Source….Sketch drawn by Shri.Ramanathan ramu67 in .www.periva.proboards.com
Natarajan
Motivational
Message for the Day…” What is ‘ Turiya ‘Stage in one’s Life …? “
They are, according to the Veda, four stages – the waking, dream, deep sleep, and the liberated stage (turiya). In the first stage, one is awake to the objective world and is oriented outward. Since one identifies with the gross body complex at this stage, the experiences are also gross. In the dream the self is in-faced. Reactions, responses, and experiences are all self-contained. They do not belong to the area outside of oneself. Next comes deep sleep (sushupti). This stage is free from even dreams. There is no feeling of either separation or identity, the particular or the universal, experiencer or experience. There is only the Atma, in which one has temporarily merged. In the fourth step (Turiya), the individual is no more so. It has attained the basic truth of life and of creation. Those who have reached this step no longer have concern with the individual self. These are four states one experiences, but they are also stages one has to go through in search of Self-Knowledge.
படித்து ரசித்தது ….” வாழ்க்கைப் பயணம் …”
வாழ்க்கைப் பயணம்
அமெரிக்க தொழிலதிபரான ராக்ஃபெல்லர், முதுமையிலும் கடுமையாக உழைத்தவர். ஒருமுறை, விமானத்தில் பயணித்தார். அப்போதும் ஏதோ வேலையாக இருந்தவரைக் கண்டு அருகில் இருந்த இளைஞர் வியப்புற்றார். அவர், ”ஐயா, இந்த வயதிலும் இப்படிக் கடுமையாக உழைக்கத்தான் வேண்டுமா? ஏகப்பட்ட சொத்து சேர்த்து விட்டீர்கள்… நிம்மதியாக சாப்பிட்டு, ஓய்வெடுக்கலாமே?!” என்று ராக்ஃபெல்லரிடம் கேட்டார்.
உடனே ராக்ஃபெல்லர், ”விமானி இந்த விமானத்தை இப்போது நல்ல உயரத்தில் பறக்க வைத்து விட்டார். விமானமும் சுலபமாகப் பறக்கிறது. அதற்காக… இப்போது எஞ்ஜினை அணைத்துவிட முடியுமா? எஞ்ஜினை அணைத்துவிட்டால் என்னவாகும் தெரியுமா?” என்று கேட்டார்.
”பெரும் விபத்து நேருமே!”- பதற்றத்துடன் பதிலளித்தான் இளைஞன்.
இதைக் கேட்டுப் புன்னகைத்த ராக்ஃபெல்லர், ”வாழ்க்கைப் பயணமும் இப்படித்தான். கடுமையாக உழைத்து உயரத்துக்கு வர வேண்டியுள்ளது. வந்த பிறகு, ‘உயரத்தைத் தொட்டு விட்டோமே…’ என்று உழைப்பதை நிறுத்தி விட்டால், தொழிலில் விபத்து ஏற்பட்டு விடும். உழைப்பு என்பது வருமானத்துக்காக மட்டுமல்ல, உடல் ஆரோக்கியம் மற்றும் மன நிம்மதிக்காகவும்தான்!” என்று விளக்கம் அளித்தார்.
Source………………unknown…. input from a friend of mine
Natarajan
Message For the Day….” Who can Merge in ‘SIVA’….”
Yama (Lord of Death) is as omnipresent as Siva! Yama is associated with the body (deha); He cannot affect the individual soul (jiva). The body is the essential vehicle for the individual soul to understand its real nature. Still, who knows when it may become the target for the attention of Yama, the master of the body? Who knows when this body will get entrapped in the coils of Yama’s ropes? The individual soul, burdened with this easily destructible body, must pay attention to this fact and be all-eager to merge in Siva! People usually procrastinate tasks – yesterday’s tasks are delayed to today and today’s tasks to tomorrow. But the tasks of spiritual discipline are not of such a nature. The minute that just elapsed is beyond your grasp; so too, the approaching minute is not yours! Only that individual soul which has this understanding engraved in its heart can merge in Siva.
Meet Indian Cricket’s Unsung Hero… Ajinkya Rahane !!!
Rahane’s sound technique, solid temperament, fiery confidence, steely determination and hunger for runs – all in keeping with the tradition of famous Mumbai batsmen – far outweigh charisma and flamboyance.’
