2. Pada Yatra
3. What did we see
4. What did we do
How did it start:
"Sir, I grow POISON", a farmer in West Godavari told me.
My name is Sudhakar V. I was born and raised in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), India. Like many of you from AP, after securing a degree in engineering, I came to the United States for higher studies. I graduated from University of Texas with a Masters Degree in Computer Science. Before I could realize, I had spent 16 years in USA. Every 2-3 years, I would visit my parents in India for 2 weeks; sleep for a week because of jetlag, do some shopping and visit relatives during the 2nd week and return to work in USA.
I have always longed to visit the rural villages of India and go to as many temples as possible. Until I was in my 7th grade, we would visit our village during summer holidays. I very well remember the games we played, the visits to the farms, riding on the cattle, milking the cows, churning buttermilk to make butter, spending time with villagers who are full of heart, singing at the temples, enjoying the seasonal fruits and celebrating the festivals with relatives.
In the last 16 years, I developed a lot of interest in Indian culture, customs, traditions, the values, the saints, the kings, the epics, etc. Almost every story in India had a king and a saint. There were a lot of moral stories, great role models who represented the epitome of character, like Lord Rama, Lakmana, Lord Hanuman, Lord Krishna, King Harishchandra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harishchandra), Bhakta Prahallad, Bhakta Kannappa, sage Viswamitra, sage Valmiki, Mahatma Gandhi, like this 1000s of real people who lived the values and showed the way for the rest of us. We were told many of these stories, read comic books or watched moral movies.
Last year, 2009, I decided to take a 3 week break and visit the villages in India. I teamed up with 5 other non-Indians from 5 different countries namely, USA, Netherlands, Japan, Germany and Croatia. They are students in India learning Sanskrit, Vedic Rituals, Yoga and Meditation.
We wanted to visit the lust green villages and the tribal areas. So, we randomly picked up 3 districts: West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Anantapur.
Pada Yatra (Journey on Foot):
In simple terms, Pada Yatra is a journey on foot. In each village, we started the journey by offering prayers at the temple of Grama Devata, the village deity, the protector of the village. We were joined by local villagers, men, women and children. We walked through all the streets, went door to door, greeted people and exchanged a word or two about their well being.
The positive side:
We were moved by the simplicity and innocence of the villagers. I think, there is no beauty that can match the beauty of an innocent face. We met many many beautiful people. Their hospitality is unparalleled. In Sanskrit, there is a saying, "Atidhi devo bhava", meaning "Guest is God". We were all treated like Gods. Each village welcomed us with great honor and respect and fed us with love and affection. We are total strangers but they made us feel so much at home, everybody greeted us with kindness and love and care. We had tasted many delicious dishes, seasonal fruits, enjoyed local folk dances and sang bhajans with the them. We walked many miles and some of us had sore feet but we kept going. We saw the richest of the villages and the poorest tribal areas where a car cannot go. There are no roads there. You have to walk on foot. We visited many beautiful ancient temples from Tretayuga and Dwaparayuga. There are tiny little temples which are 100-150 years old.
We covered villages near Tanuku, Bheemavaram, Chintalapudi, Visakhapatnam, Chodavaram, tribal villages near Pederu (in Visakhapatnam district) and Anantapur. Our journey had to end abruptly because of a State Bandh (local politics) in Anantapur.
The positive side:
We were moved by the simplicity and innocence of the villagers. I think, there is no beauty that can match the beauty of an innocent face. We met many many beautiful people. Their hospitality is unparalleled. In Sanskrit, there is a saying, "Atidhi devo bhava", meaning "Guest is God". We were all treated like Gods. Each village welcomed us with great honor and respect and fed us with love and affection. We are total strangers but they made us feel so much at home, everybody greeted us with kindness and love and care. We had tasted many delicious dishes, seasonal fruits, enjoyed local folk dances and sang bhajans with the them. We walked many miles and some of us had sore feet but we kept going. We saw the richest of the villages and the poorest tribal areas where a car cannot go. There are no roads there. You have to walk on foot. We visited many beautiful ancient temples from Tretayuga and Dwaparayuga. There are tiny little temples which are 100-150 years old.
