Life & Style

Everyone, it seems, is angling for an invite to the cottage. Not a real one, but the cottage, the one that has become Internet shorthand for queer romance done right. If you have been anywhere near pop culture lately, you know exactly what I mean. And even if you have not watched Heated Rivalry — which, to be clear, is not officially streaming in India — the idea of the cottage has travelled faster than any platform ever could.

Online, queer men in the US have been joking about it with a mix of envy and resignation. Why do fictional queer men get lakeside retreats and long silences heavy with meaning, while real life mostly offers hotel rooms with thin walls and a carefully rehearsed exit plan? It is funny, bleak, and accurate enough to sting. That contrast — between fantasy and lived experience — is exactly why Heated Rivalry has landed the way it has, and why readers across the world are now flocking to the books.

At the heart of it all are Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, rival hockey players whose relationship unfolds over nearly a decade of secrecy and denial. Their story belongs to Rachel Reid’s Game Changers, which now spans six instalments. Each instalment focusses on a different couple within the same professional hockey ecosystem, but Heated Rivalry — the second book — has become the emotional centre of gravity.

Like many queer men, they hide in plain sight, terrified of being seen. The cottage, when it appears in the book, is not a grand romantic flourish so much as relief. Rachel writes it as a place where meals are shared, silences are allowed, and romance starts feeling suspiciously like a choice.

That detail has taken on a life of its own as Heated Rivalry has gone spectacularly viral. What began as a relatively small Canadian adaptation has since crossed into America and then exploded across Instagram and group chats everywhere.

Readers in India have done what readers always do — they have gone back to the source material. Paperbacks are being ordered, e-books devoured, and recommendations passed along with urgency. Conveniently, there is more on the way: Rachel’s next novel, Unrivaled, is slated for release in September.

Much of this resurgence has been driven by women readers, who speak about the books with a mix of delight and vindication. “Gay sex is hot,” one woman told me, unapologetically, “but it’s hot because it’s honest. There’s no performance for the female gaze.”

A colleague who has been devouring Heated Rivalry had read steamy novels before. “This was different.” she laughed. “It’s so enthralling because things just… happen. The relationship evolves, and before you know it, they’re back in each other’s orbit again. There aren’t these huge artificial breaks.” She admitted she’d tried to introspect why she loved it so much. “Maybe it’s because it’s weirdly wholesome? It’s written so well. The character arcs are genuinely great.”

Heated Rivalry sits squarely within the romance genre’s HEA/HFN tradition — Happily Ever After, or at the very least, Happy For Now. There is no tragic reckoning, no moral price paid for loving too openly. Which matters, because for decades gay romance on screen has been beautiful but fatalistic.

This one doesn’t.

“I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop,” a gay acquaintance told me. “I thought it would end the usual way — fear, society, something ruining it.” He laughed. “But it didn’t.”

“Which is precisely why Heated Rivalry works,” he added. “It doesn’t mirror reality. It offers a version of gay romance that’s improbably patient — not how things usually are, but how many of us wish they could be.”

I’ll admit, as a gay man, that hockey romance — or hockey smut, as the internet gleefully insists on calling it — isn’t quite my natural habitat. Lived experience is far more likely to involve hotel rooms booked by the hour, stairwells with one flickering bulb, or nightclub washrooms where inhibitions drop faster than leather trousers. Which is precisely why the fantasy works.

The cottage, then, lingers not just as a setting, but as a promise. And in a cultural moment that keeps insisting romance is dead, it’s no wonder everyone wants the invite.

A fortnightly guide to love in the age of bare minimum

Published – January 16, 2026 07:24 pm IST

When I first interviewed Pinakin Patel for a magazine profile almost two decades ago, he had already left Mumbai for Alibaug, back then a sleepy, rural landscape where few from the big city ventured. Electricity was patchy, so was Internet connectivity. Back then, Pinakin was considered an iconoclast (“I’m always 10 or 20 years ahead of my times,” he quips). Today he’s considered a visionary, prescient enough to see a future where urban Indians want a slice of village life.

