Nellaiappar is a rice variety of presently unknown provenance. Lakshmi Devi (aka Pothigai Uzhathi) of Ambasamudram, a farmer and seed-saver, revived this rice from an old mud pot of paddy, probably 30-40 years old, which had been stored in her family’s ancestral home. Only 7 of the old seeds grew, but from them has stemmed a revival of this quite excellent table rice. The rice has not so much been identified as named (for lack of other formal means of identification) as Nellaiappar, after the local Siva also known as Nellaiappar or the Lord of the sacred, sheltered rice.
Scroll down to know the legend of Nellaiappar and why all rice in Tirunelveli is associated with this form of Siva. Farm images courtesy of Sudhakar at Vivasayee’s Life.
Description
Nellaiappar is a rice variety of unknown provenance. The seed comes to us from Lakshmi Devi (aka Pothigai Uzhathi) in Ambasamudram a few train stops from Tirunelveli Junction, who has become a regional seed saver in the region. She tells of how she found a mud pot full of paddy seeds while cleaning out her parents’ ancestral home, and estimated it to have been there for about 30-40 years, undisturbed. Nonetheless, she planted the seeds, a mere 7 of which germinated—but that was enough to propagate from and turn a nearly-lost paddy into a viable, and in fact quite delicious, table rice.
I asked her how the paddy was identified as Nellaiappar, which was a variety I had not heard of prior to this. An old farmer near Pondicherry identified it as this, she said, but we know also that “Nellaiappar” is a regional name given often to rices which have been saved or survived against the odds. The legend in Tirunelveli is of a farmer who had spread some of his rice to dry; it was to be an offering to the local form of Siva as Venuvananathar, the Lord of the Bamboo Forest, since moongil or bamboo is plentiful in these areas just adjacent to the Western Ghats. But the farmer feared rain, and prayed for the protection of his offering. When he returned after the rains, he found his paddy still entirely dry. So it is that Venuvananathar came also to be known as Nellaiappar, the protector of Paddy, and the town over which He presides became Tiru-nel-veli: the town of protected paddy now called Tiru-nel, or sacred paddy since it was now bestowed and sheltered by Siva himself, who acquires the name “Tirunelveli-nathar,” or the Lord of the town of sheltered sacred rice. The town is also known as Salvaadi or Saliveli (saali-vaadi/veli, the place of Sali rice), and the presiding Siva therefore also goes by Salvaadiswara, though Nellaiappar is the most commonly used name.
The Nellaiappar temple in Tirunelveli town is perhaps its most iconic landmark. Established first between 946-966 A.D by Chozan Thalaikonda Veerapandian, the main complex was built by the Pandyas with many additions by later Cheras, Cholas, and Madurai Nayakas. The main gopuram and shrines (including the famous hall of musical pillars) were built at the time of Nindraseer Nedumaran or Koon Pandian in the 7th c., and the temple’s outer walls during the reign of Kulasekara Pandian in the 13th c. [Source]. The region’s thick bamboo groves are, in the Velala poet Nellaiappa Pillai’s 1829 “Tirunelveli thala puranam” or ‘story of place,’ taken as interchangeable for the Darukavana or cedar forests of the Himalayas, transforming the place into one of five Tamil Nadu stages for Siva’s tandava dance.
The Nellaiappar Koil’s long presence and legendary importance in the region is enmeshed with local rice ecologies in the naming of this lost-and-recovered rice as none other than the paddy that would not have grown but for Siva’s protection. It is pictured here in a bamboo grove to evoke that local cultural context and reverence.
Note: we presume that this rice is unique and distinct from other similar rice types like Kitchili Samba which were become very popular around the time when (we estimate) Lakshmi Devi’s parents would have been cultivating Nellaiappar. As and when we have more information about the growing habits of this rice, we will update this information.
NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
- None known at present, but it should be noted that nearly all heritage rice farmers in Tamil Nadu with whom we have interacted have returned to traditional (non-chemical, organic) farming methods and to heirloom seed for health reasons. Native rice traditionally grown is thought to be inherently healthier than hybrid seed.
CULINARY USES
- This rice is pictured in both raw and parboiled forms, though the latter is preferred in this region adjoining southern Kerala and therefore more readily available.
- It is delicious as an everyday table rice, with grains that can be cooked to a desired softness (for kozhanja sadam or a more gruel-like texture) or left whole to make mixed rices.
WHO GROWS THIS RICE & WHERE CAN I BUY?
- Sudhakar at Vivasayee’s Life has created a platform for local farmers, which is currently the only online supplier of (usually parboiled) Nellaiappar rice. It is aged for 3-6 months before milling.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
- Watch Lakshmi Devi speak about the seed saving work she does in this video and in more detail in this video
Additional information
| Region of Origin | South |
|---|---|
| Grain Shape | medium |
| Grain Colour | Ivory |
| Fragrance | Nonscented |
