Monday, Dec 13, 1999
The Taste of Indian Culture - Sarson
Vijainder K ThakurA former fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force, Vijainder currently works as a software system architect in Austin. |
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The Taste of Indian Culture - Sarson
There was an interesting discussion on a South Asian community forum some
time back - Can the Internet serve as a medium for understanding another
culture? One of the points that emerged from this discussion was that a
certain 'hard wiring' from long term exposure to a culture was essential to any
authentic understanding of it. Discussion of culture on the Internet can
reinforce the commitment of a diaspora to it. Indeed, such discussions can
conceivably even serve as an emotional glue for the diaspora. However, the
efficacy of the Internet as a tool for understanding other cultures, specially
the subtle nuances intrinsic to any culture, are, at best, limited.
An analogy with some relevance to what I propose to discuss here
(eventually!) comes to my mind. The Bollywood distortion Dil Wale Dulhania Le
Jayengen, which has the popular actress Kajol, propped to her buxom best,
prancing around mustard blossoms singing romantic songs, could easily strike a
chord with a part of the audience familiar with the Panjabi culture. As far as
the rest of the audience is concerned, however, a large number would probably
view the mustard blossoms as a cheap substitute for the tulips of Holland, a
more appropriate symbol of love and romance in Bollywood distortions. A
discerning few would have caught the allusion to a cultural nuance in the
mustard blossoms, but never understood it fully. The Internet has more or less
the same limitations as the film medium. I will dwell some more on this subject
later when I discuss the link of sarson to romance in our culture.
Sarson, the plant
Sarson, variously referred to as Mustard or Rape, has deep-seeded links with
our traditions and culture. The generic name for the mustard family of plants
is Brassicaceae (Cruciferae).
There are references to sarson in ancient Sanskrit writings dating back to
2000 b.c. The English word mustard is said to have been derived from the
Sanskrit word Mugda. The Indian variety of mustard (Brown Seed Mustard) is of
Himalayan origin and goes by the official name of Brassica Juncea. Mustard crop
is an important source of vegetable oil, not just in northern India but also
Pakistan, China, southern Russia, and Kazakstan.
Another variety of mustard grown in the west (American Great Plains, Canada,
Hungry and Britain), is Mediterranean in origin and referred to as white or
yellow seed mustard. In the west, mustard is cultivated primarily for its
vegetable oil and harvested mechanically. It is sown in spring and harvested in
early autumn and has no cultural significance.
Links to our culture
In north India and Pakistan sarson is more intimately entwined with village
life. Sarson is a surprisingly resilient plant that resists infestation and is
not easily affected by adverse weather. It is, therefore, eminently suitable to
an unsophisticated rural economy. Unlike in the west, here, because of the
milder winters, sarson is sown in autumn and harvested in early spring. The
plant grows rapidly to a height of 1.5 to 2.0 meters. During its early period
of growth, in winters, the leaves and swollen leaf stems of sarson are used as
greens or saag. Indeed, cooked in sarson oil and consumed with Makki ki roti
(Roasted Corn Flour Bread) and makhan (Home made white butter) constitutes a
culinary ecstasy that is easily affordable even by our poor. Slipping back down
memory lanes to my days as an Indian Air Force pilot, I recollect that sarson
ka saag was once served in our Mess for a post-beer Saturday lunch and proved
to be a riotous success!
The Romance of Sarson
The sarson plant blossoms in early spring and flowers densely. Its blossom
is intense yellow in color and referred to as basanti in north Indian
folk-speak. And therein lies the first tenuous link between sarson and romance.
The word Basanti, is feminine in gender, and not uncommon as a girl's name.
Remember the Basanti of Sholay?
 Picking the sarson leaves and leaf
stems for saag (greens) is a time consuming process. In villages, young girls
use this fact to their advantage. They leave their houses early and in groups
to work in the fields. Since they are not expected back till late in the day
they make the best use of their absence from the house, not just to pick saag
but also to tease and talk with boys! But, to comprehend a still deeper link
between sarson and romance you need to be "hard-wired" to the culture
as I suggest above.