We covered villages near Tanuku, Bheemavaram, Chintalapudi, Visakhapatnam, Chodavaram, tribal villages near Pederu (in Visakhapatnam district) and Anantapur. Our journey had to end abruptly because of a State Bandh (local politics) in Anantapur.
At the end of Pada Yatra in each village, we met all the villages at a common area called "Racha Banda" or in a local temple. We then, sang with the villagers and had food. The villagers started asking us to say something like a speech. This is the message we started sharing in all the villages. We met nearly 76,000 people one-on-one, in 30 villages.
The initial message:
In the first 5 villages, this is what we shared.
India is a great country. We are very thankful to you for preserving and sharing your wisdom with the rest of the world. You might know that many countries invaded India in the past but India never waged a war on any other country. It is not just the greatness of the country, but of its people, it culture, its traditions and its moral values. Bharata Desham (India) is not known just for it's spices, jewerly, Gulab Jamuns, Mirchi Bajji, good food, Bollywood, Tollywood etc., but for it's universal wisdom and knowledge. Many sailors, businessmen, invaders not only took a lot of wealth from India but also it's enormous wisdom. Of course, the invaders destroyed a lot of it too.
We also mentioned about the world's first University in India. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda, http://www.indiaplaces.com/india-monuments/nalanda-university.html, http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthIndia/Nalanda/Nalanda.htm) built in the 4 th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
We also mentioned about the world's first University in India. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda, http://www.indiaplaces.com/india-monuments/nalanda-university.html, http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthIndia/Nalanda/Nalanda.htm) built in the 4 th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
- India gave non-vilence to the world, vegetarianism to the world, Ayurveda to the world, the number "zero" to the world.
- Your gift to the world, 'Yoga and Meditation' is a 27 billion dollar industry in USA. Every business street in my country has a Yoga Studio. There are 100s of Yoga Books and Journals in the world. There is a lot of stress and anxiety in our developed countries and you have the solutions in the way you live your daily life. Our people are rich but we have 1000s of suicides because of depression. We are very passionate about your philosophy, your Gods, your great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata and your role models. India has many great role models of character like, Lord Rama, Lord Hanuman, King Harishchandra, sage Valmiki, sage Viswamitra, Mahatma Gandhi and many others. Almost every story in India tells the story of a moral king or a saint who gave enormous wisdom to the planet. Now-a-days, in our countries, our role models for our kids are, Spiderman, Superman, Ironman, Sponge Bob and such characters.
After visiting a few villages, we noticed that the villagers did not have as much admiration of their own culture and traditions as much as we in foreign countries have. We asked how many of them do Yoga or Meditation or some kind of exercise. Not one hand was raised. Yoga is popular all over the world but many villagers do not practice it or do any kind of exercise.
We were shocked to see that many people did not know so many wonderful people from India, like saints, freedom fighters, poets, some important people from the great epics. Most of them readily knew about America, some pop singers, American Franchises, Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood actors, Oscar and Grammy Awards, makes and models of foreign cars, alcohol brands, clothing brands, etc.
What we observed was very disturbing and we changed our message requesting the villagers to please preserve and protect their ancient culture and values. Even if they don't want it, for the benefit of the world, this wisdom that unites people and the nature loving traditions must be preserved. We asked them to go deeper into their value system and learn more about their culture which is adored so much by the rest of the world. They can very well learn about foreign countries, other cultures, technology and keep themselves updated. What they see on TV is not the real West. The Western countries have a lot of good to offer but the villagers do not have access to all the good from the West.
We urged them to deepen their roots and broaden their vision. The whole west is looking towards the east for peace, happiness, contentment, spiritual wisdom, healthy living, family values, yoga, meditation, etc. Some western people are experimenting with joint family system also. We said, "for the benefit of mankind, please learn about the greatness of your culture and help preserve it. It is already diluted in the cities and you are the care-takers of what India represents. Our future generations are in your hands."
India is a diverse country with many religions, castes, traditions, cultures, food habits, etc. Every 10km, has a new culture and custom. Still, India is united because of the core values of acceptance, tolerance, respect for each other, seeing God in everything and everyone around, love for nature, family bonding and such values. Indian customs and values are like a social fabric that unites all the people. If we do not protect and preserve this cultural heritage and start disrespecting it, we are in a way, putting holes in this fabric that our society is made up of. When there are too many holes in the fabric, the society will be at a very high risk and our future generations will go through insurmountable pain and suffering.