‘Being mentally strong, he never buckles under pressure; nor gets unduly affected by adulation or criticism.’
Haresh Pandya salutes India’s most consistent batsmen over the last season.
Ajinkya Rahane reacts after completing his century. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Monk-like Ajinkya Rahane is the odd man out in the star-studded Indian cricket team. Though he is a star in his own right, he never behaves like one, unlike most of his Indian colleagues. Few can, however, match the man from Mumbai, who is the most consistent Indian batsman in the last one year, when it comes to sterling performances in trying circumstances.
The right-hander has neither the charisma of a Virat Kohli nor the flamboyance of a Shikhar Dhawan. But Rahane really does not need them. He hails from the famed Mumbai school of batting, which has given many stalwarts, including Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, to Indian cricket.
His sound technique, solid temperament, fiery confidence, steely determination and hunger for runs – all in keeping with the tradition of famous Mumbai batsmen – far outweigh charisma and flamboyance. He may continue to remain an unsung hero, but his performances cannot be ignored.
Rahane has nicely adapted himself and his game to all the three formats. And delivered, too. In the just-concluded Indian Premier League he was one of the most successful players. In 14 matches he scored 540 runs off 413 balls, at an impressive average of just a shade under 50.
In the last 50-overs-a-side World Cup in the Antipodes he had raised expectations after his breezy 79 against South Africa that had diehard critics gasping. Had he managed to convert into big innings all those good starts he got, he would have emerged as one of the stars of the showpiece event. Nevertheless, he left his imprint and impressed those whose views matter.
Ajinkya Rahane reacts after completing a century. Photograph: Philip Brown/Reuters
Along with Kohli and Murali Vijay, Rahane was one of the few successes for India in the tough four-Test series in Australia prior to the World Cup. He was always there in an hour of crisis, often stemming the rot with his resolute batting. If anything, he scored 399 runs in the rubber, including 147 off 171 balls in the third Test in Melbourne.
He was the only Indian who returned home with his head high and reputation intact from the previous disastrous tour of England. When all the Indian batsmen were repeatedly coming a cropper against the rampaging James Anderson and Stuart Broad, it was Rahane who salvaged some honour and pride for his team.
He scored 299 runs in the Tests, including a century at Lord’s, at a fairly healthy average of nearly 34 (considering that his more experienced teammates failed miserably) and 192 runs, including a hundred at Birmingham, at an average of just a little under 50, in the ODIs.
It was vintage stuff and Rahane proved that he had come of age as a world-class batsman, one you can depend on when the chips are down.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli, who were expected by most to plunder runs and set the Thames on fire, were shockingly reduced to their own shadows. Pujara was still good enough, at least in the first half of the Test series, but Kohli’s was a complete flop show.
Ajinkya Rahane plays a pull shot. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images
Rahane’s success was no fluke. He had gone to England armed with brilliant performances on India’s previous jaunts of South Africa (where he essayed two outstanding innings of 51 not out and 96 at Durban even as India lost by 10 wickets) and New Zealand (where he registered his maiden Test hundred).
“After his noticeable success on the South African and New Zealand wickets, where the ball comes quicker and bounces and swings prodigiously, I was certain that Ajinkya would be a major threat to the England bowlers. And so it proved.
“He may not have played many mammoth innings, but the way he handled the English fast bowlers, when other batsmen failed, was quite endearing. He demonstrated right technique, mental toughness and strong desire to prove himself,” former India batsman Pravin Amre, who has coached Rahane, told Rediff.com.
“He is a much disciplined batsman, who does not lose his cool, or get excited, in any situation. He has improved his game, including footwork and shot selection and execution, by hours of practice in the nets. He is always a keen learner. He has begun well in international cricket and I am sure he will go places. India is lucky to have a batsman like Ajinkya.”
For one usually getting to bat at No. 5 or No. 6, where opportunities are lesser and pressures greater, Rahane has done very well in his brief international career so far. Batting in the middle of the middle-order is not easy. If there is a collapse, you have to repair the damage while facing the bowlers who are dominating. If the team is in a strong position, you have to cut loose and add a few quick runs.
But Rahane’s game is a judicious mix of caution and aggression, which enables him to adjust splendidly to any situation. And he bats accordingly.
