Long Live the Mahua

The flowers of the mahua tree can be eaten, raw or cooked, and are an important item of the food of the Gonds and other tribes in central and western India, particularly in times of drought when rice is scarce.
The mahua tree bursts into full bloom at the very beginning of the hot weather. As it is the slack season among cultivators, the gathering of the mahua is a welcome task,

the whole village often turning out to bring in the crop. Sometimes the grass under the mahua tree is burnt away so that the blossoms may be gathered more easily. The women equip themselves with baskets, pilling them one on top of the other on their heads. The children carry brooms so after all the blossoms have been gathered, the ground can be cleared in readiness for the next fall. During the short period –only about fifteen days- that the mahua falls, the villagers particularly live in the jungle. The men carry away the crop as fast as the women and children can collect it.
The blooms are laid out to dry on a smooth bare patch of ground that has been specially cleared and prepared. They become quite dry and shrink to half their normal size, changing from white to brown. The mahua is often eaten by itself, but sometimes sal seeds and rice are mixed with it to improve the flawer.
Wild animals, particularly bears, are found of the flowers of the mahua. But no one, human or animal has to climb the tree to gather them. The tree blooms at night, and the flowers fall to the ground at dawn.