Homegrown food revived a lost recipe
Story of Nilesh Nahar from Udaipur, Rajasthan
Plucking a tori from his rooftop garden, Nilesh delightfully mentions, “It is after many years that I have eaten a dish made of tori (ridge gourd) peels.” Nilesh used to have this dish in his childhood. But with fertilizer and pesticide-laden vegetables, a recipe like that of tori peels sabji got lost from Nilesh’s family. The roof-top garden at his home in Udaipur in Rajasthan took shape in 2018. Nilesh’s mother had been suffering from cancer for many years and with a close one suffering from such a serious ailment, Nilesh’s family said a big “NO” to any food grown with chemicals and fertilizers.
They now consume most of the vegetables from their rooftop garden which has 3 beds of 4*6 feet and 1 bed of 4*8 feet, flourishing with vegetables of all kinds- ridge gourd, aal, bitter gourd, cucumber, ladyfinger, red cabbage, beetroot, peas, spinach and many more. Nilesh uses kitchen waste compost, vermicompost and cow dung as fertilizer. Interestingly, he also makes a mixture of neem (Azardica indica), aakda (Calotrpis), and kaner (Cascabela thevetia) to use as pest repellant for his farm. Birds and bees have been his partners all throughout; Nilesh has never hand pollinated his plants, which is unique for urban gardens.
Nilesh has learnt some significant lessons from his experiences in rooftop gardening. He used to grow his plants in plastic sheets earlier, which resulted in dried plants and less harvest, because of the problem of drainage in plastic sheets. He then made raised beds with bricks, collected seeds from local vendors and revamped his garden. They now get enough homegrown harvest to be cooked for meals 7–8 times a month. Nilesh also shares some of the harvest with his neighbours and friends.
Nilesh emphasizes the difference in the taste of homegrown vegetables that he has discovered lately. He enjoys eating fresh cucumbers in the early mornings with the company of sparrows and robins in his garden. For Nilesh, gardening is a stress buster and a place of peace amidst the disturbing occurrences of the COVID pandemic. What worries Nilesh is the attitude of the people, as he thinks that there are a lot of people intending to save the environment but very few make real efforts. He says, “Considering the speed of development and industrialization, there will come a time when everyone will have to grow their own food if they wish to be healthy.”
Follow or get connected to Nilesh at: https://www.facebook.com/nilesh.nahar1
