The Mahua tree

For some reason which folks did not understand decades ago, my uncle had chosen to plant a mahua tree inside the quadrangle of our house. There were furious protests but he chose to overrule them all. I remember in summer, the mahua would fall  and cover the entire ground and a strange sweet fragrance would linger in the evening air. The tree has grown to full maturity now and there is debate on whether we should get rid of the tree. Pessimists fear that the tree can fall on the tiled roof in the event of a nasty storm and it makes sense to get rid of it.

I wanted to find out why my uncle wanted this mahua tree inside his house, defying all social norms. It appears that he along with his band of followers users to survive on 'todi' (country liqour) made of mahua, during the late eighties. With rising prices, they felt that the bootleggers were taking unfair advantage of the demand-supply gap. My uncle had the bright idea of growing mahua in-house so they could make their own todi.

20 years later this tree stands taller. I have decide to let it be. Maybe next time I am back, we can make some of our own todi.