First Independence Day, first medicinal farmer show

Indian Express

20 hours ago

The puja held on Monday, August 11, was special for Dhaneshwari Devi of Folgat village in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district as it came before the tulsi transplantation time and before the Independence Day. Her special guests included Block Development Officer Mahesh Thakur, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Priyanshu Khati and Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal. While the first officer made it to the puja, the other two could not but they promised to visit her on her return from Delhi.
'It is a matter of pride for the entire district that she has been invited to attend the I-Day function in Delhi,' says the Chamba DC.
Dhaneshwari, 40, is into medicinal farming, runs a self-help group under her name and will be a special guest at the Independence Day function at the Red Fort, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'I have no words to express my joy,' she says.
Four more medicinal farmers — all from Kangra district — will represent Himachal Pradesh. 'It is a matter of great joy that our medicinal farmers have been selected for the 15h August function. It will strengthen the grassroots democracy and economy,' says Kangra DC Hemraj Bairwa.
In fact, medicinal farmers from all over the country have been invited as special guests to the Delhi function. 'As many as 150 farmers are attending the function. All the expenses on their travel, stay and local sightseeing are being borne by the Ayush Ministry. They will stay in Delhi from August 14 to 16,' says Dr Arun Chandan, head of north regional centre of National Medicinal Plants Board.
Ayush Minister of State (independent charge) Prataprao Jadhav says, 'Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions, we invited 150 medicinal farmers to the function. This is going to motivate and encourage them, and promote medicinal farming in the country.'
While it will be a first I-Day function in Delhi for all the farmers, it is also a first visit to the national capital and a first flight for many of them.
Accompanied by her husband Virender Singh, 43, Dhaneshwari caught her first flight on Wednesday. Joining them was Kuldip Singh Chauhan, 73, from Baliana village in Dehra tehsil. He has special memories of Delhi which he used to visit during his school vacations as his father worked in a government department there after having served as a government driver at Quetta in Balochistan, Pakistan, before 1947. Having started by sprinkling medicinal seeds in his fields, Kuldip switched over to planting medicinal saplings in due course of time and grew from strength to strength with sarpgandha: 300 to 1,500 to 2,500 plants. 'When I took up medicinal farming, I was experimenting. Now I am successfully growing sarpgandha plants on my 10-kanal land,' he says, adding that he has come alone to Delhi as his wife is no more and he could not fill out details of another family member.
For Govind Singh, 60, from Dhanag village in Baijnath tehsil, brahmi has come as a boon. 'Our self-help group sold fresh brahmi for Rs 14,100 in the first year, for Rs 87,300 in the second year, and for Rs 80,000 in the third year. Apart from health benefit, it is also giving us financial benefit,' he says. He is in Delhi with his wife Asha Devi, 56.
Tulsi has added zing to the teamwork of Deep Singh, 45, from Patta Jattian village in Fatehpur tehsil, and his wife Ramna Devi, 33. 'I toil in the fields and my wife complements my work. She is with a self-help group,' says Deep.
Asha Devi, 47, from Paddar village in Dharamshala tehsil is a frequent flyer. Having studied up to Class 7, she has already taken three flights so far.
'Had my return flight from Delhi to Kangra not been cancelled on Tuesday, Wednesday's would have been my fifth flight. Seeing our work in the field of medicinal farming and the other products we make, an organisation has been calling me to their programmes sponsoring my air tickets. But this is my husband's first flight,' says Asha. Her husband Dewal Kumar, 51, has studied up to Class 10 and works in a private company.
The only one to represent Punjab is Naresh Kangar, 44, from Kangar village in Rupnagar district. An ex-serviceman, he is a firm believer in former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, and took to medicinal farming like a duck to water. 'We have been blessed richly by nature. We just need to explore it,' he says, claiming they have floated an FPO (farmer producer organisation) but have taken no help from the government. He is accompanied by his wife Mamta, 43.
