The sour taste of honey

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For this khandaani honeycomb breaker, these painful bites are a daily occupational hazard he is well able to handle. "All it takes is a bit of alum, phitkiri , to bring down the swelling and pain," said he, "but I often wonder what the bees must feel when they see me destroy the home they've so painstakingly built. But we poor people are forced to do this to put food in our stomachs!"

It was Jumman Mian's father who taught him how to safely break honeycombs to reap the rich harvest within. "My abba used to take me along when he went to break honeycombs. He showed me how to wrap my forearm with cloth so that the angry bees couldn't reach the skin," said he.

The traditional method of driving away the bees is to light a fire with neem leaves under the honeycomb. Unable to tolerate the smoke, the bees emerge from the comb and fly off in a large swarm. "Then we, arms safely bandaged, bring down the honeycomb and break it open," explained Jumman Mian.

Today, Jumman Mian takes his nephew Shahabuddin along when he goes comb-breaking, just like his father took him in the past. The exercise is fraught with pitfalls. "Apart from the danger of getting stung, which we learn to bear, there is the danger of falling from a height too," he says.

The work might be dangerous, but it is also very lucrative. "We get between Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 per honeycomb, depending on where it is located. Once, when I had to climb a thirty-foot-high water tank to reach the comb, I charged even more," said Jumman Mian.

He and Shahabuddin are the official comb-breakers for several carpet factories around Gopiganj, since few others are ready to brave the wrath of the bees.

Even though most of these factories commission Jumman Mian to remove honeycombs because of the danger that bees pose to workers, he rarely gets to keep all the honey he harvests. The little that he does get, is treasured.

The villagers here swear by the healing and nourishing powers of honey. "honey is God's gift to us, made from the fragrance of many flowers. It's excellent for growing children, and soothes the linings of the throat and stomach." He does, however, usually get to keep the beeswax.

"We put the beeswax in cold water to solidify it, and use it in many ways. Cobblers use it to polish and clean shoes. We always keep some at home "" it makes a good hot rub with mustard oil, for treatment of colds, and when it is applied on cuts and injuries, they heal much faster," said he.

Suddenly Jumman Mian pointed to a flowering bush: "See how many bees there are on those blooms. This is the season when they gather their honey.

And we usually harvest it in winter." He looked at the bees for a while and said, "the honeycomb is a miracle of nature. I've broken so many but I still wonder at their perfection." This sense of guilt, perhaps, explains why he has not allowed any of his four sons to join him in this business.

He's happy that the honey that has helped pay for their education will ensure that after him, there will be no more honeycomb breakers in the family.