The true test of an Indian batsman comes when he plays overseas in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa, where the wickets are green and sporting and run-scoring is not as easy as it often is on the Indian pitches.
He has done far better than many in these four countries and made runs against heavy odds.
Success and stardom cannot go to the head of someone like Rahane, who, given his seriousness and concentration, resembles an ascetic at the crease. Being mentally strong, he never buckles under pressure; nor gets unduly affected by adulation or criticism.
Having brought much-needed order to Team India’s middle-order, he is destined to have a long and distinguished innings in international cricket.
Haresh Pandya
Source….www.rediff.com
Natarajan
Message for the Day…” When people do become True Devotees …” ?
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From the point of view of what one achieves at the end of the journey, there is no difference between a liberated soul(jivanmukta) and a devotee; both are beyond ego (ahamkara),nature (prakriti) with its three attributes or gunas, and the rules and regulations (Dharma) that govern the caste-stage of life (varna-ashrama). The hearts of such will be full of compassion and be filled with the urge to do good to the world. Their divine bliss born of oneness impels them to act in this way. They will have no desires, for desires are the products of feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Only after these desires are uprooted do people become true devotees, right? So there can be no room in them for desires. They are truly speaking devotees of the embodiments of immortality (amrita-swarupa). For those with that immortal nature, there can be no appetite except for the sweetness of spiritual bliss (ananda).
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Grandma..92…Sets Record for Oldest Woman Marathoner…
92 year old Harriette Thompson and son Brenny Thompson, finish the Suja Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon on May 31, 2015 in San Diego, California. (AFP)
SAN DIEGO: A 92-year-old US grandmother has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon, when she crossed the finish line of a San Diego 26-miler on Sunday, race organizers said.
A smiling Harriette Thompson, aged 92 years and 65 days, was cheered by dozens of onlookers and supporters as she completed the Southern California event in seven hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds.
Speaking to her hometown newspaper, the Charlotte Observer, Thompson said she felt “a little stiff” after the race.
“I was really tired at one point. Around mile 21, I was going up a hill and it was like a mountain,” she told the Observer.
“I was thinking, ‘This is sort of crazy at my age.’ But then I felt better coming down the hill. And my son Brenny kept feeding me all this wonderful carbohydrates that kept me going.”
The previous oldest woman marathon runner was another American, Gladys “Gladyator” Burrill, who was 92 years and 19 days old when she did the Honolulu event in 2010.
Thompson participated in the marathon to raise money for cancer research, a disease she has herself survived.
The grandmother to 10 grandkids also completed the race last year with a time of seven hours, seven minutes and 42 seconds.
The oldest male marathon runner is Fauja Singh, who was 101 when he retired from racing in 2013.
Source…..www.ndtv.com
Natarajan
Legacy Way: Pedestrians Walking Through A Traffic Tunnel in Brisbane …An One Time Opportunity!!!
The opportunity to snap selfies on a stroll through a Brisbane traffic tunnel was one more than 20,000 people were not willing to pass up this weekend.
The one time only offer to walk through the Legacy Way tunnel ahead of its opening to traffic sometime in June was jumped at by pedestrians eager to see how the $1.5 billion project came together.
The 4.6-kilometre tunnel will connect the Western Freeway at Toowong with the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove.
It is the largest piece of infrastructure built by a local council anywhere in Australia.
Throughout Sunday, participants were bussed in from special locations around the city for the chance to walk through part or the full length of the westbound lanes of the tunnel.
They were also treated to music, food and drinks, a jumping castle and face painting.
Oxley resident Kelly Bentson and her daughters Willa, 6, and Sage, 4, were some of the first to enter the tunnel.
“We think it’s a very exciting thing to do because you’ll only ever be able to do it once,” she said.
“It’s a thing in history for my daughters to remember.
“I think I’ll be using the tunnel – there will be times when we use it. I’m a bit of an infrastructure nerd. I do work in the industry so I like to do these sorts of things.”
Jamboree Heights resident Michael Mann, who has been watching the project closely ever since the first sod was turned, was keen to see the final product.
“I wanted to look at the tunnel and get a bit of exercise. I’ve been keen to check out the design,” he said.
“The tunnel is on my route, I’ll probably be using it.”
Earlier this week it was announced a trip through the tunnel would cost $4.85, but will be discounted for the first year.
