Red gold feat: Inspired by Kashmir, man grows saffron in his Indore house

A farmer in Indore in Madhya Pradesh has pulled off a remarkable agricultural feat by growing saffron, among the costliest spices in the world and traditionally associated with picturesque Kashmir Valley, in his room.

Anil Jaiswal, who grew saffron in the second-floor room of his house through the 'aeroponics' method, or one in which soil is not used. He said he planned to sell it at Rs 5 lakh per kilogram in the domestic market, while prices could go up to Rs 8.50 lakh per kg internationally.

"I had gone to Kashmir with my family a few years ago and felt inspired after seeing saffron fields in Pampore. I then came back, created a controlled environment of temperature, humidity, light and carbon dioxide and deployed advanced aeroponics technology equipment to grow saffron in a room," he said.

The idea was to replicate the climate of Kashmir, said Jaiswal, whose second-floor room is now the cynosure of all eyes because of the beautiful purple saffron flowers. These plants have been kept in plastic trays in vertical racks.

"It cost me Rs 6.50 lakh to create the infrastructure for saffron cultivation in a 320 square foot room. I ordered one tonne of saffron bulbs from Pampore in Kashmir. I expect to get 1.5–2 kilograms of saffron from its flowers this season. The saffron bulbs were kept in the first week of September and flowers started blooming by October-end," he informed.

The saffron grown in his room is completely organic, he said, adding his family was lending a helping hand.

Informing that Gayatri Mantra and soothing music are being played in the room, which also witnesses the chirping of birds, Jaiswal's wife Kalpana said the philosophy behind the effort was that trees and plants too have life.

"We play music so the plants feel closer to nature even when they are being grown in a room," she said.

Aeroponics expert Praveen Sharma said such efforts have been underway in different parts of the country; however, profitability and sustainability would come when the cost of cultivation is kept low.

"Farming using the aeroponics method requires a lot of electricity. Therefore, people growing saffron using this method should use solar energy as much as possible to reduce electricity bills," Sharma said.

Often called "red gold" because of its high prices, saffron is used in food as well as in cosmetics and medicines.

While the demand in India is huge, low production means a lot of saffron is imported from Iran and some other nations. PTI