The disturbing side:
These are some of the disturbing observations during Pada Yatra and my 2nd visit after Pada Yatra.
We were shocked to see that many people did not know so many wonderful people from India, like saints, freedom fighters, poets, some important people from the great epics. Most of them readily knew about America, some pop singers, American Franchises, Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood actors, Oscar and Grammy Awards, makes and models of foreign cars, alcohol brands, clothing brands, etc.
What we observed was very disturbing and we changed our message requesting the villagers to please preserve and protect their ancient culture and values. Even if they don't want it, for the benefit of the world, this wisdom that unites people and the nature loving traditions must be preserved. We asked them to go deeper into their value system and learn more about their culture which is adored so much by the rest of the world. They can very well learn about foreign countries, other cultures, technology and keep themselves updated. What they see on TV is not the real West. The Western countries have a lot of good to offer but the villagers do not have access to all the good from the West.
We urged them to deepen their roots and broaden their vision. The whole west is looking towards the east for peace, happiness, contentment, spiritual wisdom, healthy living, family values, yoga, meditation, etc. Some western people are experimenting with joint family system also. We said, "for the benefit of mankind, please learn about the greatness of your culture and help preserve it. It is already diluted in the cities and you are the care-takers of what India represents. Our future generations are in your hands."
India is a diverse country with many religions, castes, traditions, cultures, food habits, etc. Every 10km, has a new culture and custom. Still, India is united because of the core values of acceptance, tolerance, respect for each other, seeing God in everything and everyone around, love for nature, family bonding and such values. Indian customs and values are like a social fabric that unites all the people. If we do not protect and preserve this cultural heritage and start disrespecting it, we are in a way, putting holes in this fabric that our society is made up of. When there are too many holes in the fabric, the society will be at a very high risk and our future generations will go through insurmountable pain and suffering.
The disturbing side:
These are some of the disturbing observations during Pada Yatra and my 2nd visit after Pada Yatra.
What did we see:
1. Farmers below poverty line:
Ever since Independence in 1947, almost every sector in India has developed except the farmer. There are good prospects for doctors, engineers, business people, school teachers, etc. 70% of India's population lives in the villages and India is still considered an agricultural country. Majority of our farmers are small farmers with 1-2 acres of land. {I heard from one of the farmer's conferences in USA that the smallest farmer in that conference has 1,034 acres}.
2. I read in the newspapers that 14,000 farmers committed suicide for economic reasons between 2001 and 2006.
3. Villages abandoned by youth.
4. Farming is not a noble profession any more. Farmers treated as low class citizens.
5. Youth would rather work as a coolie or an Office Boy than be a farmer.
6. Farmers shying away from farming
We met almost 76,000 people. In every village, we noticed that there were no youth. When asked, we were told that if you are a farmer, you don't get a girl in marriage. So, youth go to neighboring towns to work in some factory or as Office Boys in some office. Farming is not a noble profession any more. In my childhood, my parents and society taught me the order of divinity in the world as, "Talli, Tandri, Guruvu, Daivam (Mother, Father, Teacher, God)". Mother is your first God, then comes Father, then your Guru or Teacher who guides you for the rest of your life and then comes God. Somewhere in between or after, I cannot place exactly but a farmer was also treated like God and was given a very high position of respect.
I have experienced first hand, how difficult it is to maintain a small garden in a back yard. How back breaking it is to spend 2 hours on a weekend in the hot sun. And a farmer in India, is self disciplined. He loves his land as God. They worship the land. They have so much reverence to the soil, the mother earth. They wake up before sunrise and toil hard the whole day, attending to each and every plant. There was pride associated with farming and producing for the world. They are at the mercy of mother nature. Like all native cultures, the villagers respect the nature, the directions, the sun, the moon, the plants, the animals, etc. There was so much unity among farmers to sow, to harvest, to celebrate, to care and share. They are also at the mercy of Government officials for irrigation and electricity but it's a different topic to address at this time. But today, the mindset of the society is conditioned in such a way that 'farming is not a noble profession' and farmers are treated as low class citizens.
