Rice, one of the world’s most vital crops, has a history that stretches back millennia. Its origins can be traced to various regions in Asia
Dr. J Ravikumar Stephen G
Two weeks ago, I was in Pune, where I dined at various types of hotels. However, what truly delighted my taste buds was a small Poha eatery at Somwarpet on Station Road, very close to the Old Jilla Parishad Office. The shop is called Sudama’s Poha.
They offer nine varieties of poha (see the 1st picture), with some named as follows: Konkani Poha, Anna Poha, Tadi Poha, Dadpe Poha, and Indori Poha. Each variety has a distinct flavor. Anna Poha comes with South Indian sambar. Konkani Poha is slightly sweet, topped with grated fresh coconut and a bit of potato, giving it a unique taste. Tadi Poha is the most popular there. Indori Poha comes with Ratlami sev, adding a unique crunch. This poha, originally from Madhya Pradesh, is slightly sweet and prepared with special spices, making it memorable (see the 2nd picture). Another type, Poha Kurkure, is crispy and served with chaat masala, pomegranate seeds, coconut, and sev.
My favorite was the Konkani Poha. When I was in Pune two days ago, I went to this shop specifically for the Konkani Poha. In Tamil, poha is called “Aval” (அவல் – rice flakes). To understand the history of Aval, we must first delve into the history of rice.
Rice, one of the world’s most vital crops, has a history that stretches back millennia. Its origins can be traced to various regions in Asia, and archaeological discoveries have played a crucial role in shedding light on the early cultivation of this essential grain. One such significant discovery is the Lahuradewa archaeological site in Sant Kabir Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, located adjacent to the Lahuradewa Lake.
The first conflict between the Aryans and Anaryans (Non-Aryans) occurred at Arjika (Southeastern Kazakhstan)
For a long time, scientists used phytoliths (see the 3rd image of Elephant grass phytolith processed by dry ashing in a laboratory) to learn about the history of rice farming. In 2018, Biswajeet Thakur, Anju Saxena, and Inderbir Singh from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, published a paper in ‘Current Science’ using a more powerful dating method with diatoms. Diatoms (see the 4th picture) are siliceous microorganisms living in various physico-chemical conditions, both in marine and freshwater environments. They are essential as they produce about 20% of the Earth’s oxygen and are sensitive to environmental conditions. In rice fields, diatoms leave behind a special mark that reveals the water levels that change with the seasons. Thakur found evidence of rice farming in India about 9,250 years ago, aligning with findings from phytolith studies. Lahuradewa rice fields is 850 years older than the China’s Yangtze Valley rice fields (around 8,400 years).
After leaving ‘Arjika,’ the Aryans settled in the Levant region before migrating to the Sindh and Gangetic plains between 1800-1500 BC. The people who had inhabited these regions before the arrival of the Aryans were the Anaryans, later termed Dravidians
The first conflict between the Aryans and Anaryans (Non-Aryans) occurred at Arjika (Southeastern Kazakhstan). Although the initial split was based on the liturgical pattern of offerings to gods (bhandarā), later, the cause of ‘the Dev Asur Sangram’ was the Asura building dams for irrigation. This indicates that Anaryans were the first to domesticate plant life and master irrigation and cultivation.
After leaving ‘Arjika,’ the Aryans settled in the Levant region before migrating to the Sindh and Gangetic plains between 1800-1500 BC. The people who had inhabited these regions before the arrival of the Aryans were the Anaryans, later termed Dravidians. Dr. B R Ambedkar and Er Vishvanath Khaire have documented that the majority of the land in India was occupied by Thamizhi (தமிழி) speaking Proto-Dravidians.
The Proto-Dravidians, who inhabited Lahuradewa, domesticated Oryza sativa (rice) around 7,250 BC. From the ancient Sangam poem, Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai (பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்ப – composed by Uruttiran-kannanar around 190–200 AD), we learn that the Tamil people had mastered the art of storing de-moisturized rice as powder and flakes. When researchers excavated Lahuradewa, they found pieces of burned rice (see the 5th picture), indicating a simple process to de-moisturize rice. The crushed rice recipe was called Nelma (நெல்மா – rice flour). Lines 225 to 227 of the Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai describe:
புது வை வேய்ந்த கவி குடில் முன்றில் . . . .
அவல்* எறி உலக்கை பாடு விறந்து அயல
கொடு வாய் கிள்ளை படு பகை வெரூஉம் . . . .
The following is the meaning of the lines:
“The farmers’ huts, which appear like umbrellas, are woven with new thatch. In the courtyard of the hut, the women farmers pound flattened rice (rice flakes – Aval – அவல் – पोहा – see the 6th picture). Hearing that sound, the grazing parrots nearby fly away.”
It is believed that Poha was first created in the central regions of Maharashtra, around the city of Nagpur, supporting the hypothesis that Maharashtra is a land of Dravidians.
Read: Echoes of Ages Past: A Saga of Dravidian Resilience and Aryan Encounters
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Dr. J Ravikumar Stephen G., is the Founder, Dravidianism Revival Centre, Peace Coalition of the People of South Asia, and Sages of the New Covenant. He is also the Presiding Bishop of General Convention of the Episcopal Churches in Southern and South Eastern Asia. The Dravidianism Revival Centre is located in Badlapur, Greater Thane Maharashtra, India.