The first of more than 20,000 pedestrians who took to the Legacy Way tunnel on Sunday.
” நீ என்ன பண்றே …..உன்னாலே முடிஞ்சதை சமைச்சுப் போட்டுடு …”
“இது மகாபெரியவா உத்தரவு;
நமக்கு ஒண்ணும் தெரியாட்டாலும் அவர் பாத்துப்பார்’”
சொன்னவர்-பட்டு சாஸ்திரிகள்.
தொகுப்பு-சாருகேசி
‘நன்றி-பால ஹனுமான் & சக்தி விகடன்”
”பிடில் சுந்தர சாஸ்திரிகள்ங்கிற பெரியவர் ஒருத்தர், ஆதிசங்கரரோட ஜயந்தியை ரொம்ப வருஷமா நடத்திண்டு வந்தார். மகாபெரியவா என்னைக் கூப்பிட்டு, ‘அவருக்கு ரொம்ப வயசாயிடுத்து. பாவம்… சிரமப்படறார். இனிமே நீ ஏத்துண்டு நடத்து’ன்னார்.
பெரியவா சொன்னபடி, கலவை கிராமத்துல சுமார் ஐம்பது வருஷமா, விடாம நடத்திண்டு வரேன். மகாபெரியவாளும் அந்த விழாவுல நிறைய முறை கலந்துண்டிருக்கா..!” – சிலிர்ப்புடன் விவரித்த பட்டு சாஸ்திரிகள், எந்த முன் அனுபவமும் இல்லாமல்,பெரியவாளின் அனுக்கிரகத்தால் மட்டுமே சமாளித்து, நல்ல பேரெடுத்த சம்பவம் ஒன்றையும் பகிர்ந்து கொண்டார்.
”சுமார் 40, 45 வருஷங்கள் இருக்கும். பாதயாத்திரை கிளம்பின மகாபெரியவா, சோளிங்கபுரத்துல வந்து தங்கினா. அது, மிகப்பெரிய நரசிம்ம க்ஷேத்திரம். அங்கே ஆஞ்சநேயர் ஆலயமும் உண்டு. ரொம்ப விசேஷமான தலம் அது.
மகாபெரியவா அங்கு முகாமிட்டிருக்கிறதைத் தெரிஞ்சுண்ட முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி ஆர். வெங்கட்ராமன், அவர் மனைவி ஜானகி, ஆந்திர தேசத்தோட ஐ.ஜி. ராமநாதன் எல்லோரும் அங்கே வந்திருந்தா. வாலாஜாபேட்டை லேருந்து கோட்டாசெட்டி, டாக்டர் வேணுகோபால்னு எல்லாரும் மகாபெரியவாளைத் தரிசிக்க வந்துட்டா.
ஸ்ரீகண்டன்னு ஒருத்தர், மடத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர்தான். அவர்தான் மகாபெரியவாளுக்குபிக்ஷை பண்ணிப் போடுவது வழக்கம். அவர், பெரியவாளுக்கு மட்டும்தான் பிக்ஷை பண்ணுவார்; அது மட்டும்தான் அவரோட வேலை.
ஆனா, அன்னிக்கி மகாபெரியவாளுக்கு என்ன தோணித்தோ தெரியலை… என்னைக் கூப்பிட்டு அனுப்பினார். ”என்னைப் பார்க்கணும்கிறதுக்காகச் சிரமப்பட்டு எல்லாரும் இந்த ஊருக்கு வந்திருக்கா. அவாளைப் பசியும் பட்டினியுமா இருக்கவிடலாமா? தப்பில்லையோ! நீ என்ன பண்றே, அவாளுக்கெல்லாம் உன்னால முடிஞ்சதை சமைச்சுப் போட்டுடு”ன்னார்.
அதைக் கேட்டதும் எனக்குத் தூக்கிவாரிப் போட்டுது. ஒரு நிமிஷம், அப்படியே பேச்சுமூச்சு இல்லாம நின்னுட்டேன். பின்னே… எனக்கு சமைக்கவே தெரியாது. ‘எனக்கு என்ன சமைக்கத் தெரியும்னு, மகாபெரியவாஎன்னைப் போய் சமைச்சுப்போடச் சொல்றார்?’னு தவிச்சுப்போயிட்டேன். ஆனா, அவர்கிட்டே போய், ‘எனக்குச் சமையல் தெரியாது. வேற யார் கிட்டேயாவது சொல்லுங்கோ’னு சொல்லமுடியுமா, என்ன? பத்து வயசுலேருந்து பெரியவாளைப்பார்த்துண்டிருக்கேன். யாரையும் எந்தச் சங்கடத்துலயும் மாட்டிவிடமாட்டார்னு தெரியும். அதனால அவரே இந்தக் காரியத்துக்கும் ஒத்தாசையா, பக்கபலமா இருப்பார்னு முழுசா நம்பினேன்.
