|
|
|
|
|
on record
profile |
|
|
Fruit of his success is seed for farmers’ inspiration A leading kinnow grower in the region and multiple-award winner, Sushil Periwal’s farm database is being used by academicians as a case study in horticulture. By Sarbjit Dhaliwal HAD he joined a bank after graduating in commerce about three decades ago, he would have been simply counting currency notes in some bank. There was no dearth of bank jobs for commerce graduates then, but he opted for farming, his first love. He did not foresee that agriculture would bestow upon him a unique identity and fill his house with awards. Sushil Periwal, a leading horticulturist from Khippanwali village, near Fazilka, has become a source of inspiration for other farmers in Fazilka belt known for quality kinnow and other fruits.
|
|
on record
The motive is not just spreading awareness among the masses about the corrupt system and the need for change. Anna aims to mobilise people for a “mega Jan Sansad” in New Delhi in September. He called upon people to submit their names and phone numbers so they could be incorporated in his battle for change. People did not respond in thousands but some did. People criticised the security ring of his volunteers, bouncers and the police around him, saying his inaccessibility did not make them optimistic about his talk on the common man’s empowerment. Excerpts: Why did you launch the campaign, which you describe as a second freedom movement, from Punjab? Are you satisfied with the response? We have got an overwhelming response from Punjab. The people of the state have always been known as fighters. They fought invaders for centuries. Punjab is my “karam bhoomi”. It is here that I fought the 1965 war. It is here that I got my awakening of dedicating my life for the cause of people. I chose Punjab as it was here that I read a book by Swami Vivekananda on devoting one’s life for the welfare of people. I was 26-year-old then. I was unhappy with life and was contemplating suicide when the awakening came about. Punjab has produced many martyrs. I sought their blessings in cleansing the country they had saved while sacrificing their life. Did you attract anticipated crowds? I am satisfied. We did not organise big rallies. Our venues were markets and street corners. I could see people waiting for long for our rath yatra to arrive. They cheered us. I told them the yatra was not funded by anyone. The vehicles were running on the personal expenses of the occupants and the open donation given by people. What is the objective of your campaign? We have had agitation and hunger strike against corruption in the system and the idea is to empower the common man through the office of the Jan Lok Pal. This nationwide journey is to contact the masses outside their houses and educate them on how politicians and bureaucrats had become their masters instead of their servants. We are inviting people to join us at the “Jan Sansad” in New Delhi in September. People have slept for too long. Is your aim to change the government or change the system? I have been saying at my rallies that I am not against any political party or individual. I am against the prevailing corruption in the country. I am against the milling of the common man. I am against price rise. I want a system where people choose their leaders directly. Why do we need political parties or groups with their biases, regionalism and selfish vote banks? People should recommend honest and virtuous persons
to Parliament. Will the Jantantar Morcha contest elections or support any political party or group? Our present aim is to shake the system with the “Jan Sansad”. After that we will see what has to be done. Arvind Kejriwal was once your close aide. Is there any possibility of reconciliation? Kejriwal wanted to float a political party. I had reservations about it. But I am in constant touch with him even now. We spoke two days ago only. I advised him not to go for his proposed hunger strike. The “forces” want to finish us off. They want to divide us. I am with anyone who honestly stands against corruption. The Morcha does not have much organisational structure. How will it mobilise people to support its agenda? People will come. They have to realise that tainted persons are dangerous for the country. At present, over 160 MPs are tainted. Over 30 ministers are facing charges. This has to stop. What kind of model of governance do you have in mind? I want a system where only deserving people should go to Parliament. I want the common man to have the power to reject the tainted, the greedy, the corrupt and the criminals. It is people who brought freedom. It is people who formed Parliament. Those sent inside Parliament were mere representatives of people. But now they have become masters. I want a system of Parliament where honesty and character of a leader are important, and not his power and money.