Let us return to our DDLJ analogy to understand this. The sight of a painted
and perfumed girl dancing and singing in a mustard field of the Panjab is as
displaced from reality as is a young Panjabi girl clad in a dirty salwar
kameez, smelling of earth and sweat, walking down the catwalk of a New York
fashion show! The Panjabi lass would certainly not set any hearts aflutter in
New York, and indeed, could well invite scorn and ridicule. However, change the
context to a mustard field near Patiala. Now, observe the same lass through the
eyes of a gawky 14 year-old school boy. She is working in a field of mustard
blossoms, oblivious to the boy's gaze. It's an early February morning with a
clear blue sky and as the sun climbs over the horizon suffusing the sprawling
fields with delightful warmth, its rays flit through the unshorn hair of the
lass, creating an angelic halo around her beautiful young and innocent face.
The girl's rolled up sleeves and strong arms suggest a resoluteness that the
boy would love to live with, while her full rounded bosom suggest a deep
femininity that he would like to drown in. Would that girl not create an
indelible link between mustard blossoms and romance?
Basant Panchami
In early Feburary, the fields of north India start to exude their promise of
forthcoming wealth and prosperity. The wheat fields are still green but the
riotous yellow of mustard fields symbolizes wealth and prosperity garnered from
hard toil. The festival of Basant Panchami celebrates the end to the hard
winter and readiness of the Sarson crop. It is marked by community singing and
dances (Bhangra), flying of colorful kites and draws heavily from the color of
the sarson blossom. People don't just wear yellow, they even eat yellow hulwa!
Other Charms of Sarson
The sarson blossoms eventually ripen into seed pods containing up to 20
seeds. The seeds are spherical and about 2.5mm in diameter. They contain 30 to
40 percent vegetable oil and a slightly smaller proportion of protein. The oil
of Indian (Brown Seeds) mustard has a strong odor and acrid taste. The oil
lends itself to easy extraction, another fact that serves as a pointer to why
it has been adapted in our culture. In villages small farmers use the village
'kohlu' for the extraction. The kohlus rely on animal (bull or buffalo) power
to rotate the heavy grinding stones. (The expression 'Kohlu ka bail' is used
colloquially in northern India to describe a person who strives without
vision.) Large farmers, of course, use a more mechanized processes for
extracting oil.
 The acrid taste of brown mustard oil
lends a delicious flavor to fried cooking - pakoras, fish, etc. Indeed, in many
rural households, mustard oil is the cooking medium for almost any food of
daily consumption. Famous Punjabi mango pickle is also made in mustard oil.
Mustard seeds are also used as seasoning. Upma, in South India is usually
served with mustard seed seasoning. In the west, mustard is used as a spice for
mayonnaise, sauces and pickles.
North Indian ladies perform the Tel Chuai ritual in which they pour mustard
oil on either side of the deori (front door). The ritual symbolizes a welcome
to important family guests, newly married couples or a beloved returning home
after a long time.
A rub with Sarson oil is an essential ingredient in a marriage ceremony. On
the morning of the wedding the female relatives give the bride and the
bridegroom an oil bath by applying oil in their hair and on their body. The
couple is not allowed to leave the house after the ritual oil bath till the
wedding is solemnized. Baby baths during winters, in North Indian villages
still start with a mustard oil rub, instead of the more urban Johnson's Baby
Oil rub. Mothers often ask their teenaged daughters to rub mustard oil and
besan on their body during a bath. (A word of caution here, its not a good idea
to rub mustard oil on sensitive facial skin…especially so if you have
acne!)
Mustard oil also has a deep connection with the most important Indian
festival of Diwali. The quintessential Diwali lamp is a large earthenware diya
filled with mustard oil that remains lit the whole night symbolizing Laxmi, the
goddess of wealth. Indeed, in the traditional Diwali, all diyas are supposed to
be fuelled by mustard oil.
Medicinal Value
Mustard seed was first used medicinally by Hippocrates, among other ancient
physicians. Its medicinal use in India ranges from mosquito repellent to chest
rubs for babies as a cold remedy. Mustard seeds are used as a remedy for
constipation in Aryuveda. On another plane altogether, Believers pour mustard
oil on Peepal trees or a bush called Aak, on Saturdays, to ward off the
deleterious effects of malevolent stars such as Saturn and Rahu! Driving
through Delhi on a Saturday you could well encounter a Sadhu attired in white
cajoling you to drop some coins in an earthenware pot full of mustard oil to
ward off evil spirits!
Credits
- Research and cultural insight by Anita Thakur.
- Facts and figures from Encyclopedia Brittanica.
- Written by Vijainder K Thakur.
- Edited by Reeta Sinha.
- Inspired by an initial discussion on the subject in SASIALIT and follow up
discussions between Vijainder K Thakur and Reeta Sinha.
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