The intoxicating industries of spirit and spirituality in Kerala seem to have beaten the economic downturn.

Liquor sales registered a robust growth in the last three months, though the period had been marked by the loss of employement for many and crash in the prices of agricultural produce. Spirituality too seems to be on a high in recent months if the record revenue at pilgrim and retreat centres is anything to go by.

The Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), the sole distributor of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in the state, has registered a 29 per cent increase in the sale of liquor for the quarter ended December 31 compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

Managing Director Shanker Reddy said the economic downturn has had little impact on the sale of IMFL. Total IMFL sales in the last fiscal stood at Rs 3,669.49 crore. The figure likely to touch Rs 4,500 crore in the current fiscal, added Reddy.

Compared to IMFL sales of Rs 971.27 crore from November 2007 to January 2008, KSBC had sales of Rs 1175.83 crore from November 2008 to January 2009.

One of the highest liquor-consuming districts is Kottayam, also the largest grower of natural rubber in the country. Though rubber prices have plunged from Rs 140 per kg to Rs 65 in last five months, the mood is still upbeat in the IMFL outlets and bars in this Christian heartland.

Bacchus isn't the only God on people's minds either. Though the flow of tourists has come down due to the recession, pilgrim and retreat centres are still doing roaring business.

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