|
|
profile
“Why does your wife need to do ‘nautanki’? What does she lack at home?” was the query of her husband’s colleagues. He persuaded her to stop dancing. For years, she fit into the mould of an ‘ideal’ housewife. She would not dance, she assured her husband, but could she teach dance to children? Her husband agreed. Soon, people felt she should perform, too. And so Saroja began giving small performances at ‘decent’ venues. Later, she gave many performances across India and the world. After her husband’s transfer to Delhi in 1972, students started trickling into her classes. She set up the Ganesa Natyalaya in 1974, but the ground reality of three disciples and a young teacher mocked at the grandiose dream. Her husband felt his image would suffer if he supported his wife. He discouraged her, saying any attempt to single-handedly build an institution, and that too in Delhi, was ridiculous. “I am a very determined person,” she says, explaining how she got round the problem. Jagmohan, the then Lt Governor of Delhi, was known to the Vaidyanathans in his official as well as personal capacities. When Saroja expressed her desire to acquire a plot in the Qutub Institutional Area to construct a building for her institute, he persuaded Vaidyanathan to let her go ahead. The Qutub Institutional Area was new then, and the price of the plot was only about Rs 1 lakh. But it was a challenge for Saroja, whose husband had told her he would not help her raise funds. She set about collecting money with the help of well-wishers and sponsors. She managed to purchase the land in 1981 after using up her personal savings. After this achievement, her husband was delighted to acknowledge her capabilities and extended whole-hearted support to her endeavour. The building was inaugurated in 1988. Saroja continued with her performances and took evening classes at home. Early mornings found her at the site, sitting with workers, overseeing the construction, and praying that the empty and frightening wilderness in which she stood would one day resonate with the sound of music, dance and laughter. Since the Natyalaya was one of the first institutions to move into the area, it had no neighbours. She lamented to her husband: “How will we get students in the midst of this jungle?” But he assured her that the area would be prime property soon enough, and he was right. Saroja is one of the most decorated artistes and was honoured with Padma Bhushan this year. She received Padma Shri in 2002 and is recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. She was conferred the title of Bharata Kalai Sundar in 2006.
|
||
|
good news
HAD he joined a bank after graduating in commerce about three decades ago, he would have been simply counting currency notes in some bank. There was no dearth of bank jobs for commerce graduates then, but he opted for farming, his first love. He did not foresee that agriculture would bestow upon him a unique identity and fill his house with awards. Sushil Periwal, a leading horticulturist from Khippanwali village, near Fazilka, has become a source of inspiration for other farmers in Fazilka belt known for quality kinnow and other fruits. He has won 39 awards for growing quality fruit. The latest was the Chief Minister’s award presented to him at the PAU, Ludhiana, for his outstanding performance in managing his kinnow farm in a most scientific and modern manner. He is one of the leading kinnow growers in this part of the country.
Sprawling farm Lately, experts have been emphasising on moving away from traditional farming to horticulture. Periwal has been nothing short of a visionary for taking to this stream of farming several years ago. He is now a well-established farmer in the national kinnow market. Besides his kinnow farm spread over 128 acres, he has a cotton ginning factory in Rajasthan and his sons Shailesh and Sidharath look after the crasher business and kinnow farming, respectively. “My grandfather was a big landlord. He owned hundreds of acres but following the Partition, he had to leave Pakistan. My father worked hard to rebuild our dwindled farm. I studied commerce and law in Rajasthan, but opted for farming,” says Periwal. “As my family owned over 100 acres at Khippanwali village, I thought of concentrating on farming instead of a government job. We steadily moved from traditional agriculture to horticulture decades ago and started growing ‘malta’. Then we moved to kinnow, which has become popular across the country and nearly ousted orange from the fruit market in the north. We have a kinnow farm spread over 100 acres now. Once an investment is made in a kinnow farm, there is no need to look back for the next 20 years,” he says. There are more than 11,000 kinnow plants on his farm, which is divided into six zones and 25 sub-zones. Permanent labour monitors plants in each zone. The record of each plant, which is identified with a number inscribed on it, is meticulously maintained and computerised. Plants not giving adequate yield are removed after being watched for three years and replaced with new ones.
