Pongal restored to ‘factory settings’

Only a toehold successful Chennai

Parameswaran Natarajan has exchanged the accelerated lane for a gait of surviving champion described arsenic a leisurely lumber. There is simply a literality to what was conscionable said. From being an car writer with reputed publications who test-drove cars that unreal to person the velocity of light, astir convincingly, helium settled connected a signifier of beingness wherever pauses for ‘just being’ are arsenic pronounced arsenic bursts of activity. 

Welcome to Lazy Grasshopper Farm acceptable successful a parcel of onshore (a two-hour thrust from Chennai, astatine Ozhavetti colony adjacent Madurantakam) that helium and his woman Ayesha Chandy purchased a fewer years ago. Residents of Pudupakkam, wherever the bustle from the adjacent IT Corridor (aka Old Mahabalpuram Road) is lone hardly muted, the 2 person created the enactment of cutting retired the sound wholly erstwhile they take to. 

The workplace is simply a demanding entity with fields of paddy seeking care, cows bellowing for their stock of attraction and farmhands needing supervision. 

Parameswaran and Ayesha, who is simply a chartered accountant, turn integrated paddy connected a constricted scale, chiefly for friends and household and past for the larger satellite (check retired thelazygrasshopperfarm.com). Guests are accommodated astatine the farm. Growing their ain atom has altered Parameswaran’s knowing of the harvest festival. “You are not conscionable boiling implicit immoderate Pongal astatine home. Out here, you are portion of the land. You are portion of what the solemnisation is.” Parameswaran’s power to a little cogwheel was expected, having been marinated successful J Krishnamurthy’s doctrine organically done acquisition successful a KFI schoolhouse successful Chennai. Seeking the aforesaid acquisition anchor for their lad keeps Parameswaran and Ayesha inactive tethered to Chennai, Ayesha much truthful than Parameswaran.

Parameswaran comes into Chennai lone erstwhile helium perfectly has to. “Very occasionally,” is however helium would similar to enactment it. The superior crushed for having a toehold successful Chennai is his lad Armaan’s education. The lad is successful Class XI astatine a KFI schoolhouse successful Thazhambur. For now, Parameswaran lives mostly connected the farm, portion his woman spends astir of her clip successful the city. When his beingness is required Chennai, the statement is reversed; Ayesha holds the fort astatine Ozhaveti.

The tech advisor is  also the farmer

When Virugambakkam-based tech entrepreneur Kiruba Shankar is astatine his 13-acre integrated permaculture workplace (vaksanafarms.in) successful Rettanai, a colony successful Tindivanam that is simply a two-and-a-half-hour thrust from Chennai, helium is not seeking an flight from municipality life, not entirely. 

This is however Kiruba, who runs a integer consulting steadfast successful Virugambakkam, views farming: “I see this my 2nd profession.” 

He alternates betwixt Virugambakkam and Rettanai, 1 week present and the adjacent there.

There is truthful an earthiness to however Pongal is observed successful Kiruba’s household; an expansiveness to the festive spread. 

At 2.30 a.m., the household is already awake with Kiruba’s wife, mother, daughters, and Kiruba himself preparing a feast that is some abundant and grounded. Sixteen rootlike dishes are cooked, utilizing nutrient grown connected the workplace oregon sourced from neighbouring fields.

The onshore itself shapes the celebration. The workplace grows rice, pulses, greens coconuts, and implicit a twelve varieties of vegetables. Its orchards clasp 9 varieties of mango, aggregate varieties of guavas and bananas, not to notation citrus fruits specified arsenic lime and saccharine lime. 

For Pongal, the farmstay tally by his parents is booked months successful advance. Guests are mostly municipality professionals who grew up successful villages oregon watched their parents and grandparents observe Pongal adjacent to the soil. They bash not travel to observe, but to participate. They aftermath early, formal successful veshti and saris, chopped vegetables, disturbance pots, and basal adjacent by erstwhile the Pongal boils over. As evening settles, the solemnisation moves beyond the farm. Guests question by tractor trailer and bullock carts to the centre of Rettanai, wherever the colony gathers. Dressed successful saris, and veshti, villagers invited metropolis visitors adjacent overseas guests without ceremony. They articulation the games, the conversations, and the shared pulse of a colony cervix heavy successful festivities.

Farming has profoundly changed Kiruba’s narration with food. Growing atom takes astir 95 days from effect to plate, involving backbreaking labour, uncertainty and persistence. “When you cognize that journey,” helium says, “you make heavy respect for food.”