Topping the Haryana list is Dipesh Kumar Chauhan, 37, from Aurangabad village in Palwal district. He works with his younger brother Rakesh Kumar Chauhan, 35. It is not Rakesh but Dipesh's wife Santosh, 35, who has travelled along with Dipesh to Delhi. 'I have a good understanding with my younger brother. He is happy that his bhabhi is going to the I-Day function,' says Dipesh. The brother duo have made a name for themselves in the field of herbal medicines and natural healing.
Karnail Singh, 55, from Kurukshetra, has created a colourful business world of mehndi. 'Our mehndi is sold far and wide. We also make other herbal products,' he says. He is accompanied by his wife Kamlesh Rathi, 45.
From Mahmudpur village in Gohana tehsil, Jitender Mann is 1978-born and his wife Sarla Mann is 1987-born. They run 'Husband Wife Farm', which they claim is Haryana's first moringa brand. 'One of our YouTube videos on moringa powder has garnered 64 lakh views,' says Jitender.
Dr Vishan Pal Singh, 67, from Panchkula does medicinal farming on 10-acre land in nearby Mauli and Natwal villages. He has gone alone to Delhi. 'I thought flag would be hoisted in Ambala or Chandigarh. Therefore, I didn't give my wife's name,' he says.
It was a roller-coaster ride of emotions for the last three Haryana farmers as their names were cleared at the last minute because of bureaucratic wrangles.
The Uttar Pradesh pack is led by Shiv Kumar Maurya, 41, Raypur village in Gonda district, who found medicinal farming was his real calling. 'I was on contract with NSSO (National Sample Survey Office). Then I did private jobs in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. But I found solace in my village's soil. I joined my father who was into horticulture. Later, I started growing tulsi, moringa and aloe vera,' he says. He is in Delhi with his wife Kusum Maurya, 40.
Having taken pre-mature retirement from Sashastra Seema Bal, Utkrisht Pandey, 40, from Bhadauna village in Pratapgarh district, has established a sustainable model of sandalwood farming. 'I have grown over 3,000 sandalwood plants and four indigenous turmeric varieties on my seven-acre farm, Rishigram Organics,' he says. Accompanying him to Delhi is his wife Dr Toolika Pandey, 41, and their two children, Avyan Rishikalp, 8, and Vagmika, who is yet to complete two years. The couple are bearing the children's trip expenses.
Deep Narayan Singh, 42, from Dughara village in Gorakhpur district, has been doing medicinal farming for the last seven-eight years. 'I am growing shatavar, kali haldi, peeli haldi, ashwagandha and lemon grass,' he says. He has gone alone to Delhi as his wife is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
Harakh Chand, 52, from Bambhaura village in Sitapur district, claims he gets visitors from as far off as Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra who come to see his medicinal crops. 'I have been doing medicinal farming for the last 15 years. Now I inspire others to do it,' he says. He is accompanied by his wife Sushila Devi, 45.
Rang Bahadur Singh, 76, from Amaura village in Ghazipur district, recalls his meeting with the then President Abdul Kalam: 'Around 20 farmers got an opportunity to meet Kalam sahab. I was one of them and the only one wearing dhoti-kurta. While he spoke English with others, he used Hindi with me and inspired me a lot.' Now Rang Bahadur inspires others with his thirst for Ayurvedic knowledge. 'I still study for three-four hours daily to gain more knowledge about Ayurveda,' he says. In addition, he practises medicinal farming and traditional healing.
Underlining Uttarakhand presence is Pushkar Singh Bisht, 49, from Sitel village in Chamoli district. 'Kutki, koot and kapur kachari are grown on a large scale in our area. We face two issues: financial and storage,' he says. He is accompanied by his wife Basanti Devi, 42.
Having studied up to Class 5, Kalawati Devi, 45, from Karmi village, claims to be the first to grow kutki, sugandh bala, koot and kapur kachari in her Bageshwar district. 'I have been doing medicinal farming since 2002. Wild animals often destroy our crops. It will be good if we get some financial help in fencing our fields. We also need a storage place,' she says. She has reached Delhi along with her husband Chandan Singh, 60. It is a second marriage for both of them.
Rekha Bhandari, 47, from Jajurali village in Pithoragarh district, has been into medicinal farming for the last 20 years. But she has increased the farming scale since 2014. 'I grow badi ilaichi, tej patta and reetha,' she says. She is accompanied by her son Abhishek Bhandari, 25.
Last but not the least is Khilap Singh, 52, from Vaan village in Chamoli district. He claims since his village is near the China border, he has travelled the most to reach Delhi. He started on August 10, walking and then travelling in taxis, and reached the national capital on the night of August 13. 'I grow koot, kutki and jatamansi. I face transportation and storage problems,' he says.