Leap of Faith
PV Narasimha Rao, 100. The plaque at Ekta Sthal reads: Known as the scholar Prime Minister of India, Shri P V Narasimha Rao was born on 28 June 1921 in Laknepalli Village, Warangal District in Telangana state. He rose to prominence as freedom fighter who fought the misrule of the Nizam during the formulative years of his political career. A reformer, educationist, scholar, conversant in 15 languages and known for his intellectual contribution, he was called the ‘Brihaspati’ (wiseman) of Andhra Pradesh.
Indebted deeply. Prime Minister who made a difference of significant consequence. Gyan Peeth award winner. Sad, Bharataratna is still not coming to him. A district can be named after him. Veterinary University bears his name. A very long flyover in Hyderabad bears his name. His cremation site is referred as Gyan Bhoomi. University of Hyderabad is still to get his name. Land Reforms, Education-HRD, Nuclear programme, Economic Reforms, de-licence raj, LPG – all have his stamp.
My school, Sarvail Gurukulam was his brain child. So is my AP Residential Junior College at Nagarjuna Sagar. NIT Warangal, first in the RECs, came up on his insistence. Gurukulams came up in Telugu States in a big way. Then, we have Navodayas and Kasturba Schools in the country, all across.
Legendary Dilip Kumar rests at 98.
Amir Khan and Kiran Rao announce their divorce. They continue to be co-parents. Co-trustees to Paani Foundation.
Congratulations, Sainath received Fukuoka Grand Prize, 2021, for ‘rural stories’.
Sirisha Bandla is going to space soon. She will be the second Indian born woman to go there. She is the daughter of Kanneganti Rama Rao’s brother’s brother-in-law, Muralidhar Bandla. Jeff Bezo’s space trip will be a few days later than Sirisha’s space trip.
Eetala Rajender joins BJP. Revanth becomes PCC President. Sharmila is launching YSRTP – YSR Telangana Party. Telangana is warming-up for Huzurabad bye-elections now, and is poised for an exciting couple of years before the next state-central elections.
A new Ministry, Cooperation, created. Amit Shah takes charge. Cooperation is essentially a state subject. Multi-state Cooperatives, Producer Companies do come under Union level. We have to see how this evolves. Let us see what more comes under this. Meanwhile, Union Cabinet has been shuffled in a big way. 12+ Ministers went out. Included Harsh Vardhan, Health Minister. 43 Ministers came in, making the total to 77. 30 of them are Cabinet Minsters. Included, Jyothiraditya. Kishan Reddy got elevated. Some from allies too. Across the geographies and backgrounds. Appears to be a Cabinet for Next Elections.
MFIs seem to be moving in the direction of becoming free from 2011 regulations, and coming on to the level playing field with non-MFI players.
Emerging articulation: the Triad of Natural Farming: Communitization – Transformation – Platform(s)+Value-chain(s).
An introductory webinar (6 July) to Walter Jehne’s Master Class. 1000+ participated live. YouTube link is available. Idea is to build local, national and global masterclass of 50-100 participants, may be for a year, with 2-3 webinars for larger audience, 10-12 sessions of 2-3 hours, sandwiched with homework and fieldwork in between. Conceptual underpinning with best practices, and troubleshooting while adopting/adapting locally is embedded within. The principles of no chemicals, minimal-no tillage, pelletization and mulching, multi-layered multiple cropping 365 days including perennials, inoculant application, nutritional dietary diversity-biodiversity, customized to variety of farming situations, are discussed. Pre-production to consumption value-chain processes, linkages, services, share and ownership are explored. The body of knowledge from the farm-plate practices forms the basic foundation for it to build and grow on. Photosynthesis and ‘reverse phosynthesis’ including respiration and germination is discussed. Microbes as the farmers is to be fully internalized. Women centricity is appreciated. Drudgery reduction technologies need is noted. Increased unfallowing, crop intensity and planet’s health with carbon into soil, land productivity, water savings and harvesting, people’s health, climate resilience, nutrition’s security and farmers’ well-being is scoped. Methods of statistical significance, research, knowledge-learning are also discussed. Transformation-Communitization-Collectivization are touched. Women self-help groups, federations and community organizations are taking charge. Offline, online learning Extension, Scaling-up globally-urgently, Local Value-chains, and Digital platformization are also discussed.
