My Father and The Mexican farmer

Baba and Me in the sugarcane field in 2013 on the highway in Kolhapur

Baba is aging now. He has been the leader of our joint family. We were a small family of three. My mother and me made so many compromises well I did not have a choice but my mother did. Yet she chose to take care of the family. In a joint family everyone makes sacrifices big or small.

Dad always wanted everyone to study well. He would come back from work and teach us. He was working 3 jobs at his peak yet he made time to sit with us to study. There were 8 children in the family. What made him choose to do this? Parenting is such a thankless job. Only when you become parents you learn or do you?

The reason I put a pic of us in the field is because the Mexican corn farmer's story is playing on my mind. The story goes that this particular farmer grew the best corn. So several researchers were curious to know his secret. He divulged it after probing much and it was simple, sharing his seeds was his secret. Since corn requires cross pollination to give a good harvest and best quality it is a must that the pollen should be good. So for miles he shared his seed with other farmers whose seed wasn't of high quality. That ensured that his corn was the best. I see my Dad as that farmer. He shared his resources, effort and knowledge with everyone. Hoping that the pollination was good. When some one makes progress he is the happiest in the knowledge that now there is no dependency of the neighboring farmer for seed. They have their own seed. Flourish you all!

🙏 Gratitude 🙏