சத்திரத்து மேனேஜர்கிட்டே போய், பாத்திரங்களைக் கேட்டு வாங்கிண்டு வந்தேன். அங்கே… பக்கத்துலயே இருந்த பெட்டிக் கடைல ஒரு தேங்காயும், கொஞ்சம் வெஞ்சனமும் வாங்கிண்டேன்.
அது ஒரு மலையடிவாரம். அந்த இடத்துல, அம்மிக்கல்லுக்கு எங்கே போறது? கொஞ்சம் நீட்டமா இருந்த கல்லு மேல பருப்பு, தேங்காய், மிளகாய்னு எல்லாத்தையும் சேர்த்து வெச்சு அரைச்சுத் துவையல் பண்ணினேன்.
அங்கங்கே கிடந்த கல்லைப் பொறுக்கிண்டு வந்து, அடுப்பு தயார் பண்ணிண்டேன். காஞ்ச குச்சிகளையெல்லாம் பொறுக்கி எடுத்துண்டு வந்து, அடுப்பை மூட்டி சாதம், ரசம் செஞ்சு இறக்கினேன். யாரோ அரிசி கொடுத்திருந்தா. அந்த அரிசியைக் காமிச்சு, ‘இதப் பார்… ராஜா மாதிரி இருக்கு அரிசி!’ன்னு எடுத்துக்கச் சொன்னார் பெரியவா.
ஒரு மலையின் மேல நரசிம்மர்; இன்னொரு சின்ன மலையின் மேல ஆஞ்சநேயர். ரெண்டு மலையிலேயும் ஏறி, தரிசனம் பண்ணினோம். பெரியவாளும் மலைகள் மீது ஏறி வந்து, ஸ்வாமி தரிசனம் பண்ணினார்.
கீழே இறங்கறதுக்கு மத்தியானம் ஆயிடுத்து. அவாளுக்கெல்லாம் நல்ல பசி. எல்லாரையும் உக்கார வெச்சு, சாப்பாடு பரிமாற ஏற்பாடு பண்ணினேன். வந்திருக்கிறவா எல்லாரும் பெரிய மனுஷா. தேசத்துல முக்கியப் பதவிகள்ல இருக்கறவா. இதுவரை, சமைக்கவே சமைக்காதவன் நான். என்னோட சமையல் அவாளுக்குப் பிடிக்குமோ, இல்லையோ?! பயத்தோடயே பரிமாறினேன். ஆனா, வந்தவா எல்லாரும் திருப்தியா சாப்பிட்டா. எனக்குப் பரம நிம்மதி.
‘வைதீக, சம்பிரதாய சாஸ்திரங்கள் மட்டும்தான் எனக்குத் தெரியும். சமைக்கத் தெரியாது’ன்னு பெரியவாகிட்ட சொல்லி, கையக் கட்டிண்டு சும்மா இருந்துடலை நான். ‘இது மகாபெரியவா உத்தரவு; நமக்கு ஒண்ணும் தெரியாட்டாலும் அவர் பாத்துப்பார்’னு அசைக்க முடியாத தைரியம் உள்ளுக்குள்ளே இருந்துது. அவருடைய அனுக்கிரகம்தான், என்னைக் காப்பாத்தித்து!
சமையல் நன்னா இருந்துதுன்னும், வயிறு நிறைய, ருசிச்சுச் சாப்பிட்டதாவும் எல்லாரும் சொன்னா. உத்தரவு வாங்கிக்கறதுக்காகப் போனப்ப, பெரியவாகிட்டயும் என்னைப் பத்தி சிலாகிச்சு ஏதோ சொன்னாப்போல இருக்கு. வந்தவா எல்லாரும் போனப்புறம், பெரியவா என்னைக் கூப்பிட்டா. உள்ளூர பயமா இருந்தாலும், பெரியவா எதிர்ல போய் நின்னேன்.
