Mystery behind the disappearance of Red rice.

• Santhanam Ramasubramanyam On your plate - Is it food or poison?
  
  I had told you in the last conversation that there are thousands of rice varieties. Amongst them there are three types which are considered important. Red, Black, and White. There are very interesting food habits amongst people who eat rice.
  
  This story is originating from the island of Bali in Indonesia- God Siva as called in India is called Ciwa there. He sent a bird to Earth. It carried 4 types of paddy (rice seeds). Yellow, Black, Red and White. While on way to Earth, it ate the yellow rice grain. Man got only the three remaining coloured varieties of rice.
  
  The Yajur Veda of thousands of years antiquity mentions about the useful features of the three varieties of couloued rice. Among the grains to be offered to various deities Black rice is to be offered to Agni devan, Red rice to the God of rain Indiran and the White rice to the Sun god.
  
  We are going to talk about Red rice for now. Red rice is a wonderful food. Its medicinal values were mentioned in great detail in 700 B.C.by Saragar, and in 400 B.C by Chustar. They were the founders or originators who laid the groundwork for the Indian Ayurveda system. That the changes which occur in the three Nadi's namely: Vada, Pittha and Kapa are responsible for all diseases, is the basis for Ayurveda system of diagnosis. Red rice is said to have the capability to remove the doshas or imbalances in all these three Nadis, according to these experts from ancient India.
  
  Red rice has been cultivated for 3,000 years in China. It is also cultivated in Japan, Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka and countries in the African continent. Some statues of Budha in Korea have Red rice kept preserved in them.
  
  In Tamil Nadu, Madurai,Tirunelveli,Tanjavur districts grew Red rice in abundance in land called as 'Maruta Nilam' meaning land devoted to cultivation of paddy (rice grain).The old song which goes like this: "It is impossible to thresh the huge harvests of red rice with cattle but one needs an elephant to be used for threshing the huge Red rice harvests in the beautiful South Madurai" attests to this historical fact.
  
  Red rice used to grow not only in cultivated lands but also in forests, hills uncultivated, as a natural species of the pristine native habitat. Therefore historical notes describe this as wild rice or forest rice. Perhaps that is why the people who were at the lowest strata of the economy mostly used to eat this as food. In our country, even though it is cultivated in Karnataka, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, it is famous in Kerala. They have given the name "Matta Arisi" (lower grade rice) but they still very much like to eat this rice.
  
  Sabarimalai piligrims are served this rice in the hotels along the route. My friends (from Tamil Nadu) travelling with me grimace and say:"no, no serve white rice" while Keralites sitting in tables alongside, grimace if served white rice and say: "no, no, serve matta rice". I am observing this every year!
  
  A Red rice called 'Mattali' is cultivated in Kulu valley of Himachal Pradesh. During British Raj, a Governor posted there used to relish this Red rice and send back to his home in London regularly year after year, as per news clippings of that period.
  
  If all of you have so far not eaten this Red rice, the list of its useful medicinal properties will make you reach for it!
  
  Generally a rice grain (paddy) has four regions. The outside Husk. Next the Bran. Embryo. The last and deep inside is the starch. Amongst these, the real good nutrition occurs in the outer regions while the non nutritional or non essential / residual substance is deep inside the rice grain. We are indeed strange creatures to feed the nutrition portions to cattle and eat only the starchy residue!
  
  Red rice is extraordinary in its configuration. All the nutritional substances penetrate deep inside the starchy inner layers and are stored. So even after polishing, the nutrients are available to us. Moreover Red rice has the maximum content of vitamins B-1, B-3, B-6, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Magnesium, Selenium, Phosphorus micronutrients, lots of fibre. Its properties of antioxidants find wonderful use against heart diseases. Bioflavonoids like Anthocyanin, Polyphenol are found in Red rice.
  
  More than all these, Red rice has a remarkable substance called Monacolin K. This is the natural form of globally and widely prescribed medicine Lovastatin, known for its effectiveness in reducing lipids (fats and cholesterol) in the blood. A type of yeast growing on Red rice manufactures this Lovastatin. Therefore in China they cultivate and grow this yeast on red rice. It is known as Red yeast rice. Apart from these medicinal and curative properties, Red rice is considered good for patients suffering from diabetes, blood pressure, liver disorders, kidney stones, asthma many types of allergies.
  
  What is the mystery behind the disappearance of Red rice with such honourable qualities?
  
  Whether one applies fertilizers or not, pesticides or not, Red rice has the trait of warding off pests attacking this rice plant and giving abundant harvests. The Western countries, in particular the Americans termed this variety of rice endowed with so many valuable nutrients and medicinal values as a weed. They called it as a Red menace and Fat beggars.
  
  Why?
  
  The Englishmen and Americans in particular having established a huge monstrous global economy based on fertilizers and toxic pesticides, did not like a plant which was able to grow without these. In order to protect their vested economic interests, they decided to destroy this plant and to establish the concept of polishing the red rice off its colour to a starchy white; propagating its appeal to consumers as “polished white rice”. Indians too lapped up this western propaganda and started developing a liking and taste for the smell and whiteness of polished white rice, and gave up cultivation of Red rice after 1930s.
  
  Why can’t we Indians change for the better to this Red rice which does not require too much water, fertilizers and pesticides and which is naturally endowed with so many curative medicinal properties and food values, taste and good aroma?