Rishikesh

We see that promoters of natural farming are into a fight with those who believe in organic farming. I feel this is unfortunate. I must confess I am not an authority on either methods. I am the son of a farmer and I have remained that. Most of my obsession is limited to enjoying reading and writing about agriculture, mother of all cultures. The fight, however intellectual, between the two systems is unnecessary and avoidable. The fundamental principle behind each is the same. (Their results are the same too.) That is the Buddhist principle of living close to nature. Musanobu Fukuoka, the father of natural farming, says that one who starts organic farming ends up being a natural farmer. I feel the ego of promoters of the two systems has led to the fight. It is their unwillingness to learn and lack of humility to accept that some truth could lie on the other side. Similar fights have been between believers of different ideologies, processes, methods and faiths and even technologies. Unli

Many months after Leptospirosis (rat fever) and Chikun Gunya began spreading, many reporters continued to write about "a strange disease gripping their town". We proved again that reporters, as a tribe, are too proud to accept lack of learning and lazy to upgrade. Members of every professional association get together every year, share experiences, speak, listen and learn. Doctors call it Continuing Medical Education. Engineers by some other name and even teachers and lawyers do something similar. Such kind of teamwork and relearning is sadly absent among the apparently all knowing community of Journalists. I saw that the journalists in the US do this regularly. I attended one such discussion group on ground water preservation in May. They tend to forget things like competition and individual career advancement while doing such things. The community spirit prevails there. I feel strongly about this. We need to meet, discuss, shed prejudices and learn. Family picnics can also

Blogs are brag books. Every one needs one. That is what I believe. I have one too. I see that blogs are quite democratic. One can have an opinion and see it being read, appreciated or challenged. Let me see what my long pending blog turns out to be. Please tell me how it looks! I am a reporter with The Hindu, the most trusted newspaper in India and outside. I have varied interests, like music, literature, theatre, travelling and learning new languages. I have written on government policy, rural development, local government, agriculture, rain water harvesting, issues of women, tribals, SC/STs, forests and wildlife, and micro cultures. Lately, I have developed a deep interest in Buddhism and natural farming promoted by Fukoka. This is my address Rishikesh Bahadur Desai, Reporter, The Hindu, Near District Jail, Bidar, 585401 Karnataka, India 918482-222177 9194484-79672 rishiscribe@gmail.com