Man of the Earth

In this time of pestilence and lockdown the sad news comes that Arjun is no more. A shocking reminder that people fighting for justice are not only rare to find but are also most vulnerable in this capitalistic world. I have known Arjun for three decades and his loss is going to hurt for some time. I first met him when he was with the Kashtkari Sangathana in Dahanu Taluka of Palghar district in Maharashtra.  The Kashtkari Sangathana along with the Bhoomi Sena had led militant mass movements of the Adivasis in Palghar district for their rights which remain a beacon for Adivasi mass mobilisation in post independence India. Originally hailing from Kerala, Arjun was an activist with the organisation in Dahanu then. Later, he became interested in organic farming as he felt that without a switch to organic agriculture it would not be possible to save farming and farmers in this country. Thus, began a new saga.
Organic farming has to be done as part of a community, ideally an Adivasi community. The problem was to get a suitable plot of land near to an Adivasi community which was owned by a non-Adivasi so that it could be transferred to Arjun's name. This proved to be a big problem. After much searching Arjun failed to get land in Palghar. Finally he found his piece of land in Pishwi village some 65 kms from Pune. However, there was a lot of work to do to improve the land quality as the soil was not very fertile and the terrain was also hilly. Being a true farmer he used to work on the farm himself along with the Adivasis he engaged to help him.

So it was a hard grind. In between another non-Adivasi realtor tried to encroach on his farm and he had to tackle him also harking back to his days as an activist with Kashtkari Sangathana. All this while commuting from Pune. This whole process took many years and in between he stayed in New Delhi along with his wife Mona Mehta and son Kabir. Mona too was initially a grassroots activist and later became a development researcher and consultant. While staying in Delhi Arjun became expert in playing the flute and also in cooking. He used to do both earlier also but now he went about these hobbies in a rigorous manner. He also spent some time during this period at the Adharshila Learning Centre in Sendhwa in Madhya Pradesh setting up an organic farm there and teaching the Adivasi students the basics of sustainable agriculture. After they shifted to Pune, Arjun took up cooking professionally and ran the popular Underground Kitchen. He used to cook exotic dishes on order and had a dedicated clientele.
Whenever I used to ask to see his farm in Pishwi he would tell me that it was not ready yet and that I should visit only when he had something to show. I finally managed to visit him two years back and it was a treat to see him display all the crops with pride. I stayed the night and was treated to his fabulous cooking. He was extremely happy as he had his big hounds also with him. The hounds would travel with him from Pune to Pishwi and back.
We were frequently in touch over Facebook and last year in March after seeing a post of mine about Subhadra's millet farming he got in touch with me for some seeds. That was our last interaction. After that he fell ill with heart problems but I did not get to know anything of it. He went through a major open heart surgery in December. However, he did not recover enough and yesterday he passed away from cardiac arrest.
Such a lively person who used to work so hard on his farm and yet he suffered from heart problems. All the years of struggle to find a suitable farm must have secretly taken a toll on him. So even after achieving peace with his farming he could not enjoy it for long and has had to make peace with his maker permanently.
He was always a down to earth person. Even as an activist he was not much given to theory even though he was very well read in revolutionary politics. As a farmer he was self taught and fought a doughty battle to turn the farm at Pishwi into a haven for sustainable agriculture. Despite his vast knowledge in the many fields in which he chose to work he was nevertheless a very humble person. He would give advice as a friend and co-learner and not as a top down teacher. We have lost a true Man of the Earth just when we needed him most. Farewell my dear friend.