This ability to foresee what will come has shaped the self-trained architect, interior designer, fashion designer, art collector, and all-around aesthete’s prolific career. It’s no wonder then that the 70-year old is now the subject of an exhibition marking 50 years of his practice.

All-around aesthete Pinakin Patel 

Titled The Turning Point, the exhibition is an expansive survey of Pinakin’s work, curated by Pavitra Rajaram, creative director of Nilaaya Anthology, and her Mumbai-based team. It is the first time an interior designer has been accorded a retrospective of this nature. “I feel like I’m getting married again,” he laughs. “The engagement is over, now comes the main event.”

The show features 11 signature designs, including the Jhoola Bed, Brahmaputra Dining Table, and Jali Bar, alongside 19 decorative objects and artworks from Pinakin’s personal collection. “Pinakin’s work has shaped design in India for over five decades, and this retrospective was conceived as a tribute to that enduring legacy,” says Rajaram. “His ability to seamlessly blend tradition with modernity, along with his deep connection to materials and nature, and the way his philosophy of living has influenced his design — the why informing the what — makes his journey one we wanted to share.”

Pavitra Rajaram, creative director of Nilaaya Anthology
| Photo Credit:
Aditya Sinha

It also includes works by the late Dashrath Patel — artist, designer, and mentor to Pinakin — who played a key role in founding the National Institute of Design. A limited-edition book and a short film will follow in the coming months, and select works will be auctioned by Mumbai auction house Pundoles at the end of March.

‘A student in every field I entered’

On a sunny morning in his 7,000 sq.ft. central Mumbai home, Pinakin sits amid art, antiquities, and books accumulated over decades. Reflecting on the retrospective, he admits he was “genuinely surprised”. Having volunteered for years at institutions such as the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and other nonprofits, he assumed any such recognition would come from a museum or government body. Instead, the initiative came from the private sector — a shift he finds telling.

“The world has changed,” he says. “Cultural responsibility has moved. Governments come and go. Corporates, at least the good ones, know what they want and how to do it.” He points out that over a hundred people are involved in the exhibition, working with notable efficiency. “It’s actually delightful.”

Across five decades, one constant has been Pinakin’s refusal to see himself as an expert. With no formal training in design, curiosity has always mattered more than mastery. “I was a student in every field I entered,” he says. Trained initially as a chemist to join the family business, he pivoted in 1984 when he opened Et Cetera, a shop selling curios and crafts. “I didn’t know what more I would add to it, hence the name,” he says. At the time, India had no organised lifestyle retail. The shop became his classroom.

The Jhoola Bed, one of Pinakin’s signature designs
| Photo Credit:
Aditya Sinha

It was there that a client, Shailaja Jhangiani, asked if he did interiors. “I didn’t even know what interior design meant,” he admits, declining the job. She left her card anyway. Around the same time, architect Kiran Patki began sourcing accessories from him for ITC hotel projects, including ITC Windsor Manor and Bukhara. In an era before easy access to suppliers, Pinakin travelled across India’s craft centres, sourcing antique copper and brass vessels discarded as stainless steel and glass cookware gained popularity. “All those bartans you see at Bukhara, I sourced them,” he says.

Buoyed by this experience, he returned to Jhangiani, who gave him a copy of a magazine which featured the American fashion designer Bill Blass’ home and asked him to recreate it. “Imitation is how you learn,” he says. “The danger is getting stuck there.”

Master of all

Architecture followed just as unexpectedly. While working on interiors for industrialist Rahul Bajaj’s family in Pune, Pinakin suggested hiring an architect. Bajaj refused. “You do it,” he said. That 1987 commission became Pinakin’s first architectural project. Since then, he has designed homes for clients including Radhe Shyam Agarwal, co-founder of Emami Group; the Bhartias, the industrialist family from Delhi; Harsh and Sanjiv Goenka (of RPG and RSPG Groups, respectively); the Nopany industrialist family, and actor Shabana Azmi and lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar. He has also built institutions such as the Kolkata Centre for Creativity.

