PAPA- HIS TEACHINGS AND FIELD LOVE

Around an hour ago, I watched and shared a video of an Agri-Business Incubator Program, an initiative by IIT BHU. The initiative seeks to empower farmers. To my mind, agriculture is the biggest Make in India. It is the most primitive field activity humankind has ever undertaken.

On a related note, I see myself intensely smitten by everything related to fields. I remember being particularly drawn to my father’s childhood stories. The stories about how they built medh (मेढ़) in khet (खेत), stories of shift duties of siblings to watch out for water level, stories of hide and seek in puaal (पुआल), stories about crops and soil, and harvest.

Even to this day– Papa stopping by highways, cutting across fields- (with or without us), showing us various field things, and testing us through viva– remain a road journey staple. “There is great learning in fields”, says Papa always.

As I grow older, my definition of fields keeps getting wider and deeper. At present moment, with my current understanding, I think of field as a place where action takes place, where the work happens. A field is a place of making things happen– no matter how scarce or abundant the resources, no matter how hostile or friendly the conditions, a field is a place of fruition.

On visual note, sharing a short video clip from a recent family trip when we all, from 3 states, were at Gorakhpur to exercise our franchise. Seen here is Papa and a shrub coming; both- the product of fields. And understandbly enough, the latter was subject of viva-to-be. #purvisays

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