“Murungai undavan verum kaiyyai povan (Those who eat ‘murungai’ will go empty handed)” is a popular saying in the villages of south Tamil Nadu. A superficial reading of this will suggest that a person eating ‘murungai’ regularly will have nothing in his hand. But the actual meaning is that the person will not require any support, especially a stick, to walk even in his 70s. There was a time when each house had a ‘murungai’ tree in the backyard and its leaves were consumed regularly to lead a healthy life.
‘Murungai’ as a dependable crop is gaining acceptance in Madurai district after being hit by successive drought years. A recent research undertaken at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, shows that disenchanted farmers, who started small industrial units in villages around Usilampatti, have returned to their farms, encouraged by success in ‘murungai’ cultivation.
A.P. Alagarsamy, who lives closer to Madurai district at Pallapatti, is an outstanding example of how one can reap benefits in murungai. His chance reading of ancient Tamil writings on traditional herbs led this Ph.D. holder in Education Technology to organic farming.
Not satisfied with the behaviour of traditional varieties of ‘murungai’, he developed his own high-yielding variety – Pallapatti Alagarsamy Vellimalai Murugan (PAVM) – by using air layering method with assistance from Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam. This variety is now raised in many States and has also travelled to countries like Cuba and Nigeria. His model farm at Pallapatti near Vadipatti has so far supplied about one crore ‘murungai’ saplings to farmers in the last two decades.
“It is not enough that we alone enjoy the benefits of ‘murungai’. People in other parts of the world should also have access to it at least in the form of powder,” says Mr. Alagarsamy. This wish has been fulfilled by a Madurai agripreneur, R. Saravanakumaran, through his successful venture, Miracletree Life Science, located on Palamedu Road at Milagaranai.
His enterprise’s focus is on introducing organically grown ‘murungai’ to all parts of the world through value addition. “We have tested the quality of ‘murungai’ in internationally recognised laboratories to confirm whether it is a ‘miracle tree’. All tests have corroborated the claims made in ancient Tamil literature – ‘murungai’ has 90 nutrients, 18 amino acids and 36 antioxidants,” says Mr. Saravanakumaran.
He markets 10 value-added ‘murungai’ products, including an energy bar, leaf tablet and oil. “Even after getting laboratory results, I test the product with my children before marketing it,” he says. Today, ‘murungai’ products made in Madurai are sold across South Asia, Canada and European countries.
Murungai offers a win-win situation for both farmer and consumer. “Raising ‘murungai’ with organic practices yields good results. While the yield is consistent throughout the year in red soil, it is high in all other types of soil during summer,” says Mr. Alagarsamy, a winner of many national awards for innovative farm practices.
According to him, it will be easy to reap a profit of ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh per acre by raising ‘murungai’ in the organic way. It is also suitable for dry land cultivation, albeit the yield being marginally low. He advises people to consume two grams of ‘murungai’ powder twice a day to enjoy its preventive and curative qualities. He recalls how an ancient Tamil literature asserts that a person will gain the strength of ‘yaali’, a mythical animal supposed to be stronger than elephant, by consuming ‘murungai’ leaves fried in ghee.
Endorsing Mr. Alagarsamy’s views, Mr. Saravanakumaran, who sells organically produced and processed ‘murungai’ products, points out that laboratory tests have shown that ‘murungai’ contains 16 times more potassium than banana; 14 times more calcium than milk and 10 times more Vitamin A than carrot. He says that about 80% of its nutrients will be lost if fried or cooked for a long time. His tip to gain maximum benefit: “Do not cut drumstick into small pieces. Boil longer pieces as you boil idli”.
M. Jeyakumar, Senior Consultant, Tamil Nadu Council for Enterprise Development (TACED), opines that awareness of native products, especially organic products, has gone up after the ‘pro-jallikattu’ agitation. TACED plans to sign a memorandum of understanding on behalf of farmers with Miracletree Life Science to supply ‘murungai’ leaves, drumsticks and flowers for value addition.