The minimalist Prive Villa in Alibaug
| Photo Credit:
Ashish Sahi

The art-filled luxury villa is designed by Pinakin Patel
| Photo Credit:
Ashish Sahi

Across disciplines — retail, interiors, architecture, fashion — Pinakin’s defining trait has been reinvention. “I enter a discipline, learn intensely, and then I leave,” he says. When he moved into fashion, he taught himself garment cutting using YouTube tutorials. What drives him is a search for beauty, not just in objects, but in lifestyles and nature.

A formative influence was his mentor Dashrath Patel, a Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee. Pinakin believes Dashrath never received proper recognition and recalls years spent trying, unsuccessfully, to secure institutional acknowledgment for his work — appointments with institutions and meetings with corporates, all ending in polite refusal. Dashrath remained unfazed. “Time is a continuous affair,” he would say. “In another lifetime, I will become famous.”

The lesson stayed with Pinakin. “Nobody makes you famous,” he says. “You have to plan for it.” Markets reward predictability, he believes, but both Dashrath and Pinakin resisted being boxed in. “Every decade, I reinvented myself,” he says. “I respond to what’s happening around me.” Sustainability, for instance, never felt like a trend to him. “Climate was going to revolt,” he says. “It was obvious.”

Sanctuary in Alibaug

The boldest decision of his life came in 1999, when he left Mumbai for Alibaug. Professionally, everything was going well — money, visibility, press. “I was in a sweet spot,” he says. “And I was miserable.” City life, clients, even his friends irritated him. Alongside this ran a philosophical shift — from a search for beauty to a search for sublimity, influenced by Advaita thought. “I wanted to find a higher joy,” he says. “So I could stop critiquing everything around me.”

The move was instinctive, and risky. Pinakin credits his wife, Dolly (Hima), a talented gardener (she co-founded the well-known south Mumbai nursery Bageecha and is the magician behind the greenery in their Alibaug house) for making it possible. “She’s been the anchor,” he says. “Without her, I’d have gone off the rocker.”

Pinakin Patel’s Alibaug house

Today, the couple live on a three-acre Alibaug property lush with water lily ponds, butterfly gardens, and dense foliage that buffers the now-busy road nearby. The house holds around 70 artworks and antiques; Pinakin admits, with characteristic nonchalance, to placing an M.F. Husain painting outdoors under a chikoo tree. In total, he owns nearly 1,000 artworks. Next door is Pinakin Studio, a retail and exhibition space employing around 80 people, mostly local and informally trained. “People come from all over India to buy furniture and objects,” he says.

For Pinakin, the upcoming retrospective is not a culmination. “I don’t see a straight line, I see movement,” he says. Looking ahead, he says his calling card will read ‘Pinakin Patel, Facilitator.’ “I want to be the platform through which designers can display their talent,” he explains. “Come to Pinakin Studio with your ideas, and we’ll make them here.” It is, fittingly, yet another reinvention.

The Turning Point opens on January 18 at Nilaaya Anthology and is on till March.

The writer is a Mumbai-based journalist and author.

Brucelee, a black and white Shih Tzu is a bundle of energy as he trots along with Maya, another Shih Tzu. They are soon joined by Luna, a gentle St Bernad. They prance through dry-leaf tunnels and hop around sand pits, bringing smiles to morning walkers at the State’s first dog park, located at Udhagamandalam’s Arboretum Tree Garden. While the garden covers an area of over three acres, the park, built at a cost of ₹40 lakhs, has earmarked play zones, water sprinklers, besides a fully functional obstacle course to keep animals entertained. Every day, about 10 to 15 dog lovers and their furry companions gather together at the park.

On a chilly winter morning, sunrays filter through a boulevard of native and exotic trees at the Arboretum Tree Garden that stands tall next to the Ooty Lake. The tree garden not only showcases the thriving plant diversity of the Nilgiris but also offers visitors insights into the region’s rich ecology, conservation and climate resilience.

The park has been designed entirely around the existing trees, so dogs can enjoy a naturally shaded environment
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

“We selected the Arboretum Park for several reasons,” says Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru IAS, the Nilgiris District Collector. “One of the biggest advantages is the natural tree cover. There are many mature trees here, providing excellent shade, and we were very clear that we would not cut or remove even a single tree. The park has been designed entirely around the existing trees, so dogs can enjoy a naturally shaded environment.” Designed to prepare dogs for district, state and national-level competitions, the park features 13 training activities, including doggie crawl, archway run, stepping riser, teeter-totter, hoop jump and weave poles. Inputs from organisations like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) were taken into account while developing the park. 

