It all began when my maid told me one day that she owned a few acres of land. I was shocked! She told me that the Ragi crop they cultivated wasn’t bringing in decent money to support the family. So her family had migrated to the city in search of a livelihood. I still couldn’t come out of the shock. The owner of a few acres of land – a landlord – was working as a servant, mopping floor, cleaning sink, washing cloths. She toils from 6 am to 3 pm (no weekends offs) doing household chores in 4-5 houses. She supports her two young girls who go to a school nearby.

If this is the plight of a land owner, imagine the plight of a landless laborer? They end up as casual laborers in big construction projects, living in unhygienic conditions and inhuman surroundings. Look what we have done to our great nation. Farming, the noblest of all professions has been degraded to the most unprofitable profession. If we continue to turn a blind eye to the plight of our farmers today, one day our children will have only Australian wheat (the imported animal-grade quality that created a furor a few months back and died down) and pesticide ridden, chemically treated foreign fruits to eat! Farming should be revived as an industry, a profitable one. The nation should have proud farmers rather than cement clad casual laborers struggling for food. No farmer must be driven to the brink of suicide.

We drove to Ramnagar, around 2 hours drive by car, accompanied by an official from the Himalaya Company. It was located deep inside, off the main highway. Beautiful lush green earth, a far cry from the polluted city. Simple people, hospitable, but people who haven’t seen prosperity. The official said that the first requirement was that of a bore-well. Once it is dug, in the month of April plants can be sown. He suggested Tulsi and Ashwagandha to begin with. Since most of the medicinal crops needed by Ayurvedic companies is imported we want to help local farmers cultivate the same for a fraction of the cost. This way they can get good price for their produce and medicine manufacturers can get raw materials at almost half the rate.

TARGET: Collect around 1.5 lakhs to help this family drill a bore-well by end of March.

We have opened an ICICI account. Even a small amount will help us change the life of this family a big way.

Details of contributions will be published in this site periodically.

Please contact - cosmic.aarudhra@gmail.com for account details.

Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan

Thank you all

Farmer's Plight : India's Shame

Over two lakh farmers have committed suicide over the past months. Shocking? Shameful?

1. They live through false promises and exploitation by all shades of leaders, every political party and middlemen.

2. Their crop fail due to nature’s fury- Losses due to failed monsoon; excess rain and flood; drought.

3. They face economic disaster with both - Under production and Over production.

4. Their land can be taken by government at a throw away price but payment of compensation is always a non-issue.

Take the case of Neyvelli Lignite Coporation that took their land – nearly 10,000 villages forty years ago. Still today their payment is not made. Thanks to the inefficient judicial practices, thousands of farmers are facing legal battle for over 40 years.

There are numerous other takeovers, in the excuse of public need, without due compensation paid.

5. Poor are plagued by illiteracy and helplessness.
There are many to exploit them but none to their rescue.


Involvement of International bodies in third world economies is a handy tool in depriving the farmers of their dues. After sixty years into wronging the poor, the politician-bureaucrats are immune to criticism and emboldened to do all these sins shamelessly and openly.

Project RAMNAGAR

PROJECT RAMNAGAR – Chennapatna, Karnataka

A good government official working in the government’s Biotechnology Center gave us insight into various medicinal crops. We came to know that a pump set is absolutely essential for multiple harvests. (Irony most villages don’t even have electricity.)

We have identified a farmer who owns a piece of land in Ramnagar. We plan to help him install a pump set. We are in touch with ayurvedic companies like Himalaya and Divya Yog Mandir (yet to contact) to know their medicinal plant requirement.

We then plan to help these farmers to get the herbal plants and help farmers to sell the produce to Himalaya (who can get it at a rate lesser than their import price.)

This farmer in turn, has promised help other farmers in his village.

This initiative, it our desire, should spread as a movement where the urban population helps the rural in an organized way. The cultivation of this family is entirely dependent of rain water.

We propose to fund a significant part of the expense for providing resources to increase the income from their land. This would increase their income nearly thrice. We are working on identifying the right range of medicinal plants for cultivation along side their routine produce like Rice, Ragi and Peanuts.

Hopefully we will guide them to have a captive market for their medicinal plants. There is a huge demand for herbal or medicinal plants. As much as 90% of herbal plants used in Ayurvedic medicines are imported from outside the country.

You can contribute to Project Chennapatna or help others engaged in such individual’s efforts. Developments and money utilization in the Chennapatna project will be posted here with photographs. Even a small contribution will change someone's life a big way.

Govt's Anti farmer policies

Anti farmer stance successive governments – Snapshots

1. Multinationals taking the farmers for a ride with genetically modified seeds, with the blessings of the government. Many farmers ended up in heavy losses and suicides followed.

2. While food grains to Indian farmers are not bought, the same (of inferior quality) is imported at almost double the price and dumped in public distribution system meant for poor.

3. Developed countries help their farmers by buying the farm products and dumping them in the sea or feeding pigs or selling over seas clients like India for a profit. This ensures that the profitability of the farm products continue in their countries. In India more than 60% of a framer’s hard earned produce gets wasted.

4. Allowing import of vegetable and fruits is not only harmful to consumer’s health, but a great disadvantage to the farmer. The expensive 90 rs to 100rs imported apples stocked in most big grocery chains are almost 3 months old. They are exposed to heavy radiation and chemical treatment so that they do not rot . Image the health of the Indian consumer, who consumes this 3 months old imported fruit! In the USA, it is not legal to take even vegetables from one federal state to another.