Going hi-tech This makes it easy for him to monitor the entire farm. Feeding the history of the plant into a computer and updating it regularly, helps him know if any plant or any particular part in the farm is facing a problem or is diseased. With a click of the mouse, he comes to know when a particular plant was sprayed and pruned; what its yield was last year; and what was the yield growth pattern. Canal water is used for irrigation. He has set up a drip irrigation system across the farm, which saves up to 30 per cent water and increases fruit yield. Two huge water tanks have been built on the farm, where water is stored and used for irrigation when there is shortage of canal water. The farm is highly mechanised. Besides the drip irrigation system, he has a machine that can spray plants in 50 acres in a day. For the first time this year, he got the plants pruned in 6 acres with the help of a machine provided by the state horticulture department. It proved to be a good experience. He also has a cold storage facility at the farm where the fruit can be stored for some days before packing. The farm is fenced from all sides and there is only one exit and entry. For the removal of weeds and other wild growth, he hires contractual labour and the picking of fruit is done manually. Periwal is trying to import a grading machine now. For the supply of plants, he fully depends on the state horticulture department which has quality plants at its nurseries in Hoshiarpur. “Our experience with private suppliers of plants is not a happy one. We are satisfied with the quality of plants grown at the department’s nurseries,” he says, adding “against the usual practice of 55 per cent, we get 70 per cent ‘A’ grade fruit from our plants, 20 per cent ‘B’ grade and 10 per cent ‘C’ grade”.
Profits follow There is no problem with regard to the marketing of kinnow. His son has developed his own marketing system. Otherwise also, the fruit now has ready market all over the country, especially in big cities such as Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Chandigarh, besides Punjab because its quality has improved tremendously in recent years. Returns from kinnow are far better than traditional crops. There can be a yield of up to 150 quintals from an acre. “I can say this fruit has a great future. Farmers, who can afford to invest money, should turn to horticulture. We also spend money in research and development. In fact, the database built by us is being used by many academicians for studies in the horticulture sector,” he says.
|
||
|
Sunita Williams, indian-american astronaut Kumar Sangakkara, sri lankan skipper Aamir Khan, actor Mulayam singh yadav, sp supremo Dr Manmohan Singh, prime minister of india
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
THE chinks in their organisational structure notwithstanding, Anna Hazare and Gen (retd) VK Singh managed to draw sizeable crowds during their “Jantantra Yatra” in Punjab last week. The yatra began from Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. Unlike his previous rallies and agitations, he was not flanked by one-time favourite comrades Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Instead, VK Singh, who had fought a long battle with the UPA government over his date of birth, brushed shoulders with him. Both leaders attracted fans during the rally. Ex-servicemen made a beeline to meet the General. Women and children were missing at the rallies but some waited for long at the place where Anna had a transit accommodation. Women were seen touching his feet while carefully covering their head with a “dupatta”. Some children supported his “'Mein Anna hoon” cap and shook hands with him.
Saroja
From space I have seen a lot more of India than anyone I know. But on foot, I hope I get to see more of it. I am also really excited about all the Indian food I get to have here. 
It’s been very difficult for the Sri Lankan players. But we are here to play in the IPL and sports transcends a lot of pettiness we see these days. The rest of India has been very welcoming.
I am not aware of why I have been successful so far. I don’t think so much. I do work that excites me, not work that is considered to have a potential for blockbusters.
A lot of hue and cry was raised in the media when I appreciated Advani. Those who had done or are doing good should be appreciated. Should one who is doing good be abused?
Corruption is a problem. Bureaucratic inertia is a problem. Managing a coalition is not easy. But these problems have not arisen suddenly. They were all there even earlier when the economy was growing at
8 per cent.