Another factor was that as the public footfall here is low, they felt that the space could be put to better use. A small stream passes through the centre of the park, dividing it into two halves which helped to plan the exclusive zone for pets. “Within the zone, we have created separate areas for small dogs and large dogs, all of which are completely fenced,” she says as we tour the park.

People walking around the park can watch the dogs playing from outside the enclosure. Water bowls are placed throughout the park. There are leash stands too to help owners relax while keeping their pets secure. “Inside, we have installed various play and agility equipment, keeping in mind that Ooty also hosts dog shows every year.”

Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru IAS, the Nilgiris District Collector at the park
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

Pet dog trainers and owners can bring their animals for training, however, registration of dogs is mandatory. Dog owners from across Nilgiris district can register their pets on umcpetregistration.in along with details such as the owner’s name and address, photographs of the dog, and vaccination records. Veteran dog trainer P Ravi Kumar, who has over 40 years of experience, says the park will prove useful for his dogs. “I have 35 dogs. German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Great Danes. For German Shepherds especially, we need a big ring where the dog can run 20 to 30 rounds continuously,” he says.

Ravi Kumar runs boarding where people from across the country leave their pets with him for months. “Running and obedience training is essential. We participate in dog shows across India and travel in AC coupes because the dogs must be kept comfortable.”

Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru IAS, the Nilgiris District Collector at the park that has earmarked play zones
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

JR Sentamizhselvan, a Class XI student, owns a Doberman, Labrador, German Shepherd and a Shih Tzu says the park allows him to spend more time with his pets. For college student Martin, time at the park with his Beagle Mia is therapeutic. Another student, D Krithik says he started using the space to train his six-month-old German Shepherd and Pug.

Doggie crawl, archway run, stepping riser, teeter-totter, hoop jump and weave poles are installed at the park for training purposes
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

K Arunprasath, who trains Caravan Hounds, a native hunting breed from Karnataka, highlights the park’s role in canine mental health. “These dogs are great runners. We’ve been training dogs for 15 years. A park like this with lots of open spaces helps reduce anxiety and stress.”

The Collector, a dog lover herself, says it was important to create a dedicated and safe space for dogs, where pets can move freely.

The park has a fully functional obstacle course to keep animals entertained besides water sprinklers and earmarked play zones
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

Safety and etiquette are a priority at the park. There are boards listing do’s and don’ts, and basic pet etiquette that one must follow. Owners are required to stay with their dogs at all times while inside. Vaccination certificates are mandatory, and owners are asked to keep them on their phones. These are checked at the entry to ensure the health and safety of all animals using the space. While pet registration is mandatory for locals, tourists can bring their pets by showing valid vaccination certificates.

Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru IAS, the Nilgiris District Collector at the park where pet owners should follow pet etiquette
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M

According to the district administration though the Nilgiris has high dog ownership, there are very few pet-friendly places. The initiative encourages responsible pet ownership besides addressing issues like lack of safe recreational spaces for pets. The park is also expected to give a push to tourism as many visitors, especially from Kerala, Karnataka and AP, often bring their animals on their holiday trips to the Nilgiris. She adds, “After long journeys, pets experience stress. Since dogs are not allowed in most gardens, this park gives them a space to relax and play.”

The park is at Arboretum Tree Garden, West Mere, Commercial Road ( near the Ooty Lake and Botanical Garden). Open from 8am to 5pm. Food is not allowed inside, though owners may carry a few dog treats.

