Next time you visit Mudigonda in Khammam and you are in a mood for some nice intoxicating country liquor, don't settle for the normal toddy. Instead, ask for the drink with a dash of celebrity in it. Try the Trisha special, or if you are still suffering from Manam hangover ask for the Samantha special, and if Bollywood is what you like then opt for Aishwariya Rai special!

Toddy tapping in an unforgiving business. Tapper risk their lives, meet with accidents, work in unbearable heat for a meager pay. A toddy tapper goes from tree to tree collecting as much sap as possible from coconut barks, but in spite of this hardwork, he manages to earn only about Rs 500. (What are heroines doing on fields?)

To beat these low prices and increase the demand, toddy tappers of Mudigonda hit upon an interesting idea; to have well-known brand ambassadors endorse their drink. Unable to get the real celebrities these enterprising tappers use the cut outs and posters of various heroines and paste them on the coconut trees. So, there are trees named after Tammannah, Trishna, Nayantara, Kajal, and reportedly the toddy collected from these trees are higher in demand. Incidentally they also feel that sap from different "celebrity trees" give different taste.

Speaking about the idea, one Toddy tapper said that the demand for toddy goes up during summers and that is why they stumbled across this idea to sell their toddy more. "We have to climb trees to get the sap. But after selling the same to local stores, we get nothing. Many of my friends have fractured their limbs after falling from trees, some have even died. This is a risky business, at least this idea helps us get good business," a toddy tapper said.

-Siva@Sakshipost