If your age is above 40 and you are from the northern part of Karnataka, you would probably remember the bright red coloured jowar grains or corn that would be a staple. Used in households for chapati, payasam, huggi and other delicacies this specific crop was commonly grown in the area. But now, after all these years, most people tend to have forgotten the taste, colour, texture or even the crop itself.
‘Kenjola’ (literal translation-red corn) is an indigenous crop that has almost vanished not just from farms, but people’s memory as well. One farmer, just one in Koppala grows them in small quantity even now. Siddappa Kuri, a farmer from Bijakal village in Koppala district is fond of the red corn variety.
“Sweets made from this was my favourite as a child. Then, almost everyone would grow on their farm. Gradually people shifted to other crops. I grow them along with the regular maize crop. I harvest as much as we need at home. Desserts made out of Kenjola are still prepared at home and I save some seeds for the next sowing season,” says Siddappa Kuri.
The best part about this crop is that it never catches any infection. From the topmost grain till the end of the root, the plant is immune to all sorts of infections, explains the farmer. Even if the surrounding plants suffer from various diseases, the Kenjola are always safe and swaying happily. “God knows why people dumped this beautiful crop. Elders in my family would always praise the innumerable health benefits of the red grain,” he said.
This variety of corn isn’t sold in markets, nor the seeds. It takes more time and labour to separate the grain from the pod. Earlier believed to be the corn with medicinal value, kenjola is now vanishing. An almost on the verge of extinct indigenous crop needs to be saved and relished, opined the farmer.
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