Kottayam: For most people, a buzzing swarm of giant honeybees is a sight to fear. But for Joshi George, it is an invitation. With a handful of herbs, a puff of smoke and years of experience, he can calm even the fiercest colonies and collect honey from hives others would not dare approach.

On Tuesday, Joshi once again demonstrated his extraordinary skill when he reached out to a massive beehive perched on the rooftop of Nagambadam Indoor Stadium. Standing on a crane arm, 40 feet above the ground, he subdued the swarm to collect honey.

For the 54-year-old from Muliyakkal in Poonjar, facing angry bees is not a challenge but a craft perfected over two and a half decades. Joshi has spent the past 25 years collecting honey and removing bee colonies from places where they become a threat to people.

His secret lies in a traditional herbal mixture prepared using seven varieties of medicinal plants. When burned, the mixture releases a smoke that calms the bees, which allows Joshi to extract honey safely. Once the honey is collected and the hive is removed, the bees move away from the area.

Joshi’s journey into this unusual field began in the Attappadi region of Palakkad, where he raised giant honeybees on his own land. It was there that he learned the preparation of the herbal mixture from a tribal resident. The success of the technique soon brought him recognition, with people from even outside Kerala seeking his help to remove dangerous bee colonies.

Joshi has also served as the president of Poonjar Grama Panchayat since 2010. His daring missions to remove large bee colonies that had become a threat to people’s lives even earned him recognition from former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Among the many perilous missions he has undertaken, Joshi recalls extracting honey from a beehive on a bridge between Bharananganam and Ambaranirappu as his most dangerous assignment. During the operation, the torch he used to burn the herbal mixture slipped from his hand and fell. The situation turned even more precarious when the arm of an earthmover struck the bridge and disturbed the hive. The enraged giant honey bees swarmed around him, stinging him repeatedly.

Over the years, Joshi has removed beehives from several prominent locations, including the rooftops of Pala Church Tower (Kurishupalli) and Erumeli Vavar Mosque. Now, he hopes to pass on the traditional knowledge behind his herbal mixture to those interested in learning the rare skill of calming bees.