Samrudhdi Kerkar
We have a habit of taking things for granted when they are always around us. But at a certain point, when we pause and search for the same things for some reason, they are nowhere to be found.
Recently, something similar happened to me when I eagerly started looking for bamboo in my vicinity for some work.
I vividly remember my childhood being tied to the bamboo groves in our backyard. Remembering the soothing rustle of leaves when the wind rushed through the groves brings back warm memories of a long-lost childhood, the carefree and comforting days spent playing around them.
In Goa, bamboo is locally called ‘kono’ or ‘kanak’, meaning gold. Is it because of its gold-like importance and usefulness in our lives? I wonder.
In fact, human life is tied to bamboo from birth to death. When a child is born, he is swung in a cradle made of bamboo. His toys are made from bamboo. Bamboo is used in wedding ceremonies and for various household tools.
Earlier, when people were not always aware of their exact birth dates, they devised different ways of calculating their age by observing seasons and natural events.
In Quepem taluka of Goa lived a man named Kondu Yamkar. His name, Kondu, is also associated with bamboo. When asked about his age, he would answer, “I have seen the bamboo blossom three times in my life.”
The bamboo variety in that region blooms only once after 60 years. Isn’t it fascinating that something as rare as the flowering of bamboo could become a way of keeping track of one›s age?
During festivals, it is used to make the ‘matoli’ above the Ganesh idol, as well as Narakasur figures, akash kandils and other decorations. It is used in construction and in traditional, sustainable practices such as fishing equipment and umbrellas used by farmers.
The areas in and around Goa that are abundant with bamboo groves are also named after it, such as Kanakire, Velge in Goa and Kanakavli, and Kanakumbi in the neighbouring states.
Goan traditional bamboo handicrafts are also quite popular. Known as Burud art, this traditional craft involves weaving bamboo into baskets, wallets, fans, winnowing baskets, mats, containers and many other useful objects.
Earlier, I often saw women peeling long, thin strips of bamboo and meticulously crafting these traditional tools. Their fingers would sometimes bleed, yet they continued working briskly and tirelessly.
But because of the caste-based identity attached to the craft, many artisans eventually avoided continuing the legacy. A craft that had once become almost an identity of our land slowly began to disappear.
Today, we rarely find these traditional bamboo tools in markets.
But bamboo itself has certainly not gone out of fashion. It has simply appeared with a new, modern twist. Perhaps it is time we pause and look for it; not merely as a useful plant, but as a part of our own landscape, culture and memory. But before we search for it and realise it is no longer there, we must make an effort to protect the groves that still remain.
Bamboo bags, clothes, cute baskets, decorative objects and lamps continue to add a warm, cosy and aesthetic touch to cafes, restaurants and homes.
Bamboo shoot recipes are especially famous in the northeastern states of India and across several Asian countries. But in Goa and the Konkan region too, bamboo shoots are among the most awaited and cherished seasonal foods.
We call them ‘Kom’, meaning sprout/ shoot. During the monsoon, when various plants begin to sprout, people go into bamboo groves to forage for the tender, succulent shoots.
Here, two varieties of bamboo shoots are eaten. One is known as ‘Killa’ or ‘Kankiche Komb’ (Bambusa arundinacea), and another is known as ‘Chivar’ (Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii).
They are prepared in various ways, as vegetables, curries, crunchy fritters and tangy pickles. When preserved in salt, they can last throughout the year crunchy and succulent to eat.
There is even a reference to this in Goan folklore, where tribal women would test a newly married groom by asking him:
“What is the curry we get once a year, and what is the rice we get once in sixty years?”
The answer to the second question is bamboo.
Through these examples, we get a glimpse into the remarkable observation skills of people who lived closely with nature.
Bamboo, however, is not important only to humans.
It is food for animals such as elephants and provides shelter and habitat for several creatures, including snakes such as the king cobra. Quietly, without demanding our attention, bamboo continues to play its role in the ecosystem.
But now, when I look around, I rarely see the bamboo groves that were once such an ordinary part of our surroundings.
Perhaps it is time we pause and look for it, not merely as a useful plant, but as a part of our own landscape, culture and memory.
