ONGOLE: Common interests brought the two men together, and their later synergistic approach created a liquid organic fertiliser from 'abhisheka jalam', the sacred water used in temples to bathe the deity. One is a retired military officer-turned-farmer, a nature farming enthusiast, while the other is a young techie, who loves the environment.
Lella Venkata Ramana (53) and Munagala Vishnu Murthy (33) are trying to provide nutritious supplements as well as an effective pest control remedy from the 'abhisheka jalam' from temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses, especially from Shiva temples across the country.
In the recent holy month of Karthika, a large number of devotees performed "Shiva Abhishekam" every Monday. "Abhisheka Jalam" is considered as the prasad, and it does not have any synthetic chemicals and has natural micronutrients, working as a natural bio-pesticide.
On December 20, farmers pursuing the natural farming model, collected nearly 500 liters of "Shiv Abhishek Jalam" from the Bapatla-Agraharam Shiva temple after the Aarudra Nakshatra Abhishekams. They mixed cow dung, urine, sugarcane juice, and neem to prepare Panchagavya and Jeevamrutham, which they used in the fields. "We noticed that a variety of seasonal pests vanished after these were sprayed," Subba Rao, another farmer, told The New Indian Express.
Ramana from Kavurivaripalem village in Chirala Mandal is a retired Border Security Force Assistant Commandant and after returning from service in 2017, he started nature farming on his three acres at Kavurivari Palem village.
In the beginning, Ramana adopted the Subhash Palekar method of natural farming for a short period at Nagarjuna Nagar. Then he started cultivation as a full-time profession. "After retirement I wanted to produce organic food grains in my farmland. I started farming with that aim and am still pursuing my passion," he told The New Indian Express on Saturday.
Vishnu, son of a grocer from Zamigollepalli village (near Gudivada) of Pamarru mandal limits in Krishna district, completed his Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Statistics, and MCA in Chennai. Now, he is working for a multinational company as an assistant consultant/programmer.
Since his school days, Vishnu has been active in social service. Inspired by his Statistics Lecturer SK Sharif Khan’s concerns over the plight of cows due to the extensive use of plastic bags, Vishnu started thinking about protecting cows.
During his Chennai days, he decided to do something for the protection and wellbeing of cows. In 2017 he started "Goseva World Social Organisation". At an award presentation ceremony for farmers and guardians of cows in 2018, Ramana and Vishnu met for the first time, and they became good friends.
"Two months ago, Vishnu mooted the idea to effectively use abhisheka jalam in cultivation. After more discussions, we decided to give a new nature farming tool to farmers and thus 'abhisheka jalam' for nature farming concept came into practice," Ramana explained.
Since then, they have been collecting ‘abhisheka jalam’ from temples and processing it using coconut water, sugarcane juice, banana pulp, cow dung, cow urine, curd and ghee to prepare the 'Panchagavya Abhisheka Jalam'.
Vishnu, meanwhile, has been moving ahead and spreading the message about the importance of Goseva and Cow Protection with his "A to Z - Cow for All" campaign.
He has been consulting all famous temples regarding cow protection as well as marketing cow-based products, including Dantamanjan (toothpaste with cow-dung). He has already contacted the Srisailam Devasthanam, and Pithapuram Pada Gaya Kshetram to spread his message.
Ramana has been cultivating several varieties of paddy, including the white-indigenous varieties of BPT and Swarna, besides special black Mysore Mallige paddy, Burma black, Manipuri, and Kalabati, using natural farming methods.
"The ingredients used with abhisheka jalam have rich micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, and zinc, which are essential for the growth of plants. These also work as powerful organic pesticides and stimulate growth," Dr Rama Rao, Principal Scientist-Agricultural Research Center-Bapatla, opined.