Why I started thinking about honey differently

Last winter, my friend’s daughter had a lingering cough.

Not the scary, hospital kind. But the annoying one that overstayed its welcome. She’s six. Bright-eyed. Eats her greens. Doesn’t even mind bittergourd.

We tried everything from syrups, warm water with turmeric, to homoeopathic drops from a local practitioner. One round of a trip to the nearest Ayurvedic doctor was also done.

Then someone said, “Give her some honey. Not the supermarket kind. Raw, local honey.”

We were sceptical. But desperate.

So my friend called a beekeeper from the next village. He dropped off a small glass jar. Nothing fancy. Just thick, amber-colored honey with a faint scent of wildflowers.

It worked.

Within a week, her cough softened. She started sleeping better.

And just like that… honey became something else.

Not just sweet. Not just "healthy".

But personal. Almost sacred.

Now, here’s the uncomfortable part.

Most of the honey on store shelves in India?

It's not honey.

Tests have shown adulteration.

Rice syrup. Glucose. Heat treatment.

Anything to make it last longer, flow smoother, look prettier.

But that processing? It strips honey of its immune-boosting power.

So, ironically, what we often feed our kids to heal them is what’s quietly making them sicker.

And this isn’t just about children.

It’s about trust.

Food security.

The quiet poisoning of everyday life.

Now imagine this:

A patch of marigolds in your backyard. A modest box of buzzing bees. A child dipping their finger into raw, glistening honey, harvested just a few steps from the kitchen.

Not a utopian dream.

Just… a return.

To slower ways. To a deeper knowing.

To food that doesn’t need a barcode.

Growing your honey sounds complex. Risky. Out of reach.

But it isn’t.

Across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and even the outskirts of Delhi, families are starting to experiment with backyard beekeeping.

It doesn’t need acres.

The bees feed on whatever grows naturally nearby.

There’s even government support for small-scale beekeepers now.

And the returns?

Not just honey. But pollination for your flowers.

Higher yield in your kitchen garden.

And a living lesson in sustainability for your children.

It’s not a silver bullet.

But in a world where trust in labels is eroding…this might just be the quiet revolution we need.

If you're a policymaker reading this, then maybe it’s time we integrate beekeeping into urban farming programs, school curriculum.

Incentivise societies to create rooftop bee habitats.

Equip schools with micro-apiary kits.

If you're an entrepreneur, then there could be no better opportunity than this one to think of the trust you could rebuild.

A brand that stands for purity, you can trace back to your backyard.

I’m still learning.

Reading up on bee behaviour. Talking to farmers. Trying to unlearn the supermarket mindset.

It’s slow. It’s clumsy. But it feels real.

And if you’ve ever felt uneasy feeding your child something you didn’t quite trust…

You’re not alone.

Let’s talk more about this.

Let’s figure it out together.

Until next week — stay sharp, stay safe.

Jai Jawan. Jai Kisan. 🇮🇳🌱