7. I read that native breeds of grains were burnt in several parts of India and replaced by GM seeds. Someone actually got a President's award for preserving 170 varieties of native seeds of rice. It seems, he went village to village and bought the grains before they got destroyed by big companies to sell their GM seeds.
You might know that, the output from GM seeds cannot be used for sowing the following season. Each season, the farmer has to buy these GM seeds from the multi-national companies or from the government which works with these companies. So, year after year, the farmers become increasingly dependent on these seeds. These companies, buy the native seeds and burn them. So, indirectly the farmers become slaves to these companies. If something happens to these giant companies, the whole country has to starve for lack of seeds to sow. Moreover, are these GM seeds making the farmers richer and healthier? A big "NO", in fact it is quite the opposite.
Also, I was told that the government gives these GM seeds at subsidized prices. What the farmers initially do not know is that, these GM seeds come with a prescription. The farmer ends up spending Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000 buying pesticides as per the prescription. The companies end up getting richer and richer and the farmer becomes poorer and poorer. Moreover, these is no proper education on what pesticides to use. Most of the labels are in English. Some are duplicate varieties. There is no proper check. The Pesticide shop keeper does not have much knowledge either. The farmer follows the advise of somebody they trust or the shopkeeper. In this way, they lose a lot more money.
I was told that the government also promotes a particular type of crop at subsidized prices, luring the farmer that they will get lot more money in the International Market. The uneducated farmer falls prey and sows these seeds and get stuck in a vicious cycle. Some crops I have seen take 4 years to give their 1st crop and then, they live for 10-12 years. These trees grow so huge that it is a nuisance to even get rid of them half way. You are just stuck in this cycle and you keep taking loans hoping to reap the rewards in the future.
8. Ill-health, skin diseases, increase in major surgeries:
Almost every single house I went to, someone in the house had a major surgery costing Rs.70,000 and up. If you name the village or Mandal, the people and doctors know about the most prevalent lung disease or skin disease in that area. It is that wide spread. Polluted water and lack of sanitation could be one of the reasons. The other reason is the kind of food they eat (with pesticides), malnutrition, etc.
9. Early deaths:
Many elders reported the deaths of their children around the age of 35, 50, 55, etc. The overall life span of India has increased but it looks like it is going down in villages. I posed this question to some educated villagers and they reported that the lifespan is better in cities than in villages. These deaths may not add to the averages of the state or country (we do not know how these national averages are calculated) but it is a fact that there are a lot more early deaths. Not just health but they could be alcohol and smoking related too.
10. Lack of energy, dullness, lethargy among villagers:
In olden days, we used to think that villagers are very strong and immune to diseases. My grand father, at 70 used to swim across the lake. All my cousins in the villages were very strong. But today, the farmers and youth complain of lack of energy and dullness. What could be the reason? There is also a lot of lethargy among villagers. People watch too much TV and do not engage in physical activities. Many farmers even sub-lease their land and stay home. So much lethargy crept into the society. The non-native contaminated food, lack of activity, laziness to do things is ruining their health and the society. One can tell the difference in energy levels between native breed of grains and the GM seeds.
In the cities, there is a lot of awareness about health, yoga and meditation. People go to gyms, jogging, walking, eat right, eat greens, protein shakes, multi-vitamins, etc. But in villages, the farmers grow greens and sell them in the market. They eat plain rice with chilli powder, pickle or just Ragi. Villagers needs proper education about nutrition.
11. Heavy use of pesticides:
Even around 20 years ago, so much pesticides and fertilizers were not used. Recently, some rice export to China was banned because of over use of pesticides it seems. I remember, a few decades ago, even when the fertilizer usage was very minimal, like 1 bag of urea for a whole acre, when cattle would come to graze, farmers would drive them away because the grass has chemicals. They would not let the cattle come near the field for a whole week. But now-a-days, farmers spray pesticides in the evening and the very next day, in less than 16 hours, the vegetables are on our dining tables. We now eat food, worse than cattle in olden days. I was told, now they use around 8-10 bags of chemical fertilizer for an acre of wet soil crops (paddy) and upto 25 bags for dry soil crops (chillies, ground nuts).
So, most of the hard earned money is either going back to the seed company or the fertilizer company or the doctors.
