Our Take
Organic farming is a good practice that needed to be promoted across the states, across the nation, all over the country. Basically because in day to day lives, we are consuming too much of chemicals indirectly, be it through grains and vegetables that use fertilisers and insecticides. Junk foods are also creating lots of problems as intake of green and leafy vegetables is getting reduced.
This is leading to gastric problems and it is not unusual to come across people who keep on complaining about indigestion and related issues. One simple and sure way of combating minor diseases is changing food habits and eating healthy. Gurmail Singh is a retired civil engineer who is promoting organic farming in Chandigarh and nearby areas. But his message is truly universal as he talks about simple agricultural practices which can be easily replicated.
He argues that “guru ka langar” can be organised in more ways than one, and serving food in the gurudwara kitchens is just one of the best established practices. He distributes saplings of common vegetables we use in everyday lives among those who come to his nursery for free. Ghia, karela, tomatoes, mint etc are plants that can be easily grown by people in small pots at home on their roofs, or in their balconies.
The first and foremost thing that is required for doing so is willingness to do it initially on experimental basis. He says that he is ready to help and train people who are desirous of learning as to how to grow these plants at their homes. All for free. Gurmail says that people with big houses, of small, living in large kothis, or small flats, need to cultivate the habit of connecting to the nature. He says it is an immensely enjoyable experience to sit on the roof among the home grown plants in the mornings and evenings.
To take tea or coffee, or some snacks, and observe the plants which are living beings just like us. Observing them minutely to check whether they are doing well, or otherwise, gives us joy as we learn to address the changes in them. As we respond to their needs as if they are speaking to us and it needs sharp observation skills to connect to them. Kudos to people like him who try to help the communities in which they are living.
