Fowl play

When Narendra Modi hits Jhabua on his first stop on the campaign trail in Madhya Pradesh, his entourage may well have to miss out on a taste...

When Narendra Modi hits Jhabua on his first stop on the campaign trail in Madhya Pradesh, his entourage may well have to miss out on a taste of the famous Kadaknath flesh. The sale of chicken may not fall under the purview of the election code of conduct but the Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry department has decided it is better to play safe, especially when the bird in question is the black jungle fowl of Jhabua. The breeding center at Jhabua has called for a halt to the sale of Kadaknath till the election gets over.

Once found in the wild in Jhabua district, this fowl is now available only from the two government breeding centers in the state or with the Bhils tribals who rear it. The reputation of this black plumed bird comes from its lean meat, extremely dark in colour due to the high haemoglobin and melanin content. Even the entrails and blood are blackish, all lending to its garam reputation.

Its fame as an aphrodisiac ensures it is high on the list of foods to be served to any VIP travelling to Jhabua. At election time, the fowl is a favourite among parties keen to oblige key players with the ability to swing some votes their way. 8216;8216;We have decided to stop the sale of Kadaknath till the elections because the demand shoots up at this time,8217;8217; says Jhabua breeding Centre manager Ravindra Rathi. What he leaves unsaid is that if there is no blanket ban on sales, the pressure to oblige ministers and MLAs in the campaign fray is impossible to resist.

The only other breeding center in the state, located in Bhopal, apart from rearing chicks, caters to the unending demand for the kadak flesh from the host of ministers and MLAs.

Even at the breeding center in Jhabua, Kadaknath flesh sells for Rs 120 per kg. Elsewhere, the rate shoots up to Rs 250-300 a kg. Adds Rathi: 8216;8216;We only sell adult birds that are no longer breeding. Our job is to rear chicks for other breeding centers, NGOs or tribals groups that rear this breed. We have 500 birds but we couldn8217;t have met the demand even with three or four times the number. People from Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and several other states drive all the way to buy the bird.8217;8217;

8216;8216;It has the reputation of being a medicinal bird. Jhabua tribals even extract oil from the flesh; they will rarely sell the bird. Another reason why the flesh costs so much in the open market is that its black plumage grants it an important place in tribal rites. Its extremely low meat content, probably the lowest of any meat, ensures it is in great demand for diabetics and heart patients, apart from being garam,8217;8217; adds Rathi.

Faced with the dwindling number of birds in the district, the breeding center was set up in 1983. 8216;8216;The mortality rate is high among the chicks right from hatching to the age of one month. Even a slight drop in temperature can prove fatal. But since it is a jungle fowl, the adults are hardy birds, resistant to disease,8217;8217; he says. He does admit that given the demand, an expansion of the breeding center is unlikely to harm the economic interests of the state.