India, Sept. 25 -- Sometime along the last ten years, foraging has had a makeover. The term used to evoke a kind of desert-island wretchedness - the lone survivor looking for food in the forest (with maybe a ball named Wilson for company). Then chefs got in on the action. They'd send trained pigs to sniff out rare truffles, and create special, Michelin-starred meals around their hauls.

Even that story is changing. On Reddit, forums about the activity have, well, mushroomed. There are discussions on how to get started, how to identify which fungi will kill you, elevate your pasta or give your evening a psychedelic filter. India, on the other hand, is saying, "hold my guchchi".

Most of the country's foragers are not high-profile chefs on ...