Sunday Story: Mattu Gulla, the round brinjal that conquered the world!
There are native wonders and wonders which have remained undiscovered for centuries with painstaking efforts by scientists and farmers helping unravel their magical worth and make people realise why they earned the admiration and awe of bygone generations. The Mattu Gulla, a variety of brinjal, is one such wonder, grow in Mattu village of Udupi district and adored and admired by people of the region for its unique taste. Gururaj A. Paniyadi traces the evolution of Mattu Gulla into a much sought after vegetable with the vegan preferring it to the hybrid wonders flooding our markets.
For Vasudeva of Shivalli village, Mattu Gulla is no strange commodity for he has been consuming it for years. But this time, at the vegetable shop, as he picked it up, he felt it had changed. The size and colour were the same but every brinjal had a yellow sticker on it which said, 'Mattu Gulla Belegarara Sangha,' and carried the photo of Sri Vadiraja Swamiji.
It had finally happened. Mattu Gulla had a sticker of authenticity like the Hallmark for gold, after being grown for four and a half centuries. It had become a Geographical Indication (GI) tagged vegetable and a patented one in 2011 and now the growers had started the process of grading, labelling and processing it for exports too after getting a licence.
Mattu is a small village on the seashore near Katpady in Udupi. Some believe the green brinjal came to be called Gulla because if its spherical shape. Gulla enjoyed great support from growers in Mattu till a few decades ago when output started diminishing. The growers then came together and formed a sangha (association) and over the years, production too has gradually increased. It’s a classical example of co-operative production with a corporate touch!
About two months ago, we started the sticker process. The sticker was designed by the Horticulture department and has the photo of Sri Vadiraja Swamiji and the name of our Sangha. It was released by Sode Mutt Swamiji in November and is a mark of authenticity. Only first grade Mattu Gulla can have this sticker and so, no one can cheat now.
– Laxman, Mattu Gulla Belegarara Sangha, Secretary
Mattu Gulla is grown in Mattu and parts of nearby Kaipunjal village. It is believed that Sri Vadiraja Swamiji of Sode Mutt (Sonda Mutt) with the blessings of Lord Sri Hayagriva, gave the seed of the brinjal to people of Mattu and asked them to grow it. This is a rare example of a vegetable which has acquired fame with religious patronage.
"Growers bring the first crop to our Mutt in Udupi and also at Sode. Sambar prepared using Mattu Gulla is considered very special at the Udupi Krishna Mutt. The growers have a very close connection with our Mutt too," says Sode Mutt Divana Sri Madhwesha Tantri.
"In any Paryaya celebration at Udupi, the sambar prepared from Matti Gulla is a must. Sambar of any other vegetable can be skipped, but not the sambar of Matti Gulla which has to be prepared and served to people during the lunch at the Paryaya celebration," he says.
"My father, grandfather and our ancestors used to grow Mattu Gulla and I am continuing the tradition. This is a crop which we people of Mattu village have been growing for centuries. Though the cultivation was unorganized earlier, now we have united growers under the aegis of Mattu Gulla Belegarara Sangha," says Sangha secretary Laxman.
"Earlier, a single grower would produce 90 kgs per day. But today, this is the total output of all growers put together. The number of growers has decreased over the years and people were facing problems. It was at that juncture that we decided to form an association," explains Laxman. The Sangha now has 160 members. Before securing the GI tag, the farmers had to fight another battle-against attempts to mark Mattu Gulla as a BT variety. "In 2011, we got the Global Indication (GI) tag for Mattu Gulla followed by the patent. Now no company can take us for a ride," Laxman adds.
There are vegans who look for only Mattu Gulla among the mindboggling variety of brinjals in the market because of its unique taste. There are Mattu Gulla ‘loyalists’ not only in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts but also in other places like Bengaluru and Mumbai.
But one nagging problem growers are facing is that of adulteration if one may call it that. Considering the enormous demand for the vegetable, middlemen or shopkeepers have started mixing other varieties of brinjal while selling it, taking gullible buyers for a ride. There are brinjal varieties like 'Perampalli Badane' and 'Bantwal Badane' which can be easily mixed with Mattu Gulla.
To tackle this, the association came up with stickers for the original Mattu Gulla which is probably the only vegetable to be labelled with a sticker. Every grower brings his Gulla crop to the society where each Gulla is carefully examined and graded before a sticker is pasted on it. The sticker cannot be misused as it is available only with the association.
"About two months ago, we started the sticker process. The sticker was designed by the Horticulture department and has the photo of Sri Vadiraja Swamiji and the name of our Sangha. It was released by Sode Mutt Swamiji in November and is a mark of authenticity. Only first grade Mattu Gulla can have this sticker and so, no one can cheat now," says Laxman.
The association fixes prices for different grades based on the demand and supply every Saturday. Last Saturday the price of Gulla was Rs 40 per kg of which about Rs 10 goes to the association as it has to bear the cost of grading, stickering and other expenses. At present the daily production is about 1.75 tons. The prices of the second and third grade Gulla are around Rs 20 and Rs 15 respectively. Stickering has helped customers get quality vegetables and the growers are assured a good price. "It’s really a good move by the growers. It helps both growers and customers," says Mr K Shivaraya Shenoy, owner of Katteyangadi shop in Mangaluru.
Enthused by the response, many growers are planning exports. "We are working on getting a license. Once we complete the process, Mattu Gulla will be available even abroad including the Gulf countries," Laxman adds.
The success story of Mattu Gulla can easily be replicated for other crops provided a careful effort is made to identify and select vegetables which are intrinsically native but can have a universal appeal too. In a country and an economy vastly dominated by agriculture, that’s perhaps where the recipe for success lies- reforming our ancient agrarian practices in tune with modern trends and showing the world that we have the best crops, best fruits and vegetables too. So that the world flocks to our markets and not the other way round!