The masterclass will go into more depths of the above.
Need to have Janaandolan(s). Need to go into policy space. For NF to be everywhere, in all locations, all farms, all land, as soon as possible, and slipping back does not happen. The elements include: Budgets; existing subsidies as DBT; Gradual ban of chemicals, incentives for bio-villages, bio-areas, verified source areas; Government NF Policy Statements and positive repeated articulation; Changes in Extension Architecture, with peer extensionists; Agroecology courses; School to University Curriculum Changes; NF Focus in ICAR Institutions, dedicated institutions for NF; Dedicated Institute(s) for AE Learning, Management and Leadership; Diversity Nutrition discourse; Diverse Nutrition Packs in PDS; Natural Food Standards; Interest subvention for NF capital/funds; Amrit(s) a la Amul; Special dispensation for NF Collectives, Local Value-chain efforts; Investments into Champions, Entrepreneurs, Start-ups in this space; President-NITI Aayog-PM-CM Fellows, National Fellows; Recognition of ‘champions’; Digital Platform(s); Technology, Drudgery Reduction Technology; Transition to NF costs in MGNREGS et al; Natural Resource Accounting System, Green Accounting, Carbon Accounting-crediting; Payments for Ecosystem Services; NF Social Marketing; CSR to NF; Philanthropies for NF; Recognition and articulation of the Urgency; NF as a spiritual, cultural, empowerment agenda.
Work and life are complementary integrated parts. The great amongst us are driven by a singular all-consuming agenda to love, to give and to be useful. All of us can be this, by our habits, and routine. Listening, reading, writing and reflecting-thinking daily; taking up challenging tasks; being physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually healthy and fit – including walk-run-cycle, diet, sleep et al; being connected with admired leaders; planning the day/week/month ahead; keeping-writing the goals in front; taking bold and new actions even under unfamiliar areas; and having a powerful and inspiring purpose that drives.
ICICI’s Orange Book takes me to the first of Hope, Faith, Promise and Love. Health and Happiness, Optimism, Planned Preparedness and Execution. Take Showers, Give Hugs, Eat Food, Play, Sleep, Be in Sunlight, Listen to Music, Be with Nature, Be thankful, Walk and Stretch, Smile and Laugh, Live the passion each day; Be optimistic, with reasonable caution – celebrate life and live, spend 50%-30%-20% – needs-wants-investments; Plan and be prepared – 90% plan and 10% performance; Stay fit, capable, skilled to execute, and execute with finesse.
Increased screen time, online learning, work hybrid is the way ahead for most of us. Post-CoVID we may persist with most of these. Young child has the attention span of 5 minutes. Adults are overgrown children living complicated lives, hiding behind veils and masks. Of the three ways – Scare, bribe, play – the third may be better. How do we make living, leading, learning a play? Can we work with less than 5-minute span packs? Even a session of 120 minutes can have 20+ bytes of ‘discussion and learning’.
Ambedkar: without an inner transformation of the individual, social revolutions remain incomplete and unsustainable. We are interconnected, knowing ‘oneness’ of all existence, beyond our separate selves.
Can we be spiritual? Can we trust the Universe? The inner self? They join hands and conspire to do greater good. This makes us committed to Hope, Faith, Promise and Love. It makes us take a leap of faith. And therefore, Happy. We should be ever ready at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become (as said by Charles Dickens). It may mean losing ourselves. Our identity. And we may have to overcome resistance and doubts, if we do not become what we think. We can be butterflies only if we shed our being as caterpillars. Of course, our core remains intact.
We can rise beyond our physical abilities, if we wish and work for; if we realize our true potential; if we harness the tools to transform ourselves; if we look at more dimensions. Guru helps.
We need to take the leap, the flight, for greater usefulness. Can we?
Yes, we can. If we listen to Universe and inner voice. If we feel, think, reflect, co-reflect. If we meditate, prepare, practice, plan and lead. If we learn, live, flow in N. For 7L.
Join us in the world of yoga of life of greater useful coexistence – utplavayoga for 7L.
G Muralidhar