The Historic Story of Rice In India

Rice, the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima, is the most important food crop in the world. With over half the world relying on the rice crop as their daily staple diet, this cereal grain is the highest consumed grain in the world. These factors make rice the third highest produced grain in the world after sugarcane and maize.

Rice, one of the oldest crops known to be cultivated by man, is believed to have originated in China. Though the topic of the origin of rice is still a debatable topic, recent discoveries point to its origin being in India.

History of Indian Rice

Use in Rituals and Ceremonies - The first ever mention of rice in written work is found in the Yajur Veda which was written between 1500 to 800 BC. Thereafter rice has been mentioned numerous Rice Mill In Haryana India times in sanskrit texts. In India, rice has found its way into the spiritual and also the ritualistic minds. Rice, associated with prosperity, fertility and good health, has become an integral part of many ceremonies. 

In the ceremony of a child’s first consumption of solid food, rice is fed to the child. During wedding ceremonies, rice is flung at the newlyweds as a symbol of blessing the couple with good tidings.

Rice Domestication - Historians believe that the domestication of the Indica variety of the rice was first done in areas in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, all the stretching further to Burma, Laos, Vietnam and beyond. The Japonica variety, which was domesticated in China from wild rice was introduced in India before the time of the Greeks.

Agricultural Textbook - Krishi Parashara, written by Parashara in 400 BC, is deemed as the highest authority in the world of agriculture. It has extensive information on agricultural knowledge and practices. Biryani Rice Supplier In India It imparts invaluable intelligence about practices like plant protection, soil classification, manuring, land use and agricultural meteorology. It also gives information on how to deal with grasses for cattle and draught animals.

Origin of Rice - Recently discovered coprolites (fossilized dung) in the village Pisdura of the district Chandrapur in Maharashtra has been confirmed to contain plant remains of rice. This discovery drives back the origin of rice back by 35 million years. A proof that the dinosaurs savoured the staple cereal much before the humans added it their diet.

Rice Remains - In the Indian subcontinent the first ever remains of cultivated rice had been discovered in the North and the East and date back to about 2000 BC. The same strain of perennial wild rice is still 1121 Sella Basmati Rice In India grown in Nepal and Assam. It is also believed by some that the word “Rice” has originated from the Tamil word “Arisi”.