Published – January 16, 2026 03:49 pm IST

Ever wondered why strawberries and strawberry-flavoured ice cream or chocolates do not taste the same?
| Photo Credit: Freepik

A Work In Progress
| Photo Credit: Chris Gonzaga via Wikimedia Commons

The team of people who manage the stall with Vijaya Bhaskar at Numaish
| Photo Credit: Prabalika M Borah

Bibimbap
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Mahindra XUV 7XO is far more than a straightforward successor to the XUV700. It represents a decisive step forward for the brand, both in intent and execution, and arrives as an all-new three-row SUV that signals just how far Mahindra has matured. While the XUV700 provided a strong base, the 7XO builds on it in a way that feels genuinely transformative. In many ways, this is Mahindra’s most complete product yet. It gets the fundamentals right while also delivering on comfort, performance, technology, and presence. It is not without flaws, but when viewed as a whole, the positives comfortably outweigh the negatives, making the XUV 7XO a compelling and confident contender in its segment.

Visually, the XUV 7XO strikes a confident balance between familiarity and evolution. The side profile still carries the unmistakable DNA of the XUV700, and that works in its favour. The vehicle remains a well-proportioned, muscular silhouette that looks every bit like a modern full-size SUV. The real evolution lies in the finer details, where Mahindra has clearly focused on elevating the premium quotient.

A bold side profile with 19-inch diamond-cut alloys reinforces the XUV 7XO’s confident SUV proportions
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The SUV rides on striking 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels that fill the arches nicely and add to its planted stance. Up front, the revised grille with distinctive talon-inspired accents gives the vehicle a sharper, more sophisticated face, while premium piano black elements are generously used across the grille, fenders, and door cladding. From a long-term ownership perspective, piano black surfaces are always a questionable choice as they tend to show scratches easily, and that concern remains valid here as well. However, there is no denying the air of sophistication they lend to the design, and it is unlikely to be a deal-breaker for most buyers.

Lighting plays a key role in the XUV 7XO’s visual appeal. Squared-off bi-LED projector headlamps draw inspiration from the Scorpio-N, complemented by exposed ICE Cube fog lamps up front. At the rear, diamond-inspired LED tail lamps with clear lenses stand out, especially after dark, giving the SUV a distinctive and premium night-time signature.

Step inside, and it becomes immediately clear that the cabin is where Mahindra has made one of its most significant strides. The interior has been completely redesigned, not only in terms of layout but also in material quality and overall ambience. The result is a space that feels genuinely premium, with a level of sophistication that places it firmly among the best in its class.

Advanced lighting elements and LED tail lamps give the XUV 7XO a striking presence, especially after dark
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The new two-spoke steering wheel, wrapped in leather and finished in piano black, looks contemporary and feels great to hold, offering excellent feedback on the move.

It is not without its flaws, though. During the drive, there were moments when using the phone controls would inadvertently trigger the horn, pointing to a button sensitivity or software calibration issue. It is a minor glitch and one that Mahindra will likely address quickly, but it does stand out as one of the few negatives in an otherwise well-thought-out cabin.

Seat comfort is a clear highlight of the XUV 7XO. The premium soft leather upholstery, finished in a tasteful two-tone combination of chestnut brown and off-white, instantly elevates the interior. The seats are well contoured, generously cushioned with thick foam, offering excellent support over long journeys. Subtle aluminium accents on the seats add a touch of visual flair without feeling overdone.

Both the front and second-row seats are ventilated, a welcome addition and a major advantage in warmer climates. The first and second rows offer excellent comfort and space, making the XUV 7XO an easy SUV to spend long hours in. The third row, however, is more suited to children than adults. While it does feel a bit tight for full-sized passengers, Mahindra has ensured that it is not an afterthought, with dedicated AC vents and a charging port to keep rear occupants comfortable and connected.

The redesigned cabin showcases a coast-to-coast triple-screen layout and a distinctly premium ambience
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The sense of space inside the cabin is further amplifiedby the large panoramic sunroof, which opens wide and is likely to be a major draw for family buyers. It allows plenty of light into the cabin and adds to the overall feeling of openness.

Technology is another area where the XUV 7XO truly stands out. The highlight here is the coast-to-coast display setup, which consists of three screens seamlessly integrated across the dashboard. This includes a fully digital driver information cluster, a central infotainment system, and a dedicated front passenger display. What is particularly impressive is that this entire setup is standard across all variants, a bold move that underlines Mahindra’s confidence in the product. These displays are further elevated by segment-first Dolby Vision, which noticeably improves clarity, contrast, and overall visual richness. Audio duties are handled by a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system that delivers an immersive and well-balanced listening experience.

