India Uncorked: The Cultural Biography of Alcohol in India

<p>India is the world's largest whisky market. India has four states under complete prohibition. Both are true. Both are India.</p><p>For 3000 years Indian civilization has simultaneously celebrated and condemned alcohol&mdash;brewing sacred soma in Vedic rituals while banning surā in religious texts hosting wine-soaked Mughal courts while preaching abstinence generating billions in revenue while maintaining constitutional prohibition directives.</p><p>India Uncorked traces the remarkable journey from ancient Ayurvedic theories of intoxication to contemporary craft cocktails from Buddhist temperance movements to Bollywood's portrayal of drinking from colonial distilleries to modern microbreweries.&nbsp;</p><p>The book uncovers Vedic soma and ancient surā brewing explores how Buddhism Jainism and Hinduism shaped India's prohibition paradigm reveals wine culture in medieval sultanates and the Mughal empire examines the British abkari system that created modern IMFL traces Gandhi's temperance crusade and celebrates regional traditions from toddy to feni.</p><p>Drawing on Sanskrit texts Persian chronicles colonial archives and contemporary data this meticulously researched narrative reveals India's contradictions about alcohol aren't problems to solve but permanent features of how Indian civilization works.</p><p>The pour began 3000 years ago. It continues today. This is its story.</p>