For tipplers in India, these are no happy hours. Prohibition seems to be the order of the day. First, the ban on sale of liquor by the Bihar government, and then, the Supreme Court diktat that says no vends or restaurants can sell alcohol within 500 metres of the highways. So the beer or rum or single malt might be near-endangered stuff, but desi liquor - the sour toddy, the pungent mahua, the fizzy kinnauri ghanti - is relatively free-flowing. In Haryana, there is no ban on tharra; toddy or tadi is still legally sold in Bihar; purchase and sale of cannabis is not permitted, but its derivative, bhang, can be bought and sold across India.
And while politicians like to open and close the liquor tap depending on the political climate, their godly predecessors recognised its power, used it and prized it too. The Rigveda mentions soma, a juice derived from fermented milkweed, which was consumed by Hindu gods. And after the Prohibition in Bihar, the shrines of Masan Baba, Goraiya Baba and Bhairav - revered among the Dalit community and accepting only liquor as their first bhog - have virtually gone dry.
References to alcoholic beverages are to be found in the Ramayan and the Mahabharat, too. In the paper titled "Drinking habits in ancient India", Ottilingam Somasundaram, D. Vijaya Raghavan and A.G. Tejus Murthy cite their popularity. How Baladev, Krishna and Arjun "indulged in drink in the company of their wives, daughters and sisters"; how while crossing the Yamuna, Sita offered "a 1,000 jars of arrack - alcoholic spirit made of coconut palm - and cooked flesh-meat" for the goddesses.
In keeping with what seems to be an ingrained love for the tipple, The Telegraph brings you an exhaustive list of indigenous intoxicating beverages from different parts of the country.
Kallu or Toddy/ Tadi
In her book Kerala: The Divine Destination, Lalitha Balasubramanian talks about Shiv's favoured cloudy palm wine, toddy. Made from the fresh sap of palm - date or coconut - toddy or kallu is popular in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
In Bihar, toddy becomes tadi, but its popularity remains undiminished. In 2016, the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, lifted the ban on the sale and consumption of tadi in the state under pressure from his then ally, Lalu Prasad. When Lalu was the CM in the 1990s, he had declared it tax-free to help the Mahadalit Pasi community that is largely engaged as tadi tappers.
Mahua
Women named Mahua - a common name in eastern India - have more often than not been teased by friends for being named after a heady drink derived from the mahua flower. Distilled in earthenware pots, the fiery mahua is popular in rural Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. The Bhils of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat (a dry state, mind you) drink it. In Bastar too, a lot happens over mahua when motiyaris (girls) and cheliks (boys) of the Gond tribe come together in ghotuls or mixed-sex dormitories.
Kinnauri ghanti
Transparent like vodka, this all-season drink made of apple or apricot is popular among locals in Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. If you prefer fizzy drinks, you will enjoy it.
Zawlaidi
This grape wine is a favourite drink in Hnahlan village of the Champhai district in Mizoram, and is considered to be a kind of love potion. High on alcohol content, the drink is supposed to be the best country-made liquor in India. Some brewers are also trying to market it globally.
Chuwarak
Prepared with rice, jackfruit and pineapple, it is the desi whiskey of Tripura. Local tokhiseleng and thakotor leaves are used to make this distilled alcohol.
Tharra
The pungent desi tharra, made of fermented sugarcane juice, is most popular in Punjab and Haryana. But a bottle of it, which was earlier available for Rs 20 or 30, is now going for Rs 80 because vends along the highways have closed down after the Supreme Court order. Tharra is literally the poor man's drink in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Feni
The Portuguese brought the cashew plant to Goa from Brazil to check soil erosion. Goans being Goans, made feni out of them. They swear by this sweet and fruity drink that leaves a sharp aftertaste. The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state announced plans to launch a feni festival to celebrate the medicinal values of the drink.
Kesar kasturi and royal chandrahas
Have you ever heard of dry fruits and spices being used to make alcohol? Well, it happens in Rajasthan. Made of saffron, herbs, nuts, seeds, sandalwood, clarified butter and natural aphrodisiacs, this drink is served at the winter gatherings of royal families. The royal chandrahas, also a winter drink, contains 76 different spices.
Bhang
No one needs an introduction to bhang, a paste of cannabis or marijuana buds and leaves. Despite the ban on sale and purchase of cannabis, bhang is widely available. Legend has it that the Hindu god, Shiv, fetched it from his abode in the Himalayas. And then, Bollywood went and turned it into the "Holi drink".
Raksi
Usually made out of finger millet ( ragi), raksi is a strong drink similar to vodka and gin. It's popular at social and religious events in Sikkim and neighbouring Nepal.
Chhang
This is a millet beer that is consumed largely by the Memba and Libo tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, and also the Ladakhis. The millet is first boiled and then spread over a clean floor to cool. Later, dry yeast - locally known as oppop - is mixed with it and kept in a container for over 20 days to ferment. When the smell fills the room, you are bound to get drunk.
The Ladakhis prepare their chhang in wooden drums called zem. Guests are served chhang with a blob of butter in a brass pot known as chhabskyen.
Arak or arrack
This fiery Ladakhi whiskey is made by boiling and then collecting the vapour of chhang. It's a popular drink among Buddhists. People in Karnataka also drink arrack, but there it is made of fermented coconut flowers, sugarcane and rice grain.
Rice beer
As part of their elaborate cultural ritual, Adivasis brew their own liquor and drink with the entire village. Rice is a common ingredient of almost every home-brewed liquor. The Pnar tribe of Meghalaya's Jaintia hills drinks kiad, a fizzy rice beer, served in bamboo tumblers. A liberal quantity of this triple-distilled liquor is offered to the local gods in a hollow gourd.
In Assam, every other household in the tribal belt produces rice beer. Lao-pani is a common variety, another would be the apong. Often, the very smell of these intoxicates the wandering elephants, who then go on a rampage attacking locals. The Mishing tribe of Assam is fond of the apong and drinks it in plenty during weddings. It is said, the richer the beer the stronger the chemistry between the newly-weds.
In neighbouring Nagaland, locals drink dzutse, ruhi and zutho - sour varieties of rice beer. In Manipur, nobody really cares about the state ban on liquor. Andro and sekmai, two varieties of yu - liquor made of fermented rice - are brewed in almost every household in the state capital of Imphal. Made from a local variety of rice called moirang phu, yu is generously offered to voters come poll time.
And in the tribal belts of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, handiya or hadiya is popular. Fermented over a week, it is also used to treat an upset stomach and certain gynaecological ailments. And in Himachal Pradesh, especially in the hilly Manali, locals drink lugdi.
Chuwan
Made of rice, jackfruit and pineapple leaves, tokhiseleng roots and red chilli, chuwan is a local drink of Tripura. Brewed and served in langi, a small earthen pitcher, it is mostly prepared by women.
Mrit Sanjeevani Sura
It is also known as mritasanjeevani arishta. This is not for binge drinkers. It is an ayurvedic syrup used to treat loss of appetite and weakness. It contains naturally generated alcohol.
The Portuguese brought the cashew plant to Goa from Brazil to check soil erosion. Goans being Goans, made feni out of them. They swear by this sweet and fruity drink that leaves a sharp aftertaste. The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state announced plans to launch a feni festival to celebrate the medicinal values of the drink.
All in all, Prohibition or no, we are blessed in the swadeshi department. Let's make the most of it.
