In the fragrant memory of Kamala Pujari

Every day, thousands of people around the world pass away. While some deaths are untimely, others can be seen as a release from prolonged suffering. However, for those who have dedicated their lives to humble, selfless service, death is often celebrated as a joyful occasion. Such individuals always leave behind a lasting memory, fragrant with the essence of their work.

The untimely passing of Padma Shri awardee Kamala Pujari on July 20, 2024, at the age of 74, left me with just such a fragrant memory — of a woman who preserved and cultivated hundreds of indigenous rice varieties in the world of organic farming.

Pujari was born in Patrapur, a small village in Koraput district of Kalahandi region in Odisha, a tribal area prone to droughts. Her family, like many others, was extremely poor and heavily reliant on farming and surrounding forests. The tribal farmers in this hilly region cultivated rice and millets during the rainy season. They had no winter crops, making them entirely dependent on the dense forests for sustenance during winter and summer.

The forest provided them with wild vegetables, fruits, flowers, corms, tubers and roots. It was during these forest visits with her mother that Pujari first encountered the diverse varieties of rice. Her mother taught her to leave a few grains of rice from each bunch in the forest and from a young age, Pujari began collecting and preserving different rice varieties in small earthen pots. Over time, her collection grew to over a hundred varieties, all fragrant and unique.

Pujari not only cultivated these varieties in her own fields but also encouraged thousands of other tribal women to do the same. Soon, Patrapur became known as the village of fragrant rice. The fragrance of this agricultural revolution reached Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan. However, it was not enough to simply have fragrant rice; there was a need to increase production using modern techniques and to improve the livelihoods of the impoverished tribals in Kalahandi.

With this in mind, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation established a small research station in the Kalahandi area in 1994. Pujari shared many of her traditional rice varieties with the agricultural scientists at this institution.

Through joint efforts, Pujari and the agricultural scientists developed a high-yielding rice variety called kala jira (black cumin). This variety, which had been cultivated in Kalahandi for thousands of years, had never yielded more than two and a half to three quintals per acre. The low yield, coupled with a large population, had made Kalahandi synonymous with famine.

Between 2000 and 2003, more than 200 tribals died of starvation in this region. Many had even sold their children to buy food. The improved kala jira variety, developed by the research foundation, was drought-resistant and retained its nutritional quality along with its original fragrance. It yielded up to 15 quintals per acre, bringing much-needed relief to the region.

Odisha government’s agriculture department and development bank National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD) also played a significant role in this project. Initially, the tribals were hesitant to adopt the improved variety, but Pujari rallied thousands of tribal women and dispelled their misconceptions.

As a result, kala jira, along with hundreds of other rice varieties, became widespread in Kalahandi and Koraput, leading to the region being recognised as a Global Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2012. This was the only place in India to be recognised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN as a global agricultural heritage site.

This achievement was made possible by the tribals, under Pujari’s leadership, who preserved hundreds of rice varieties, practised organic farming, and protected the surrounding forests with their treasury of biodiversity.

On August 31, 2023, kala jira rice also received a geographical indication (GI) tag. This fragrant, dark brown rice, which resembles cumin seeds when husked, is an effective remedy for diabetes and anaemia. Today, it is exported to the United States and European countries as a superfood. Thanks to this unique rice, Kalahandi’s reputation has shifted from being the land of hunger to Odisha’s rice bowl.

Nagesh Tekale is president for non-profit Navdrushti

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth