In a novel attempt to spread awareness of organic farming, a farmer from Malaiappanallur, near Kumbakonam, planted rice in his field in a pattern that reflects the image of the Tamil poet saint Thiruvalluvar.
PG Elangovan, 62, a strong advocate of organic farming, had started the work of growing seedlings on Kuzhithattu (perforated plates), obtained specifically about three months ago, for that purpose. Thiruvalluvar, who dedicated a separate ‘adhigaram’ to agriculture in Thirukkural, is pictured with the color variation of ‘Chinnar’ (brown) and ‘Mysore Malli’ (green) rice variety.
With the support of K. Vilvanathan of the Arts College in Kumbakonam, the farmer made a drawing of Thiruvalluvar on about half an acre of the field. He then meticulously planted the rice seedlings in the rows 65 days ago. Normally, it takes him four to five hours to complete the half-acre rice transplant. But it took Elangovan five days to complete the task.
He had to work patiently to decipher the seated posture of the saintly poet, whose work has transcended borders due to its universality and acceptance. The rice crop is now in the milk stage. From a bird’s eye view, it aptly reflects the image of Thiruvalluvar.
‘Need to emulate’
“We, the society, have a great need to emulate Thiruvalluvar’s message on organic farming. There can be no personalities other than Thiruvalluvar to spread the message. Therefore, I have chosen the figure of him to spread awareness of organic farming,” says Mr. Elangovan, who embraced environmentally friendly farming about 10 years ago.
The camp receives a constant stream of visitors from different parts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts. They take time to understand the method by which the image has been made. Mr. Elangovan does not shy away from the responsibility of explaining the artwork to visitors.
Mr. Elangovan, a follower of ‘Nel’ Jayaraman who fought to preserve traditional rice varieties, said he would be happy if at least one farmer in every village in the state switched to organic farming after his initiative.
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