do men downing their drinks scrunch their faces up with anguish and disgust sometimes noses clipped with fingers with a shudder as the booze snakes down the gullet rp a barfly has a theory for this charayam or arrack the now banned homemade distillate was a bitter brew which went by weird brand names diesel viplavarishtam revolutionary potion kottuvadi hammer manavatti so potent it keeps your head down like a coy bride it had to be downed in small glasses in a fast selfflagellant gulp like arishtam ayurvedic potion this arishtam complex still drives the drinking rites in kerala even after it has graduated to more evolved alcohol the nose pinching is supposed to cut the flavour by half like when you have a smelly tonic he says the drinking is heavy and steady no small pegs and pints here the target is clear getting drunk a delhi tourist recalls walking into a bar in kochi and being stumped by the air of gloom and despondency it was a dark intense kind of scene steady and determined drinking with no expressions of enjoyment touching experience there are some distinct ideas around drinking in kerala a plate of searing hot and red pickle is a must preferably narangya lime the salt and spice says the malayalee man line your stomach and protect it from damage by the strong stuff being poured in so you lick the fiery pickle masala pull a sour face wait for the lining to develop and gulp this popular strategy is called touching and it is touchingly nave science there is another display of faith here you often dip your fingers into a glass of water and sprinkle it around the glass to mark its sacredness you could also just sprinkle a few drops of water into the glass and keep the alcohol pure