"I was caught off-guard," says Ahmedabad-based art conservator, Ananya Krishnan, recalling her last trip home to Kerala in June. "Before heading back to Ahmedabad, I made my usual stop at the local market in Kollam for my favourite banana chips. The bag that used to cost Rs 100 was priced at Rs 150. Puzzled, I asked the shopkeeper why? He explained that the coconut oil used for frying the chips had gone up from Rs 200 to Rs 350 a litre. 'Coconuts aren't cheap any more,' he said."

Still puzzled, Krishnan voiced her worry to her mother-in-law. Why had coconut, the abundant pride of God's Own Country, become so expensive? "Since mid-2024, Kerala has been grappling with a coconut shortage. Prices have surged, and for many, the everyday coconut has slowly disappeared from the kitchen," her mot

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