12. Water pollution, lack of sanitation:
Just a few years back, one could just go to a pond or a drinking water well or a bore well and get fresh clean water. Today, one cannot drink unfiltered water in any village. You can drink tap water or bore well water in some cities and not get sick. But in villages, because of heavy use of pesticides, water is completely contaminated, leading to all kinds of diseases.
There are many NGOs who installed Water Purification Plants in many villages. I don't have a proper number, but I learnt that 1/4th of the villages in some districts may have water filtration systems. The water from these plants is really cheap and very affordable. The villagers have to walk some distance but it is available in some villages.
Sanitation has been a long standing issue in rural areas. Many NGOs and government has been working to build proper sanitation but they have a long way to go to cover all the villages. Even in the villages where proper sanitation is build, villages are not using these facilities for various reasons. Proper maintenance of these facilities, education and effort from the NGOs and Panchayats is necessary.
13. Lack of unity, lack of labor:
I noticed that the villages are increasingly divided by caste, religion and even political party affiliation. I was told that there are divisions not only in the villages but also within the families. Because of this, the farmers don't help each other during sowing and harvesting. Also because of youth leaving the villages and lack of pride in farming, there is a huge shortage of labor. People are not getting together either for celebration or to solve their problems but sitting in front of TV. City dwellers can probably get away (for a short time) with TV and being independent. In today's world even countries are not independent. Everybody is co-dependent. We are losing this co-dependency in the villages. It will naturally reflect on the mindset of the next generation. We need to bring back the unity among villagers by proper awareness and education.
13. Abandoned temples, decrease in attendance:
In every single village, we went to at least 2-3 temples. We have seen many temples abandoned. They were locked at 7am, 9am and 6pm as well. We saw a few temples without electricity. These are not tiny 5ft by 5ft temples but a decent 40ft by 40ft temples with 3 idols, gates and locks. The village has electricity but not the temple. For the temple mic to work, for us to sing and speak, they pulled electricity from a mobile battery on a rickshaw or from a neighbor's house. We started asking questions. Poor maintenance, lack of funds, lack of attendance, no governance. We asked why are they locked all the time? They said, nobody comes to the temples anymore unless there is a big festival or function. If someone wants to do a puja, they can call the priest who will open the gates, perform puja, lock and leave. The priest(s) said, they don't get paid or paid enough in some cases. Since it is their ancestral lineage, they have committed to light the lamp and leave. One young priest we met was in charge (archakudu in Telugu) for 11 temples. He goes on his moped to the 10 small temples in the morning, opens the gates, lights the lamp with oil, locks and goes to the big temple for the rest of the day. There are temples with no lamps at all. No money to buy oil it seems. No one is in charge.
Priests do not want to educate their children in Vedas anymore. They are better off finding a job. In one village, there are 4 big size temples. Only one temple is functional because it was built by a big landlord, some Raju family, and they support this only priest with Rs.2000 per month. This priest is around 45 with wife and kids. A coolie in the farm, gets Rs.200 a day which is Rs.6,000 a month. We can always argue and discuss about atrocities of upper caste over lower caste, caste problems, issues in the past, etc., etc. That is not point here. These are just things which we noticed. I spent 2 hours at this Ramalayam on Saturday evening from 6pm to 8pm. I was the only devotee to the temple. Just outside the temple is a milk vendor shop. It was busy. Literally 200-300 people must have purchased milk from that shop in those 2 hours. In my childhood and even now in cities like Hyderabad, temple bells ring non-stop on Saturday evenings and mornings. I was the only one to ring the temple bell that evening at the Ramalayam.
In another village, the priest expressed the same concern of lack of attendance. I asked him, what was his social responsibility. I am going around village to village and giving talks to villagers about farming and cultural values. If there is an audience in your village, can you come and share your thoughts and why people should consider coming to temples? He said that he does not want to get involved in any such things. My job is to perform pujas at the temple. Beyond that it is people's karma. I thought we need to also educate the priest on social responsibility. They are so learned. They can play a major role and sharing what is right and wrong (protecting dharma) according to the scriptures. These priests also need some nurturing, guidance and leadership. They are losing the self confidence. It is a different kind of issue in bigger, famous, rich temples.