Beyond the screens, the feature list is extensive and thoughtfully executed. Dual-zone climate control, retractable sunblinds for the rear windows, wireless charging for both front and rear passengers, boss mode that allows the front passenger seat to be adjusted easily from the second row — all add to the sense of everyday luxury. Features such as multi-zone ambient lighting, a six-way power-adjustable driver seat, and a 540-degree camera system with digital video recording all contribute to the feeling that nothing important has been overlooked. The connected car experience is taken a step further with Alexa integrated with ChatGPT, allowing users to interact with the vehicle in a far more natural and conversational manner than traditional voice assistants typically allow.

Safety is another key strength of the XUV 7XO. The SUV comes equipped with Level 2 ADAS, offering features such as adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, and traffic sign recognition. This is complemented by disc brakes on all four wheels, a high-strength body structure, and a comprehensive suite of airbags, reinforcing Mahindra’s focus on occupant protection and overall safety.

Under the hood, the XUV 7XO offers a choice of petrol and diesel powertrains. The 2.0-litre mStallion petrol engine produces 200 PS of power and 380 Nm of torque, delivering strong performance for those who prefer a petrol setup. The 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine remains the more compelling option for this SUV, producing around 186 PS and 420 Nm of torque with the manual gearbox, while the 6-speed automatic version ups torque output to a substantial 450 Nm. Mahindra has confirmed that the XUV 7XO platform is capable of supporting all-wheel drive, although an AWD variant is yet to be introduced.

Ventilated leather seats and a panoramic sunroof elevate comfort and space for all occupants
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

What we drove was the top-of-the-line diesel automatic, and it also showcased Mahindra’s all-new DaVinci suspension setup, which the company claims is a world-first. Technicalities aside, the real-world results are genuinely impressive. Ride quality is among the best in the segment, with the suspension doing a superb job of absorbing road imperfections while maintaining excellent composure at speed. It strikes a rare balance, delivering plush comfort without diluting handling confidence. Behind the wheel, the XUV 7XO feels robust, responsive, and surprisingly engaging for a vehicle of its size. It feels peppy when pushed, stable through corners, and always in control, making it an SUV that you genuinely enjoy driving rather than merely being driven in.

Taken as a complete package, the Mahindra XUV 7XO ranks among the most impressive vehicles the brand has ever produced. It is well priced, generously equipped across the variant range, and finally showcases a level of quality, refinement, and dynamic ability that firmly places Mahindra among the best in the business. There are minor flaws, but they do little to detract from what is otherwise a thoroughly accomplished SUV. The XUV 7XO does not just move the game forward for Mahindra—it clearly shows that the brand has come of age.

Mahindra XUV 7XO starts from INR 13.66 lakh onwards

Motorscribes, in association with The Hindu, brings you the latest in cars and bikes. Follow them on Instagram on @motorscribes

Novelist and columnist Shobhaa De
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Till recently, the air in Veeramangudi, in Papanasam taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, used to be redolent with the fragrance of caramelised sugarcane juice, thanks to the over 100 family-run jaggery units here. Of late though, these factories have started closing down due to an attack of yellow leaf disease in the sugarcane crop.

In their heyday, these units specialised in the soft and crumbly atchu vellam (jaggery set into cubical wooden moulds). A 2024 application for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Veeramangudi Atchuvellam Producers Association, Thiruvaiyaru, reveals that the factories in and around the village produce approximately 245 tonnes of jaggery (7,000 bags of 35 kg each) annually.

The atchu vellam makers here cater to bigger retailers in Thanjavur and also sell their stock at the Neikkarapatti jaggery market near Palani, says P. Sathyaseelan, a third-generation farmer and jaggery maker from Veeramangudi. “It is no longer a profitable business. We are carrying on only because it is our family tradition, and we do not want it to vanish like other rural occupations,” he says.

