It is raining honey and dates at the Bhagyamala auditorium of Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium as the Ramzan month approaches. As many as 43 varieties of dates and honey, sourced from tribal hamlets, to apiaries are awaiting buyers at the date and honey festival which got underway at the auditorium.
The varieties of dates range from the high-prized Ajwa, which sells at Rs.2,000 a kg, to Fard from Iran and the UAE costing Rs.180 to Rs.300 a kg. Barari is the only variety from Iraq and is priced at an affordable Rs. 200. Lulu from the UAE and al Benna are also available. al Burg and Mariyam are the varieties from Saudi Arabia. Iran, one of the chief suppliers of dates, has on offer Pearl, Faraji, and Harmony varieties, which are stated to be the highest selling dates varieties in India.
“Karaykka, the diabetic-friendly dates is the chief attraction as it is priced at Rs.200 a kg,” said Mujeeb Rahman, who coordinates the sales.
Honey collected by tribespeople, honey vinegar, tulsi honey, ginger honey, honey wax cream, and honey herbal soap are some of the products available at the two honey stalls. Devarjan and Anil Kumar, who oversee the sale of honey and honey products, say honey from Kottur is purified by the tribespeople in sunlight. He says that the variety known as ‘Thookthen’ is costly as it has medicinal values. There are also various other products made of honey on sale at the festival and these include dates pickle, bhaji, ada, jam, and various oils made from dates. There are also stalls that sell dates juice and milk shake, with honey as mix. Kozhikkodan Halwa stall sells six varieties of halwas of varying flavours mixed with dates.