”ரொம்ப நல்ல காரியம் பண்ணினே! க்ஷேமமா இருப்பே!”ன்னு கையைத் தூக்கி, ஆசீர்வாதம் பண்ணினார் மகாபெரியவா. ”அது போதும் எனக்கு! அவரோட ஆசீர்வாதம் போதும், மனசு நிறையறதுக்கு! அதைவிட வேறென்ன வேணும்?!” – நெகிழ்ச்சியுடன் சொல்கிறார் பட்டு சாஸ்திரிகள்
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Natarajan
“How IIT Kharagpur Researchers are ‘Leading a Green Revolution’ …”
Indrani Roy/Rediff.com traces how researchers at IIT-Kharagpur have managed to turn barren land of surrounding villages to multi-crop farmland
Dr P B S Bhadoria of IIT-Kharagpur speaks to the farmers of Khentia village in Kharagpur.
Jagannath Das, a farmer in his late 40s is surveying a farmland at Khentia village in Kharagpur.
The summer sun is merciless.
With the mercury at cruel 42 degrees, Das is sweating profusely but is smiling a happy smile.
“Five years ago, we could not imagine producing even a handful of paddy in this barren land of Khentia.
“But thanks to IIT Kharagpur professors, we can now grow paddy for our own consumption and can also farm soyabean, sweet corn, sesame, peanut etc,” Das tells rediff.com.
Dilip Kumar Swain (left) and Dr PBS Bhadoria at Khentia village.
A group of researchers at the IIT-K, which is about 10 kms from the Khentia village, have ‘adopted’ 14 acres of erstwhile barren land and turned it productive.
The farmers of Khentia who are working in tandem with the IIT team now can not only grow their own food but can also nurture the dream of selling the extra produce directly to retailers bypassing the greedy middlemen.
“We are really happy to be involved in this project. We can now grow our food and can also make money by selling the cash crops like sweet corn, peanut, soyabean that we have started growing in our land,” says 70-year-old Gora Das.
According to the IIT team, Das is one of the most hardworking farmers of Khentia.
“During the initial months of land preparation, we saw him working round the clock de-weeding the fields and tilling it from dawn to dusk,” says Abhishek Singhania, a young member of the IIT team.
Baby steps
The IIT team helped the farmer prepare a special low-cost vermicompost.
“Our biggest challenge was to prepare this land, which has been lying unused for years, suitable for cultivation,” says P B S Bhadoria, an IIT faculty member who is leading this initiative along with 29 other teachers.
“The project was conceived a year back when our director Partha P Chakrabarti approached the central government and expressed his intent to do something on food security.
“The central government lauded the idea and agreed to support the move,” Bhadoria says.
Farmer Jagannath Das demonstrates the harvesting machine.
Thereafter, 14 acres of land from 14 farmers of Khentia was chosen for the Rs 16-crore (Rs 160-million) project.
The field work for the project started in October 2014.
The project involves three departments of IIT-Kharagpur — agriculture and food technology, biotechnology and industrial engineering.
At present, there are about 30 experts assisting Bhadoria.
The total span of the project is three years.
Convincing the farmers wasn’t easy
“Convincing the farmers was a daunting task. Initially, the farmers were not ready to hand over their land to the IIT people. There was some political tension as well.
“Farmers with differing political views tried to create complications,” Bhadoria tellsrediff.com.
“But these problems were sorted out after long discussions and we got the farmers’ nod to go ahead with our experiments on these barren lands,” he adds.
“Perhaps, the farmers too did not like the fact that the land was lying unproductive for years,” Bhadoria says.
A storage pit for crops.
How the land was prepared
“Small adjacent pieces of land belonging to a single farmer were merged,” says Dilip Kumar Swain, associate professor, agricultural and food engineering department.
“Primary and secondary tillage was done by tractor-driven plough followed by levelling in November,” he adds.
“We did soil testing, which helped us determine the amount of fertiliser needed.”
“Earlier, the farmer would randomly use chemical fertiliser which often affected the land’s fertility.
“However, the 14 farmers who have partnered with us, now know the importance of soil testing before applying chemical fertiliser”, Swain says.
