Encounters with Coconuts Recalled for World Coconut Day

Coconut Palm, scientific name: Cocos nucifera, is a tall slender graceful tree. Glad that the tree has a special day dedicated to it. Here I bring you a short essay on coconut trees as I recollect my travel tales and encounters with this unique nut.

Coconut Fruit/Nut Timeline

Getting past the eternal debate about whether coconut is a fruit or a nut right away, here is a time line on this oldest fruit in world.

5^th century AD – Indian Nut or The Nut of India – that is how Cosmas, Egyptian traveller described a coconut after visiting India and Ceylon. This was in the 5th century AD, one of the earliest references to coconut in a travelogue.

6th century – Arab merchants brought coconuts back to Egypt probably from East Africa where the nuts were flourishing.

9^th century – Soleyman, an Arab merchant who visited China describes the use of coir fiber and toddy made from coconuts in his travel log.

13^th – 14^th century – Venetian explorer Marco Polo encountered coconuts in Sumatra, India, and the Nicobar Islands between 1254 to 1324 C.E. He was so impressed by the nut that he called it Pharoah’s Nut.

There are many more such references to this wonder fruit in the pages of travel around the world!

Pre Ancient mention of Coconut Tree as Kalpavriksha

However Indians love to believe that the coconut is of Indian origin because of the very early references to it in Indian literature and also in travelogues of foreign travellers.

The very first mention of coconut is that it emerged from the ocean as a result of samudra manthan, the churning of the ocean, by gods and demons. (The coconut tree found in most regions of India is called Kalpavriksha, as every part of it is useful in one way or the other.)

Demons never realised its value and let the Gods take the coconut to heaven. There it was planted in the garden of Lord Indra, King of heaven. No wonder Kerala, blessed with a rich growth of coconut trees, is called God’s own country!

Year 2009 – Today there is a day dedicated to this tree of abundance. 2^nd of September, formation day of Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), is celebrated as World Coconut Day.

History of World Coconut Day

On 2^nd Sept of 2009 the APCC (Asian and Pacific Coconut Community) was formed. It functions under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). It has a membership of 18 countries and the headquarters is in Jakarta Indonesia.

World Coconut Day themes

Every year the coconut day is celebrated with a theme.

2018  – Coconut for Good Health, Wealth & Wellness

2019 – Coconut for Family Wellness

2020 – Invest in Coconut to save the World

Invest in Coconut

Coconut crops are a lifeline for many families. It was once said that marriage alliances would be decided depending on the number of coconut trees the families owned. A Tamil proverb says: Plant coconut trees, they feed you and your children. This proverb fits the 2020 World Coconut Day theme perfectly.

Not just the fruit but every part of the coconut tree is useful. A poor man who owns just a few coconut trees can pull on with life using the various parts of the tree. The leaves of the coconut trees used for making roof of his house, for keeping his kitchen oven burning, oil from the fruits, husks of the fruit for making several useful items of daily use, the flowers for medicinal purposes and finally the wood from the tree trunk too.

Investing in coconuts is the need of the hour for a better future of the world!

Strange Encounters with Coconut

Loss of coconuts

As a traveller I have had strange encounters with coconut and coconut related stuff. One is an unforgettable episode of my life where I lost 5 coconuts at the security check of the airport. Call it my silly ignorance. I had fondly packed 5 coconuts in my cabin baggage from my mother’s home in Trivandrum. The lady at the security promptly put those coconuts away.

Dried coconuts (also known as copra) are considered flammable items. They have a tendency of self-heating and are hence prohibited for transport as checked-in baggage.

Coconut Tree climbers

While touring Tamil Nadu I was a witness to a heated haggling between the owner of the home stay where we were staying and the coconut tree climber. In spite of the coconut tree climber’s pricey behavior the owner wouldn’t let go of him. He finally settled the verbal duel by paying the hefty amount the coconut climber had demanded. They are a rare breed, the owner later explained to us.

Soon we were witness to his skill of climbing the coconut trees. We marveled at the speed with which he climbed up the trees and brought the matured fruits down.

Overloaded with Coconut husks

During one road trip in Karnataka, near Tumkur, I saw this bizarre sight of a small vehicle overloaded with coconut husks. From a distance it looked like a wig on a vehicle. These husks were meant for a coir manufacturing unit I was told by the drivers.

See here: Vehicle Overloaded with Coconut Husks

Souvenirs made of Coconuts

In Goa, local artists do art work on whole dried coconuts by carving out figures and forms and painting them with attractive colors. They make lovely souvenirs to carry back home but I managed not to succumb once more to the temptation of coconuts! I refrained from purchasing; what if they get caught in a security check!

Souvenirs made of dried coconuts.

Coconuts a boon for Travelers

The two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk – so said Dustin Hoffman. But I have reworded it to:

Two basic items necessary to sustain travel are sunshine and tender coconut water.

And if you have at least 2 of them every day during summer road trips you will never fall ill.

Thankfully India has a long coastline and the entire stretch studded with emerald green leafed coconut trees. Travel anywhere along the roads of south India and be sure to spot scores of tender coconut sellers. It is such a pleasant sight.

I have featured some of them in my Faces of India series. Check here: Vendors of Tender Coconuts

Other Asian countries too have their own fables and legends about this miracle fruit. The coconut trees or nui in Hawaiian are palms famed to reach up to 100 feet in height. Millions of people along the coastal land depend directly or indirectly on coconut crops.

There are 2 items related to coconut tree in this breakfast plate. Can you identify? Yes one is the chutney made with coconut meat and other is the coconut leaf container for steaming idli!

Coconuts are grown in abundance and consumed on a large scale in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. It is a boon not only for the locals but also for the tourists scouring the ruins spread across the length and breadth of these countries.

The coconuts I have seen in Siem Reap Cambodia are HUGE! I bet you can’t finish the water in it in one go. A simple travel hack to remain fit and not succumb to stomach ailments in Southeast Asian countries is to drink plenty of tender coconut water.

Read a shorter version of this article that appeared in Deccan Herald: Go Coconuts

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