Winter’s sweet aroma: Date palm sap collection begins in S Dinajpur

BALURGHAT: With the arrival of mild fog and chilly winds, a wintry charm has begun to settle over South Dinajpur. As winter approaches, rural Bengal once again turns to one of its most cherished seasonal traditions—the collection of sweet date palm sap and the making of jaggery and traditional sweets.

Across the villages of South Dinajpur, gachhis (traditional tappers) are now busy preparing for the season’s first harvest of date palm sap. This age-old practice remains deeply rooted in Bengal’s rural culture—a symbol of winter, sweetness and celebration.

The process begins with cleaning and trimming the tops of the date palm trees. Soon, bamboo spouts are fitted to collect the golden drops of sap into earthen pots or nowadays, sometimes plastic bottles. The collected sap, when boiled over wood fires, turns into jhola gur, patali gur and solid jaggery—delicacies that fill Bengali homes with an irresistible aroma every winter.

Locals say the colder the weather, the sweeter the sap. A cup of fresh, cool khejurer rosh (date palm juice) on a winter morning brings both warmth and satisfaction. The sap and the jaggery made from it form the base for Bengal’s traditional sweets—pitha, payesh and puli, especially enjoyed during the Poush Parbon festival.

Mintu Basak, a tapper from the Baul area of South Dinajpur, said: “We are now preparing the trees for tapping. In a few days, we will begin collecting the sap. Date palms play an important role in our economy and ecology, yet unplanned cutting of these trees is a growing concern. Expanding date palm cultivation is essential not only for livelihood but also for environmental balance.”

From Buniadpur to Gangarampur, villages like Baraile, Sherpur, Shibbari and Sarbamongala are already abuzz with activity. Farmers are clearing branches, sharpening sickles and setting up furnaces for boiling the sap. “Our date palm jaggery is well-known,” said another tapper, Nirad Sarkar. “We start early because our patali gur is in demand across the state.”

Along the rural pathways of South Dinajpur, rows of tall date palm trees now present a mesmerising sight. As the first week of Agrahayan (early winter) progresses, every household prepares for the season’s traditional feasts — making sweets with new rice, jaggery and freshly collected sap.

Soon, the air of rural Bengal will once again be filled with the sweet aroma of new jaggery, heralding both the harvest season and the joy of winter.