The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : It’s all about taking the big B away

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 09, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

It’s all about taking the big B away

Sudipto Mondal

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Honey collectors: Binod and Ramchandra with their catch.

Bangalore: Even until a few decades ago their fathers were hunter-gatherers. The Kurumi tribal people of Bihar might have lost their forest dwellings to the pressures of modernity and conservationists.

But the transition from loin-cloth to mobile phones has not come at the cost of their centuries old occupation : They still make a living out of collecting wild honey, albeit in a not so wild setting.

Binod Mondal(28), his brother Ramchandra Mondal(22) and 50 members of their tribe are in Bangalore, for it is that time of the year when the city’s beehives are dripping with honey.

As they prepare to raid the hive at a building on Infantry Road, the brothers are surrounded by a motley crowd of curious onlookers, who jostle with each other to get a glimpse of the action.

It is a press conference-like-atmosphere, as the brothers field a torrent of questions from the crowd. “Where are you from?”

“Kajaria District, Bihar. Five hours from Patna.”

“How long have you been in this business?”

“I was born into it. This is what people from my tribe have been doing for centuries.”

“How many hives do you raid in a day?”

“Four or five a week.”

“How is it done?”

“It is all about kidnapping the rani (queen bee),” Binod says impassively. “But why do you need to capture the queen?” an auto-driver asks. Ramchandra explains, “If you capture the queen and keep her a little distance away most of the bees will swarm towards her and forget about the hive. If you don’t want a hive to be rebuilt all you have to do is release a queen somewhere far away.”

While the rest of the audience nods attentively, one man tauntingly asks, “So? What is so tough about all this?”

Without losing his cool, Ramachandra explains, “You can’t just go up there, dip your hand into the hive and capture the queen. You need to smoke it out first. We burn a special powder and only we know how to make it. Most of you will die if a dozen bees sting you, we can take hundreds of stings.”

Binod, meanwhile, has already climbed onto the building and is smoking the hive out. It starts raining bees, as thousands fall to the ground in an inebriated state. Some of them form a swarming jacket over Ramchandra’s hands, neck and face. The crowd gasps.

Minutes later he climbs down triumphantly holding a bucket full of honey. It is Rs.100 a kg and the crowd pounces on it like hungry bears. The bucket is empty within minutes and the brothers are richer by Rs.2,000.

Visibly exhausted, they pose for a photograph and Binod announces, “We are here only for a few weeks, then we are going to Bombay and then to Delhi. If any of you want a hive taken down, call me on 9945761867 or call my brother on 9980227657.”

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