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Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
How Patanjali products helped a brinjal farmer in Wardha transition to organic profits
In the heart of Maharashtra's Wardha district, an agricultural revolution is occurring, one whose golden opportunities for sustainable farming and rural wealth must be shared. At its core is Shri Prabhakarrao Deotale, a Nandora village farmer who transitioned from conventional to organic farming, both increasing revenue and environmental health, largely because of training and practices inspired by Patanjali Ayurved's farm extension work. Deotale, an owner of 1.5 hectares of land who grew a variety of vegetables conventionally for years, received his wake-up call in May-June 2019 when he attended an organic farming training program conducted by the Patanjali Bio Research Institute (PBRI) at Nandora. The workshop was under the Farmer Samruddhi Programme of Patanjali, an initiative to empower farmers through ancient Indian knowledge systems blended with modern organic principles. Training the farmers During his training, Deotale was introduced to a wide variety of natural farming inputs and philosophies, including Jeevamrut, Beejamrut, cow dung-based composts, and vermiwash—all staples in organic farming protocol. He also learned the advantages of using straight (non-hybrid) seed varieties and natural pest deterrents over chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Armed with such knowledge, Deotale took a dramatic turn. In July 2019, he set aside 0.50 acres (0.20 hectares) of his land for chemical-free cultivation of brinjal through the use of the Harshal (Ankur) variety. His initial results were promising enough for him to harvest in September of the same year. Patanjali principles The shift to organic practices resulted in drastic reductions in the cost of inputs and sustained improvements in soil health. On the advice of Patanjali, Deotale made homemade Panchgavya and Dashparni—a mixture natural plant products and other things to manage nutrients and control pests. Panchgavya and Dashparni was applied to the field as remedies recommended in Patanjali's farmer manuals, and they helped keep plants healthy and minimised the need for commercial chemicals. The integrative organic system reduced pesticide costs and enhanced plant health. Notably, field observations showed healthier, stronger plant growth and immunity, an important parameter of crop and soil health under organic conditions. Market strategy: Organic by trust Deotale initially sold his crop twice a week on the campus of a local medical and engineering college in Sewagram. Despite the limited exposure, the higher price of organic brinjal ensured a superior income. His success has drawn attention and imitation from other farmers in the district. Apart from farming Deotale's commitment extends beyond his field. A poet and singer, he composed Marathi songs detailing the health hazards of chemical farming—lessons he absorbed during Patanjali's RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) training. By performing these songs locally, he has become an organic ambassador, sensitizing other farmers and villagers to the dangers of pesticides and the promise of natural methods. A new model for rural India? What makes Deotale's journey remarkable is the blend of tradition and innovation. Patanjali's approach—rooted in Vedic agriculture and fortified by modern training—has given farmers like Deotale the tools to achieve profitability without compromising the environment or health. As awareness of food safety and sustainable farming grows, Deotale's success is more than an individual achievement. It is a potential model for rural transformation, where local know-how, sustainable technologies, and strategic placement of the market coalesce to create strong farm systems. As chemical farming continues to brew as a cause of controversy, examples like that of Deotale show that maybe the future does lie in returning to our roots, with institutions like Patanjali in the lead. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
How biscuits in this Pune shop offer customers a bite of retail history
Written by Aarushi Prakash In the heart of Laxmi Road, one of Pune's busiest and most iconic marketplaces, stands Shanti Stores, a nearly 55-year-old business that looks like any other grocery shop – except for the shelves that display rows of old-school glass jars neatly filled with an array of biscuits. There are hexagons, circles, squares, rectangles, some with a dollop of jam in the centre, others with sprinkles and toppings, and some with layers of cream. Only an older generation would recognise the shelves as being a small museum of retailing history; their memories transporting them to a time that millennials cannot visit. 'Long before biscuits became available in colourful packaging, they used to come to shops in tins. This is how it was when our father, Mauji Bhai Soni, started Shanti Stores. We used to display the biscuits in glass jars to attract customers, who used to buy them by weight,' says Harshal Soni. 