A 30 kg sack of Veeramangudi atchu vellam typically fetches around ₹1,350 in the market. “This is quite a reasonable price, but of late, we have been unable to get even this, because of the unusable crop,” adds Sathyaseelan.

Sugarcane juice is cooked till it caramelises and thickens before being set into wooden moulds to make Veeramangudi atchu vellam.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

A close-up view of freshly made Veeramangudi atchu vellam cubes.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

Integral part of Tamil Nadu

Jaggery is an emotional component of Asian cuisine. It turns up in home remedies, Ayurvedic medicines and as wedding gifts, and is the flavour definer in traditional sweet dishes like pongal, thothal/ dodol and chikki, besides being a spice stabiliser in sambar and rasam.

In Tamil Nadu, one of the five major sugarcane producing states in India (along with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat), many rural communities rely on jaggery production from sugarcane (known as vellam) and palm sugar (karuppatti) to cater to larger retailers, especially during the festival season that stretches from October to March.

During the Pongal festival being celebrated across the State this week, the making of sakkarai pongal — a sweet preparation made with freshly harvested rice, moong dal and jaggery in earthen pots on firewood stoves — is a treasured ritual symbolising prosperity and thanksgiving.

‘Sakkarai pongal ‘, a sweet preparation made with rice, moong dal and jaggery, is a staple of Pongal festival celebrations in Tamil Nadu.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

Traditionally, vellam makers are farmers who grow their own sugarcane, and process it for jaggery making in small thatched working sheds within their fields. Sugarcane ‘bagasse’ (the dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice) is used as fuel to cook the jaggery syrup down on large flat-bottomed pans.

Largely a self-sustaining cottage industry, Tamil Nadu’s jaggery hotspots include Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Madurai and Virudhunagar. Many villages in the Cauvery delta region also produce artisanal jaggery in significant quantities.

Made with care and precision

A master cook and his assistants stir the sugarcane juice continuously for up to two hours until it thickens.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

Recently, before copious rains hit the Cauvery delta region, farmer Aravinth and his co-workers prepared a batch of atchu vellam, with a mix of old and new technology. Gone are the cattle-driven juice extractor machines, their place taken by a noisy motorised thresher. The juice is directed through an inbuilt channel into the koprai, a giant metallic flat pan set on a raised earthen stove that is lit up with large batches of bagasse fibre. A master cook and his assistants stir the juice continuously with the help of long paddle spoons for up to two hours until it thickens. “You cannot leave the mixture unattended, as it can burn easily when caramelisation starts,” says Sathyaseelan.

Workers pour and level hot jaggery syrup into wooden moulds at a traditional workshop near Thanjavur.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

The concentrated cane sugar syrup is removed from the pan and allowed to rest for a while before it is poured into the atchu (mould) in wooden frames. Around 15 minutes later, the moulded jaggery is tapped out of the frames, cured for 30 minutes, and then packed in sacks.

Rows of traditionally moulded atchu vellam (jaggery) cubes set out to cool.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

On the cusp of change

The labour-intensive manufacturing technique has reduced the number of jaggery producers in many regions of Tamil Nadu. Modern-day industrial mills have shifted the processing from farms to factories. “Many farmers are moving away from sugarcane cultivation because its harvesting needs extra labour. And with the prolonged hot weather patterns, most of the crop is used for making juice or refined sugar. Only those with the financial resources can afford to produce jaggery profitably,” says M. Karthikeyan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Jaggery Merchants Association, Madurai.

However, health-conscious urban consumers are driving the demand for good quality jaggery. “In today’s culinary world, where farm-to-table and local ingredients are used for sustainability, jaggery stands out naturally. It is made with very little processing, unlike refined sugar,” says M.S. Raj Mohan, chef and head, Department of Hotel Management, G.T.N. Arts College, Dindigul.

Mohan says that jaggery also scores over white sugar with its flavour and aroma. “In classic recipes, replacing jaggery with white sugar changes the flavour, texture, and overall soul of the dish. It blends well with spices like cardamom, ginger, cumin and pepper, and contains minerals like iron, calcium, and potassium.”

nahla.nainar@thehindu.co.in

Published – January 14, 2026 08:35 pm IST