In deep mourning at Gundrampally. Father rested, called it a day, after sahasra chandra darshan. 22 November. After 7 Years and a day, after Mother’s resting. Ganduri Satyanarayana (s/o Ramulu and Kanakamma, s/o Rangaswamy) is 83 (b 31 January 1939). Ramulu migrated from Chandur (might have migrated from elsewhere to Chandur), to Bogaram, to Hyderabad to Sunkenpally, a habitation of Gundrampally. Satyanarayana, after marriage to Suguna, settled in the main habitation, Gundrampally in due course. As a boy, he was involved in the fight against Nizam. Then he participated in 1969 Telangana agitation. In between he was fighting poverty, through weaving, migration (powerlooms, mills), farming, tailoring-cum-clothes shop, integrated farming, farm management, surveyor-mate, writer-story teller-performing artist, micro-enterprise entrepreneur, social entrepreneur et al. Gradually, he transcended to being and working with people, marginalized in particular, in due course. Mother took charge of ‘livelihood’.
He became upa sarpanch for more than a decade, sarpanch, LAMP/single window Chair and Dairy Coop Chair. The schools grew with him chairing the Education Committee. The connecting roads came. House plots allotted to SCs and BCs. He worked closely with Konda Lakshman Bapuji. He became Secretary, District Congress Committee. He declined MLA ticket from NTR. He also rose to lead/co-lead his caste association at Telangana/AP level.
He is an example of servant leader-animator-reformer who fought against marginalization and discrimination. He worked with and for socially discriminated. For inclusion, equity and wellbeing of the marginalized. Relentlessly. 60 years (sastipurthi) celebrations was the small offering from us when he and his work was acknowledged with Konda Lakshman Bapuji and leaders and people across party lines, from all walks of life present.
May be, whatever we think, say and do today is manifestation from the genes we inherited from the father and the mother, in new avatars. Our lives are the way we pay back. And they continue to bless us.
Narsi’s mother rested. We visited Narsi at Huzurnagar, to be with him and his family for a while, while they were in mourning. The visit was humbling. The read ‘closure’ by Narsi was further humbling. Soon enough, I gather deep mourning humbles us.
Bhudaan Pochampally, Ikkat Silk City, 50 kms from Hyderabad, is selected as one of the best tourism villages of UN World Tourism Organization. Akshara has mentored community-managed Endogenous Tourism Project at Pochampally way back. Our two cents to this recognition/award. To be conferred on 2 December.
Padma awards in 2020 and 2021 went to 141+119. The recipients include: Krishnammal, Tulasi Gowda, Chintala Venkat Reddy, Radha Mohan, Sabarmatee, and Papammal.
Jagan withdraws three capitals bill. Is it a victory of agitating farmers in Amaravati? Will it come back? In what shape?
Offering an apology, Modi promises to repeal the three farm bills. Again, is it a response to the more than a year-long farmers’ fight, loss of some 700 farmers’ lives? Does this action required such a long wait? Farmers continue their struggle for legal guarantee of minimum support. How do we help 90% farmers holding 50% farm land? How do their incomes transcend Rs.25000/month mark? Is not it a long way? Can the minimum support prices cover all costs on an average and offer reasonable return to farmers, including tenant farmers? Can more crops be covered? Or should it be minimum support return per unit of farm? Per unit of water?
In any case, do we learn not to bulldoze our ways through brute majorities? It can be costly. Do we learn to be more considerate to voices however feeble and minor they are? Do we learn not to ignore the farmers, farmworkers, workers at large?
Gurudev is reinforced: Eka. Alone. Get going alone. Ekla Chalo Re. Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Ekla Chalo Re. If no one responds, let us go alone. Let us keep walking. Others join in slowly. Keep speaking. Others lend voice soon. Let us be the burning light. More lights to join slowly. Be in the communion with the Universe. Universe joins in soon.
The panel discussion brought in some lessons to scaling agriculture and food systems of the future from Operation Flood. These include: living lab(s) of principles on scale; farming-in-harmony with nature as a changed paradigm, with scaling-up within the planetary boundaries; customizing locally embedded multiplier(s) in terms of institutional architecture-community animators-professionals; Market First; All or None; Fair prices to Consumers and Fair Share to Farmers; member-centric institutions; up-to-date/frontier Technologies plus indigenous practices; Digital Technology-Agri Stack-learning-Internet-IOT et al; demand-driven, local demand-driven; resilience – household, farm, market, climate; focus – smallholder, women, youth, collective action; training, skilling, finance, policy engagement; open to learning (PK+OK+OK+?) and practice, with ecosystem in play.
Let us plan for significant commanding share for people’s collectives. Let us have local value-chains of multiple commodities/products from farms, integrated farms including trees, livestock, fish et al, with higher frequent engagement. For inputs, services, aggregation, value-addition and consumer connect. Let us have an institutional redesign that can include SHGs, Entrepreneurs and more tiers with services, formal and informal, individual and collectives in, for loans and equity too. Let us include faith, digital tracking, direct linkages, collaboration hybrids.
Sarvail Gurukulam is 50 years now (23 November). Golden Jubilee. Remembered the prayer:
OM Sahana Vavatu Sahanau Bhunaktu Saha Viryam Karavavahai |
Tejasvi Navaditamastu Ma Vidvishavahai OM Shanti Shanti Shantihi ||
Om, let us come and move together; let us relish together; let us think, speak and perform together with deep Concentration; let us learn together to emanate brilliance; let us be in sync, Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
We also had another daily prayer:
Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya | Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |
Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya | Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Let me go to reality (truth), light and realization.
As the clock ticks 12 tonight, Dr Verghese Kurien completes 100 years. What a life! As IRMA celebrates Kurien Mahotsav (100 years of Dr Kurien), I remember IRMA convocation, where we invoke:
Sangachhadhwam Samvadadhwam | Samvo-manaansi Jaanataam.
Samaano Mantrah Samiti samaanee | Samaanam Manah sahachitta meshaam.
Samaanee va Aakootih Samaanaa Hridayaani vah | Samaanamastu vo Mano Yathaa vah Susahaasati.
Let there be one place, one assembly, one assembly of minds, one portfolio of thoughts, one resolve. Let there be harmony in our thoughts and aspirations; let there be one goal to which we march forward; let us be open-minded and work together; let our prayers be one, let us be together and in one ‘sangha’, with our minds in unison, striving to reduce disparity.
I remember meeting Dr Kurien, Anand, with an extraordinary influence on all that he purveyed, for years to come. Executive Chair of Dairy Board (a NDDB-IDC merged institution responsible to Parliament), the ‘life’ Chair of IRMA, the Chairman of GCMMF which paid him remuneration. Chair, NTGCF, Tribhuvandas Foundation, HPCL, IDMC, Anandaalaya et al. This was in IRMA. I remember working in the core team of MIO, with K in lead. With the Brains-Trust in IRMA. Dr K has his life well spent, making the world a whole lot better than what it was when he started his work in 1946. Not just that, he has mentored many of us moving into this agenda of spending life well. Can we pay back, pay Gurudakshina to our mentor and the mentor of our mentors, by practicing and living a ‘well spent life’? and mentoring many more into this?
Can we write down concrete goals towards this? Can we take concrete steps with deadlines towards manifesting these goals? Can we deep dive? Swim? Dip?
Yes, we can. If we are awake to possibilities. If we take a dip into them. If we flow and swim in them. If we practice and take a deep dive in them. If we do a Kurien.
If we are in the flow of N. For 7L.
Join us in the world of yoga of enterprise for useful coexistence – jivakrishiyoga for 7L.
G Muralidhar
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