There’s something inexplicable about this organic connection. It grows so deep and wide in such a short time that you wonder whether these connections were a tale of a time long past but just needed human encounters to happen in person to spring forth. 

When I met organic farmer Girish Krishnamurthy at Bhoomi Santhe last Saturday, I was overwhelmed by his generous offer of organic goodies grown painstakingly in his Hosur farm. He refused to accept money and said, “you are our guest here”… And believe me, this was our only second meeting months after we met at his talk in our community on things organic. He was so full of insights about farming and was so happy sharing and discussing the same with anyone who showed interest.

That’s the thing I was getting at… That those who spend time in close communion with Nature seem to imbibe such generosity from Her bountifulness that manifests itself in various forms day and night. Looks like, over a short span, it begins to run tissue-deep in them. Frankly, this is the only rational explanation I have been able to arrive at after all these years of my interaction with those souls who love to dig the earth and sow a seed. Be it organic farming, natural farming/ZBNF, permaculture or anything close, the joy of sharing takes precedence over everything else. Otherwise, why would a terrace gardener go around sharing his/her organic veggies with neighbours?

I know many of them. They love to share seeds and find satisfaction in seeing them grow in someone else’s garden. They are on their toes to share tips and tricks on tackling aphids and termites (and they do it so lovingly!). They are so eager to exchange smiles even with strangers so long as the subliminal meeting point is ORGANIC.

I am saying this because whenever I go to such events, I see people smiling at strangers for no reason and bonding instantly the next minute. There is visible happiness shining through their faces and hugs and talk. They love to talk ‘dirt’, trees, compost, growth media, seeds, worms, maggots, microbes, springtails, caterpillars and butterflies. They love cloth bags, jute bags, stoneware, steel stuff and iron tawas. They swear by cold-pressed oils, stuff their bags with millets, black rice and jaggery. They drool over handmade products while embracing all the visible human imperfections with utmost humility.

Through personal experience, I have witnessed that these smiles and hugs often happen to be so beautifully genuine. At least so in my case. And the bonding much deeper than what you routinely encounter. Maybe because what matters here is not the persons alone. But the shared organic connection. So long as the latter is intact, the rest is all safe.

You may term this ‘an obsessive generalisation’. But I doubt if any organic or natural grower would disagree with me if I say that when such a connection touches a visceral chord, it is often because that chord is already resonating with empathy for all things natural.