Traditionally, rice has played a very important role in our culture, not only in terms of its value as food or its nutritive value, but also in terms of its cultural, social and religious value. Dr Vijayalakshmi Balasubramanian and A V Balasubramanian elucidate on the misconceptions about the health benefits of this food that has mentions even in traditional medicine.
Rice has been spoken of very highly in the texts of traditional medicine (Āyurveda and Siddha texts) and also in the texts of Dharma Śāstra-s. It occupies a place of pride in every meal and it is one of the few substances that are considered suitable for constant daily consumption by the texts of Āyurveda. Rice also occupies an important place in several rituals ranging from marriages (where Akṣata or unbroken rice grains indicate auspiciousness) to the Śrāddham ceremony for the ancestors, where it is used extensively.
Texts of Yoga prescribe specific dietary regimens for students of Yoga listing various do’s and don’ts. The well-known Yoga text, Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā lists rice as one of the approved items of diet and it goes on to specify a particular rice variety which matures in 60 days (Saṣtika Śali) as the preferred rice variety.
However during recent times there has been a change in the public perception and attitude towards rice and also its consumption. There are various reasons that can be attributed to this change. Some of these are the following:
- There has been a sharp decline in the diversity of rice varieties cultivated and used.
- The manner in which rice is cultivated, processed and cooked today is quite different from what was prevailing a few decades back.
- Modern medical doctors, nutritionists and dieticians have taken the view that rice is quite unsuited as the major cereal for a large section of our population, especially those that are diagnosed with diabetes or are considered as population that is ‘at risk.’
In fact, there are public health professionals who have widely publicised the idea that there are three major problems with what we consume, sometimes described as ‘three white poisons,’ namely (white) sugar, (white) salt and (white) rice. The result has been that we have seen a shifting of the pattern of consumption of rice, which is a significant change with respect to the habits that have prevailed for at least several centuries. This is likely to have serious consequences which need to be understood.
Traditional diversity of Paddy
According to Dr Richaria, who was one of our outstanding rice scientists, about 400,000 rice varieties existed in India during the Vedic period. He estimated that even in the 1980s about 200,000 rice varieties existed in India – a truly phenomenal number. This means that if a person were to eat a new rice variety every day of the year, he could live for over 500 years without reusing a variety!
In every nook and corner of India, farmers have nurtured and cultivated varieties suitable to those areas. These conservation practices are often interwoven and linked with cultural, social and religious practices in an organic way. For example, it was observed by Dr Richaria that at the Puri temple in Orissa, Lord Jagannath is worshipped with food prepared from freshly harvested rice every day of the year.
This means that there was an intimate knowledge of the varieties of the rice that could be grown and harvested through all the seasons and a ritual linkage with a temple ensure that these varieties continue to be cultivated and propagated. Throughout India, many varieties of paddy (and for that matter, other crops such as millets, fruits and vegetables) are utilised and linked with specific festivals and celebrations and but for these linkages, would have become extinct.
There are also rice varieties suited for various types of soils – sandy, clayey, saline, etc. The value of indigenous varieties to act as insurance during times of distress and calamities was dramatically illustrated during the 2004 tsunami disaster in Tamil Nadu, when thousands of hectares of land under paddy were under sea water for a brief period along the coast of Nagapattinam district. This rendered the soil saline and no high-yielding or modern paddy varieties could be cultivated.
However, an excellent solution was provided by the use of an indigenous paddy variety called Kalarpalai (literally meaning a variety that grows in Kalar – salty soil) which can withstand soil salinity. It is also a hardy variety, resistant to pests and diseases and provided an excellent solution to tsunami-affected farmers.
Nutritional and therapeutic properties
There are also references to the nutritional and therapeutic properties of indigenous varieties of paddy (and for that matter various other grains, vegetables, fruits, spices etc) in the literature of Āyurveda and Siddha as well as the texts of PākaŚāstra (traditional science of cooking). Knowledge and understanding of food and its properties has always formed an essential part of the understanding of traditional medicine.
Some examples of indigenous paddy varieties with varied nutritional and therapeutic properties:
- There are varieties that are suited for making particular preparations such as Sempalai (for puffed rice), Pitchavari (for Puttu) and Samba Mosanam (for aval – pounded rice).
- The scented variety, Seeraga samba, as well as another variety, Kitchili samba, are preferred for Biryani.
- Two of the traditional paddy varieties of Tamil Nadu, namely Neelam samba and Kuzhiadichan, are said to be galactogogues, that is, good for lactating mothers.
- A traditional paddy variety, Karunkuruvai, is used in the treatment of filariasis. It is actively in use by Siddha physicians of Tamil Nadu and is mentioned in ancient Tamil Siddha medical texts.
- Mappillai samba is considered as an excellent source of strength and it is found to be high in carbohydrates and crude fibre. from Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram There are two broad reasons why such diversity is important – agronomical as well as nutritional/ therapeutic.
Agronomic properties
In different parts of India paddy shows variation with respect to crop age (short, medium and long duration), resistance to pests and diseases, requirement of water, suitability to various seasons, capacity to grow in different attitudes (ranging from the Himalayan heights to lands below sea level) and in different kinds of soil (sandy, clayey and so on).
This has ensured that a rice crop is harvested in almost every part of India through various times of the year. A few indigenous rice varieties with interesting agronomic properties from Tamil Nadu illustrate this:
- Sigappukuruvikar – pest and disease resistant
- Koomvazhai – flood-resistant
- JilJilVaigunda – drought-resistant
- Kullakar – provides excellent straw for the roofs
- Panangattu Kudaivazhai – good fodder.
Numerous other examples may be cited from all parts of India. In today’s agriculture there is very little presence or use of indigenous varieties of paddy. Several of them have not even been characterised rigorously through modern scientific efforts.
Changes during the last few decades
In recent times, the Government Agriculture and Extension programmes have been supplying only modern seed varieties which are either hybrids or other modern varieties. This has resulted in a loss of valuable traditional genetic resources, loss of knowledge of cultivating these varieties and erosion of knowledge and traditions about the uses of these varieties.
An additional dimension has been the gradual switch over from traditional organic methods to the current day practice which is almost totally chemical. Traditionally, farmers cultivated organically using natural products for pest control and enhancement of soil fertility (such as compost, farmyard manure, oil seed cake etc).
However, recently as part of an effort to increase crop production, the Government has been promoting chemical cultivation through subsidies, training and inputs provided for various chemicals.
It has also made rice cultivation more dependent on external inputs (seeds, fertilisers and technology of cultivation) as well as increased the risks (the current seeds do not have as much resistance to pests, diseases, problems such as drought, flood, etc).
As a result of the above, there have been several problems such as decline of soil fertility, resistance of pests to chemicals and decline of yields. There is also an increasing realisation that this approach is leading to a severe pollution of the land, water and air as well as causing several diseases that can be traced to chemical cultivation.
About the Authors:
A V Balasubramanian is a Biologist by training and is the Director of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, an institution devoted to exploring and developing the current relevance and applications of traditional I n d i a n K n o w l e d g e Systems. K Vijayalakshmi did her Ph.D. on Biological pest control and has been working for over three decades in sustainable agriculture. She is the Founder Director of Sempulam Sustainable Solutions – an enterprise which provides consultancy and comprehensive solutions in the area of sustainable organic farming. One of the important efforts of Sempulam is to create, linkages between farmers groups who are cultivating traditional rice varieties and consumers who are interested in purchasing these varieties.
