Bengaluru: “Nothing seems to be better than plucking fresh fruits and vegetables from your very own farm. To top it, they smell delicious,” said Dr Murali Chakravorty, director of Anaesthesiology Department at Fortis Hospital.
The best part about his life is not saving lives, but also creating new life at his farm. This 58-year-old doctor spends other half of his day at his farm where he grows different types of vegetables, fruits and flowers. “It is a great feeling to farm and learn so many things about the soil. The best part is that you know what you consume and you do not need to rely on a third party like the vegetable seller or vegetable store which may use pesticides and other harmful chemicals on these vegetables,” said Dr Chakravorty, who believes his way or the organic way is the only right way to farm and give back to Mother Earth.
Entering proudly into his sixth year of organic farming, the doctor happily boasted, “I get about 6-7 litres of lemon juice and more than thirty types of vegetables and 15-20 varieties of flowers and ornamental plants.”
The doctor said that he was inspired by another surgeon who was into organic farming. “Dr Venkatesh advised me into changing my vacant plot into a farm where I can do organic farming and gave me tips on how to go about it. I have not looked back since then.”
He said, “Any leaf that falls into my house is not thrown away. Instead, it is collected and converted into leaf manure to fertilise my farm. The biggest prize is that our soil is full of earthworms which indicate that one has not used insecticides. Another indicator is that bees don’t come on flowers which have insecticides sprayed on them but they hound our flowers. All this brings a smile to my face.”
For insecticides, the doctor offered a unique solution. “We use neem oil. We also use a mixture of ginger, garlic and chilly paste which I dissolve in water and spray the extract on our leaves and surprisingly, it takes care of insects that harm the plants,” said the doctor, who grows turmeric, chilly, lemon, betel leaf and many other spices from the market. “We only throw plastic covers into our garbage bins, everything else is recycled,” said Dr Chakravorty, who has bigger plans for the future. “Bee harvesting is our next plan. I want to have homegrown honey,” he summed up.