‘We gave importance to partnership’
“We wanted to bring the farmers into the project’s fold right from the beginning,” Bhadoria tells rediff.com.
“It had to be a collaborative project,” he adds.
“The understanding is, for one year, we will provide the farmers technical assistance, machines while they will provide free labour,” Swain tells rediff.com.
Apart from paddy, the farmers of Khentia are also growing peanuts.
“And after a year, we plan to hand over the entire project to the farmers,” he adds.
“This way, the farmers will attain self sufficiency,” Swain says.
The farmers have been asked to form a cooperative wherein they will distribute the produce of the land according to their percentage of ownership.
“While this creates a bonding among them, it also instills a sense of competitiveness among the tillers of the soil,” Swain says.
Irrigation was the key
The IIT team developed an irrigation facility in December by:
- installing a deep tube well in the area;
- constructing a pump house and
- by providing fencing protection of the cropped land
As part of the irrigation system development, a pond in the area was renovated to store rain water and grow fish. The pond was plastered with bentonite clay to check seepage.
According to Singhania, “The pond now takes care of the irrigation of the farmland to a large extent,” Singhania says.
The Khentia village project.
How production was enhanced
The farmers were given training on the production technology of System of Rice Intensification.
This technology saves 80-90 per cent seed and 40-50 per cent water.
The farmers were introduced to organic rice production technology.
They were taught to supply essential nutrients to their crops by using organic manure.
Trainings were given on effective and proper use of bio-pesticides.
“With the help of these technologies, farmers of Khentia could now produce as much as two tonnes of rice per acre,” Swain tells rediff.com.
“Moreover, they were able to minimise the loss of crops occurring out of unseasonal rains this year,” says Bhadoria.
Agrees farmer Swapan Das.
“Apart from growing rice in abundance, we doubled the production of other crops as well. It’s a miracle,” Das tells rediff.com.
Initially, the farmers of Khentia wanted to grow rice only.
However, after studying the land, its water demand and fertility, the IIT team introduced high value, soil restoring crops like sweet corn, sesame, soybean and peanut.
Farmers Jagannath Das and Swapan Das.
A low cost vermicompost is of great help
The IIT team helped the farmer prepare a special low-cost vermicompost by rotting cow dung, water hyacinth, farm wastes with 2.5-3 kg of eisenia foetida, a special species of earthworm in each bed of size 1.8mx1.2mx1m.
Each bed is expected to produce 100 kg of vermicompost in a single cycle of 60 days.
“Earlier, the farmers would burn the farm waste, causing pollution,” Singhania tells rediff.com
An IIT team member shows a soyabean fruit.
“We taught them to convert the farm wastes into an environment-friendly vermicompost which will cause any pollution but will give them a tool to practice organic farming,” he adds.
Singhania has his hands full making a sustainable farming-cum-marketing model so that once the IIT team leaves, the farmers can do everything on their own.
“We want to make them self-sufficient. They should grow their food, sell the extra produce to the retailers sans the middlemen and improve the condition of their land for sustenance,” Singhania says.
Future looks bright
The IIT-Kharagpur initiative has drawn accolades from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, which has awarded the institute a grant of Rs 26 crore (Rs 260 million) to replicate the experiment in nine other villages.
The project has also been made a part of the Narendra Modi government’s Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.
The IIT has adopted surrounding villages of Polisa, Chakmakarampur, Paparara I and II, Sankua, Lachamapur, Kaliara-1 and 2 and Changual to replicate the experiment there.
IIT-Kharagpur director Partha P Chakrabarti couldn’t have been happier.
“To focus on food security is an absolute must and we just can’t afford to ignore agriculture,” he tells rediff.com.
IIT Kharagpur director Partha P Chakrabarti.
“We often see farmers falling preys to advertisements and other marketing gimmicks,” says Chakrabarti.
“They have very little knowledge of technicalities of farming, quality of fertilisers and pesticides and end up paying for only those that are the most advertised.
“But as technical experts, we felt we should impart them the knowledge about farming.
“Since Kharagpur is surrounded by villages, we thought of starting the experiment here. “We are happy that our years’ of research in agriculture laboratories has borne fruit”, the director says.
Other Indian states like Bihar have approached the institute to start similar projects there.
Photographs: Dipak Chakraborty/Rediff.com
Indrani Roy / Rediff.com
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