Aanamayakki , Yesu and Manavaatti may appear to have plain meanings to the average Keralite, but to some, they are code for something else.
Aanamayakki has nothing to do with taming of elephants, Yesu is no reference to the Saviour and Manavaatti does not represent ‘bride.’ These are part of tippler code in Kerala, referring to concoctions that give poor drinkers a cheap high.
As the State government gets ready to let ‘good quality toddy’ flow in hotels that have three stars or higher from July 1, as part of its liberalised liquor policy, bootleg shorthand is suddenly back in circulation. The reason: Kerala produces only about half or even less of the toddy sold through its 3,000-plus shops.
“Half a litre of Aaanamayakki is enough to give a well-built man a terrific high. It is more economical than any Indian Made Foreign Liquor brand,” says a customer at a parlour at Olavakkode, on the outskirts of Palakkad.
Quality toddy is a rarity even in Chittur taluk in Palakkad, considered toddy’s heartland. Traders say bootleggers add 70 litres of illicit spirit to 100 litres of genuine toddy and lace it with 100 gm each of various chemicals in a water base, to brew 1,000 litres of fake toddy.
The production cost of genuine toddy is ₹50-60 a litre. The same quantity of spurious drink can be made for less than ₹5 and retailed at ₹80. Forensic examination shows that the drink sold in Chittur contains chloral hydrate, a sedative and hypnotic drug. A concoction of saccharine, lead, sulphated ash and benzoic acid is also used to make it.
Toddy has high demand in the hot summer, but this is also the time when production falls. During monsoon, production is high but takers are few. Not able to keep it intact for the summer, farmers simply empty the cans in their farms. “Coconut growers and Excise Department officials say production in Chittur is way below demand, but supply is not hit even in summer. This shows the spurious liquor lobby is active,” says Chittur MLA and Left Democratic Front leader K. Krishnankutty.
Many oases
K.G. Kannadas working at a toddy shop at Govindapuram on the road to Pollachi says, “It will be difficult for star hotels to source pure toddy. Last summer, there was a sharp fall in production. Local parlours had to close by noon. But the business was not hit in other parts.”
