Arrack-shun ! No more cheers !

Noticed how wobbly kneed women, who walk up to Permit rooms to claim their monthly quota of alcohol allowance, look so weary and wary these days?

Even the otherwise bindass permit holders are now heard whispering,’je pataavu hoy tey aath-nav sudhi maan patavi devu, aney Dumas toh humnaa maatey bhulij javanu,whu ?’(Get it over and done with by 8-9 and forget Dumas for now)

Present prohibition may have partially dried up not only spirits but also Surat’s social glue-booze, but there was a time when Tapi town used to turn into a Cavalla by sundown, ’Surya ast toh Surti mast’.

During olden days, alcohol was distilled locally in many a different way:

In the 16th century, Sidi Ali Reis, a Turkish Admiral who embarked at Surat’s Suvali beach, observed and penned in his travelogue, Mirat-ul –Memalik (Mirror of Countries), “There is in Gujarat a tree of the palm tribe, called tari agadji (millet-tree). From its branches cups are suspended and when the cut end of a branch is placed into one of these vessels a sweet liquid, something of the nature of arrack, flows out in a continuous stream; and this fluid, by exposure to the heat of the sun, presently changes into a most wonderful wine.”

Being a central port for unilateral trade, Surat had sailors from all over the world wading in. The ever busy Surti beach-Swally hole where they embarked was also their watering hole. Spirits were locally made here from fennel seeds, tadi and opium .The entire process of how Surtis prepared ‘niro’ and ‘tadi’, is picturesquely described by J.Ovington in his book”A Voyage To Suratt’

In 1632 A.D., Peter Mundy, European traveler was surprised to discover how in opium addicts seeped poppy husks and seeds in water to produce an alcoholic beverage called ‘poste’, drinkers of which were called’ postees’, while those who prepared drinks from Cannibes-bhaang were called ‘bhaangees’. Many Parsis grew toddy and opium in large amounts; although it was otherwise officially banned, trading it to China was legally allowed.

When Parsis sailed into Gujarat, most of them had a still (tiny distillery) in their homes for procuring ‘pehli dharno, beeji dhar no’ (first outflow, second outflow). They prepared an intoxicating drink from Mahuda flowers available locally; the drink was said to be a digestive, with cooling properties especially during the summers. For winters, special liquor was made from fermented raisins and dates. Also, Port wine is a much loved appetizer amongst Parsi women who prepare the same at home. They consume it differently, by adding a shot of lime to a peg of the fortified liquid.

It was only after the British came into Surat’, that Scotch and beer were introduced to the town’s elite. Beer became a lunchtime drink and Scotch was relished before dinner by the elite. The locals stuck to local brews. In Douglas E Haynes’, Rhetoric and Ritual in Colonial India,’it is mentioned how,” alcohol was present within the moral code of Surat’s Ghachi/ Khatri/Gola community.”

Amongst the earliest responsibilities that Surat’s first Municipalty carried out in 1852, were tasks like lighting and cleaning the streets, expenses of which were met by levying a surcharge on alcohol production at the local distillery.

Douglas has also well documented how the ban on alcohol first began within Surat. In 1906, headmen of the Khatri and Gola communities made’ bandobast’ against the consumption of alcohol as an enforcement of moral codes by threat of social sanction.

Around 1911, social educators like Dayalji and Kunvarji who ran local boarding schools, founded journals that urged Anavil and Kanbi communities to abstain from ‘corrupt customs’ like the consumption of alcohol.

The Gandhian campaign of antiliquor was launched in full swing serving the dual purpose of social purification as well as that of harming Government revenue which greatly depended upon the sale of liquor shop contracts and sales tax on alcohol .In 1921, about 175 picketers marched to the collectorate pleading bidders of liquor shop contracts to,’ Give up sinful money and depend on money that is pure.’

This was perhaps, the moment when the first foundation of prohibition was laid in Surat.