'Today, you ask for packets of biscuits. But, even in the modern era of pre-packaged biscuits, our shop still displays biscuits in jars. This keeps our father's tradition alive and provides a sense of continuity. Even today, some companies send us biscuits separately just for the display. This is a tradition going back five decades,' he adds. There are other details from the past as well, such as stone-tiled flooring and wooden counters. But, it is the jars of bourbon biscuits, cheeselings, Jim Jams, milk biscuits and crackers, from brands such as Kwality, Britannia, Champion and others, which turn back the clock. Shanti Stores was established in 1971 by Mauji Bhai Soni, a businessman who had moved from Kutch to Bombay before settling in Pune. In this city, he had the vision of better opportunities. Soni passed away in 2003. Today, the store is being run by his sons Harshal, Vijay, and Dipesh. Lovingly known as Mota Bhai, a regular customer, shares, 'Generations have come to this shop. I have seen grandparents bring their little ones, and now those kids bring their children. The tradition carries on. We come here because online grocery shopping lacks the charm of a store. It is missing that connection, that human touch, and that's exactly what we find here.' Harshal recalls how the practice of delivering biscuits in tins had generated another line of business. 'When biscuits were not sealed in plastic wrappers and arrived in tin jars, some pieces would break during transport. These broken biscuits were collected in a separate jar and sold at a lower price as mixed biscuits. You never knew what combination you would get – Bourbon, Monaco, and cream biscuits could all be in one bag. This became a big hit with children and families. There was a small surprise in every handful,' he says. The shop also sells snacks, dry fruits and other items, but it is the jars that draw returning customers. 'Some families have been coming here for four generations. They remember this from their childhood and want their children to see it too,' says Harshal. However, the future of Shanti Stores is uncertain. 'All our children have moved abroad. There is no one from the next generation to run the shop, but we are still hopeful,' says Harshal. Even as the world around it has changed, Shanti Stores has not tried to catch up – instead, it has upheld the simple idea that tradition retains its value when preserved with care. Aarushi Prakash is an intern with The Indian Express
Gulf Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Kishan and Malinga shine as Hyderabad defeat Bengaluru
Eshan Malinga and Pat Cummins triggered a batting collapse for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as they were dismissed for 189 in 20 overs in Match 65 of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday. Sunrisers Hyderabad thus registered a 42-run victory over the Jitesh Sharma-led side and prevented them from surging to the top spot in the points table. In the first innings, Ishan Kishan's unbeaten 94 saw Sunrisers Hyderabad set a massive total of 231/6 in 20 overs. For the fielding side, Romario Shepherd was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2-14 in two overs. In his first innings after confirming retirement from Tests, Virat Kohli (43) took the fight to the SRH bowlers. He began the proceedings with a late cut off Cummins, before punching Jaydev Unadkat through wide mid-off with authority in the next over. A pull shot towards deep mid-wicket, which just evaded Nitesh Kumar Reddy, off Cummins, saw the veteran take the charge from one side, while Phil Salt (62) struggled to get going, a contrast to their regular dynamics. The Englishman was given a lifeline when he hit a Harshal Patel full toss, which was later deemed a no-ball citing height, straight to the fielder on the boundary. He was once again caught on the subsequent free hit that followed on another full toss. One might have thought that Kohli would take notice of Harshal's variation and navigate through the over with caution, but he responded with two cracking boundaries through cover and over mid-off respectively, with the latter marking his 800th boundary in T20s. Salt's first boundary of the innings, barring the leg-bye four off his helmet, came in the fifth over and brought up RCB's fifty. Malinga was in for a rude awakening as his introduction saw Kohli smash him for six before Salt really grew in the game with a four and a six each. With the required run rate being matched, almost uncharacteristically, Kohli failed to get on top of the bounce off Harsh Dubey and sliced the ball straight to Abhishek at backward point. Mayank Agarwal (11), brought in as an injury replacement for Devdutt Padikkal, got off the mark with a four, while Salt really took the reins of the chase. A six each off Harshal and Malinga, with another four off the latter to bring up his fifty off 27 deliveries. Reddy ended Agarwal's return with a good length delivery in the channel, as the batter attempted to go over extra cover but edged to Klassen. Cummins smelled blood and brought himself into the attack. After an expensive opening spell, he added to RCB's woes as a full-length delivery saw Salt mistime it with Harshal taking the catch. Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma (24), alongside RCB's regular skipper Rajat Patidar (18), acting as an impact player due to a finger injury, did not let RCB's chase falter with the former launching Cummins for a six off the first ball he faced. Incredibly enough, RCB were able to keep up with the massive run rate with 10 runs off Harshal and 16 off Undakat and reached 167/3 at the end of the 15th over before disaster struck. Reddy clamped up the pressure and allowed only four off the next six deliveries, which resulted in Malinga completely flipping the game on its head. A yorker saw RCB try to steal a quick single, but the pacer got to the ball first and dismissed Patidar, who was left in no man's land, with a direct hit. Malinga continued his fielding heroics by dismissing Shepherd on his first delivery by caught & bowled. The game completely seemed to slip away from RCB when Jitesh miscued a slot delivery straight to Abhinav Manohar at deep mid-wicket. Tim David (1), who was forced off the field after pulling up in the final over in the first innings, was struggling heavily and was concerningly unable to take singles. Malinga obliged by ending his innings with a lower full toss, saw the Aussie hit it straight to long-on. Cummins bowled over Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3) before Krunal Pandya (8) ended up hitting his own stumps with his bat. Harshal Patel rounded the game up for SRH as Yash Dayal (3) was caught in the deep to dismiss the side for 189/10 to seal the 42-run victory. Indo-Asian News Service Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 231/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 94*, Abhishek Sharma 34, Aniket Verma 26; Romario Shepherd 2-14) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 189 all out in 20 overs (Phil Salt 62, Virat Kohli 43; Pat Cummins 3-28, Eshan Malinga 2-37) by 42 runs
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Harshal Patel completes 150 IPL wickets, surpasses Malinga, Bumrah
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Harshal Patel completed 150 IPL wickets after returning with a solitary scalp against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday at the Ekana Stadium in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Like most of the Hyderabad bowlers, Harshal turned out to be expensive. Still, he managed to scythe a scalp to reach the milestone in the fewest deliveries in the cash-rich league's history. Harshal had to wait till the 16th over to get his solitary scalp of the game. On the fourth delivery, he cleaned up Aiden Markram by executing a flawless yorker deprived of pace and ended his swashbuckling exploits at the crease on 61 (38) and returned with figures of 1/49 after bowling a full quota of four overs. Harshal celebrated his 150th IPL wicket and achieved the feat in 2381 deliveries, the fastest by a player in the tournament's history. The crafty pacer bettered Lasith Malinga's tally of 2444 and surpassed Yuzvendra Chahal (2543), Dwayne Bravo (2656) and Jasprit Bumrah (2832) to script the elusive milestone to his name. However, the 2021 and 2024 Purple Cap winners' landmark moment was overshadowed by Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who went all guns blazing with their swashbuckling display. Marsh drew the first blood and opened his account with a boundary on the first ball of the match by pulling off a flashy upper cut. The hard-hitting opening duo ensured Lucknow remained unscathed as they unleashed a barrage of boundaries to end the powerplay with 69/0. The 115-run opening stand concluded with Harsh Dubey's maiden IPL scalp. The slow left-arm orthodox spinner found the much-needed breakthrough by luring Marsh (65) to slice it straight into the hands of Eshan Malinga. Nicholas Pooran took the mantle of taking Lucknow past the 200-plus target with his rollicking display. He flaunted his brute force and tormented Hyderabad bowlers at one end. Pooran invited Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final over by smashing the ball into the stands for a towering maximum. But Pooran bit the bullet after Kishan had him run out on 45(26). Akash Deep came in for a one-ball cameo and made the most of it by dispatching the ball past the boundary rope to lift Lucknow to a daunting 205/7.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Umred's Harshal, training in Pune, lifts 800m Khelo India gold
Nagpur: Umred's Harshal Joge led Maharashtra's impressive medal haul with a gold in the 800 metres race in the athletics competition of the 7th Khelo India Youth Games , which concluded at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna, Bihar, on the first time in Khelo India's history, Maharashtra made a historic achievement by winning a total of 15 medals—10 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze. In the boys' 800m race , Harshal secured Maharashtra's maiden gold medal when he clocked 1 minute 53.99 seconds to register a triumph.A member of Om Sai Sporting Club, Harshal is a native of Umred and represents Nagpur district in state-level competitions. Harshal, who trains at Pune's Sports Academy achieved this golden success under the guidance of Arvind Chavan. In the final race, Harshal prevailed over Uttar Pradesh's Gyan Singh Yadav with a comfortable margin of 90 seconds. Yadav won the silver medal with a timing of 1:54.90 seconds, while Uttarakhand's Suraj Singh claimed the bronze with 1:56.70 Harshal brought home a yellow metal, it was a marginal miss for Nagpur's prodigious middle-distance runner Kashish Bhagat. In the girls' 4x400 metres relay race, Kashish and her teammates Shreshta Shetty, Bhoomika Nehase, and Mansi Deherekar missed the gold medal by just one second. In a photo finish, the Maharashtra quartet had to be content with the silver medal with a timing of 3 minutes 49.44 seconds. Haryana's team claimed the gold when they clocked 3:48.44 seconds, while Tamil Nadu secured the bronze medal with a timing of 3:51.55 seconds.
