover just a couple of points more. In the old days there would be separate cookhouses for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. And exclusive eating pandals too, based on category and caste/class.

I must mention here about our chief manager, Narayana Kaimal. In all his 60 years of service with us, this member of an aristocratic Hindu family never consumed anything that was cooked in our house. Well, except tea or coffee. And bakery bread. He wouldn’t take even those, once large supplies of fish and meat for a major function began arriving.

Now conducting a wedding is so easy. Entrust the whole matter to an event manager. If you have that kind of money.
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Also see:
Syrian Christians (Nazranis) of Kerala: Some interesting customs
Sadhya - a sumptuous Kerala meal