There are temples, where men sit outside the temple and smoke and gossip. Of course, the temple is locked. It is not a welcoming atmosphere for ladies or families to go near or into the temple.
In another prosperous village that I visited, there is no Priest family in the village. There were like 10 or so Brahmin families (in India, they are the priests generally) but they all moved to cities or abroad. They invite a priest from a neighboring village for festivals. For the rest of the year, the temples are kind of abandoned. I did not gather any more details.
Another incident. You might know that the Temples in Andhra Pradesh are now under Government Endowment. Thousands of acres of temple land is sold away in private. You can read all about that on the internet. In one decent looking temple, the village elder went to the Government Officer in charge of temples, for some funds for oil to light lamps and Rs.1 lakh for a major festival celebrations. The officer asked him for Rs.40,000 bribe it seems. There are 1000s of such incidents. There probably was misuse of money even before endowment. But look at the amount of corruption, lack of ethics, where is the world going?
{
Like this, I have many more stories which I will write another time. I will probably create a section for Temple Stories, Farmer Stories, etc.
Place Holder for:
a) Natta Rameshwaram Temple from Tretayuga, the water, attendance, etc.
b) 2km from here, another BIG BIG temple (big Nandi, I have some pictures), what is opp all these famous temples, maintenance, worn out, no sweeping in weeks, etc.
- Want to write about Imp of Ravi chettu, Bilva, etc., Why Pradakshina?
- 150 year old Hanuman Temple (small, tiny). The govt needs to make them as historical sites or list them somewhere. I think, we will do it on our site, eventually.
- 120 or 150 year old tiny temple in a Tribal village. We met the 60-70 yr old poor tribal priest with just a langot. He knows a few mantras. We sang here. Have some pictures also.
- Like this, AP / India has 1000s of very very ancient temples, sites, which need to be maintained and preserved. List them first, have the Govt officials monitor / manage, etc. We'll get there later, may be as part of the project.
- srirama navami: they go fund raising on lorries and tractors singing praises of lord rama and some stage plays. cannot raise Rs.5000; stage plays with record dancing with erotic songs for kids; no tati aaku pandiralu, no gangi reddulu for sankranthi, no much muggulu,
}
14. Ignored Grama Devata temples
Grama Devata or village diety.....
- all religious people used to celebrate once a year
- many villages did not do this puja in last 3 years
- some villages don't know where the grama devata temple is
- some villages, it is hiding behind bushes and people urinate near by the temple.
- belief that if you ignore grama devata, natural calamities can happen, no crops, rains, etc.
- all villages have grama devata, hanuman temple, ramalayam
So, each villages has it's own set of challenges to deal with. One solution will not fit all the villages. Each village has to be monitored and guided skillfully towards our mission of restoring the cultural values.
When I started the Pada Yatra, I did not know what I was going to do or where my life was taking me. There are my observations. It needs a bigger team which we are building, to gather stats on each village.
What did we do:
I could not digest what I saw. I started to ask myself and many others Why? What happened? What can we do? So, after the Pada Yatra, I took a break for a week. Did some research on farmers, Genetically Modified seeds, suicides, temples, etc. Established some contacts and went back to these villages, plus a few more villages in West Godavari district. I had a severe back injury in Jan-2010 and was bed ridden for 3 weeks. Hence, I could not cover Visakhapatnam in this trip.
Rishi Krushi:
mixed crops
local market
Even a farmer with 1 acre land, wants to use a tractor to plough his land. It is not economical to use a tractor for 1 acre. Within a day, 1 acre can be ploughed with bulls. We are not saying the people need to go back to stone age, but
I could not digest what I saw. I started to ask myself and many others Why? What happened? What can we do? So, after the Pada Yatra, I took a break for a week. Did some research on farmers, Genetically Modified seeds, suicides, temples, etc. Established some contacts and went back to these villages, plus a few more villages in West Godavari district. I had a severe back injury in Jan-2010 and was bed ridden for 3 weeks. Hence, I could not cover Visakhapatnam in this trip.
Rishi Krushi:
mixed crops
local market
Even a farmer with 1 acre land, wants to use a tractor to plough his land. It is not economical to use a tractor for 1 acre. Within a day, 1 acre can be ploughed with bulls. We are not saying the people need to go back to stone age, but
