Pavan Suthar

IR3007

AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE AND POPULARISE SOME OF THE LOST ART OF BREWING AND CREATING NUANCES OF SOCIALISING THROUGH THE ‘FOOD AND BEVERAGES’. TOURISM BEING THE MAJOR ECONOMY GENERATOR, THE F&B INSTITUTIONS AND TOURISM BOARD WOULD SURELY BENEFIT FROM THE “MAHUA” AS IT COULD GENERATE EVEN MORE CURIOSITY IN TOURISTS TO VISIT, AS IT IS THE ONLY FERMENTED DRINK THAT IS MADE FROM FLOWERS OF THE TREE. BESIDES, THE DRINK HAS DEEP ROOTS IN TRIBAL CULTURE, SO THERE’S A LOT OF FOLKLORE ATTACHED TO IT. YOU CAN ALSO GET A GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION FOR IT AS THE “MAHUA” TREE GROWS LARGELY IN INDIA. THERE ARE AGE-OLD PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE CONSUMPTION OF MAHUA, ASSOCIATING IT WITH DEEP INEBRIATION, MORAL LAXITY AND TRIBAL POVERTY. THIS PERCEPTION CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE THE WAY THE GOVERNMENT LOOKS AT MAHUA. THERE IS A BAN ON THE SALE OF MAHUA IN GOVERNMENT-REGULATED SHOPS IN MANY STATES AS IT IS NEITHER BOTTLED NOR BRANDED. THERE IS A NEED TO ACCEPT THAT MODERATE, RESPONSIBLE DRINKING IS BOTH A MODERN AND TRADITIONAL IDEA. INDIA HAS AN ANCIENT AND DEEP LEGACY LINKED TO ALCOHOL, TOUCHING SACRED DIMENSIONS WHILE ALSO BEING CONSUMED FOR PLEASURE, “IT WAS THANKS TO DATED COLONIAL LAWS THAT INDIGENOUS SPIRITS WERE MARGINALISED IN FAVOUR OF INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS. PERCEPTIONS CAN BE CHANGED BY SPREADING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THESE TRADITIONS AND DEVELOPING AN APPROACH TO RESPONSIBLE AND MODERATE DRINKING." THIS PROJECT WOULD TRY TO BRING IN A BREWERY OF “MAHUA” IN CONJUNCTION WITH A RETAIL SPACE AND A CAFE. THAT DEPICTS THE STAGES OF BREWING THE TRIBAL DRINK AND A HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO UNDERSTAND, THE TRIBAL DRINKS.