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TWO months ago, Natesh Konanakatte, a young graftsman from Sagara taluk, posted online that he had identified a wild orange tree called illi hannu in the Mavinasara forest nearby. He also wrote that four years ago, he had planted a graft of…

IN 2021, as the world struggled to shake off the Covid-19 pandemic, Kuttiattoor, a quiet village in Kerala, found itself basking in glory it hadn’t entirely anticipated. An eponymous mango which Kuttiattoor had been lazily growing for the…

ONE hundred puppets from the Epics are waiting patiently for their museum to open. Their creator, 58-year-old Ramesh K.V., master Yakshagana puppeteer, has run out of money. The museum is his labour of love and has, so far, been financed…

THE betel nut has a terrible reputation. As a part of paan spittle it is associated with disgusting red stains in public spaces. Chewed on its own it is linked to oral cancers. But far removed from its negative image, the betel nut has…

During Covid times, when farmers couldn’t take their bunches of bananas to markets, a campaign was launched to encourage them to convert the bananas into flour at home instead. A very easy method was found for converting raw…

THE small venue where a two-day Soppu Mela or Green Leaves Fair was being held in Dharwad, in Karnataka, was overflowing with leaves of different colours, sizes, textures and hues. Farmers arrived from near and far with bundles of…

THE coastal town of Kasaragod is gradually realizing its tourist potential. True, it doesn’t have the Taj Mahal or the Hawa Mahal. But it has the unique suranga, a narrow cave dug inside a hill which yields crystal-clear water. The…

EVERY year, Vishwakeshava Kuruveri, a 39- year-old farmer, used to sell his freshly harvested cashew crop to some cashew-processing factories in Uppala. This year, too, at the beginning of the harvesting season, he sold 2.5 tonnes of cashew…

A ChanakaVandi, or Dung Van, roaming around Ernakulam, has so many customers it is finding it difficult to meet demand. Dairy farmers from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram now request the Dung Van to arrive at their doorstep. The Dung Van…

IN 1942 the King of Rewa asked Ram Siya Kunder, a toy maker, to peel away the thin outer layer of his supari or areca nut, to make it easier for him to chew on. Ram Siya had the tools to carry out this job. While scraping the nut, its…