Dharamsala: ‘Turmeric man’ adds spice to agriculture

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, May 2

Growing turmeric has been a self-supported, passion-driven mission for 1948-born Colonel PC Rana (retd) since 2007. He had served in the Indian Army for 43 years. A ‘Black Cat’ Commando, Colonel Rana belongs to Balugloa village near Jwalamukhi in Kangra district.

After his retirement, unlike many others, he chose to come back to his native village and started looking after his ancestral lands.

It was not a cakewalk as the region had multiple obstacles such as water scarcity, stray animals and monkey menace compelling people to leave agriculture. But this soldier enlivened the spirit of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ by becoming a role model for the farming community of the state. His products today meet international standards and have a global market due to their unmatched quality. The villagers say his untiring zeal has certainly proved that nothing is difficult for a willing heart.

The journey had started on a humble note, but sheer hard work and passion made it a huge success. Colonel Rana strongly believes to preserve ancient, traditional and the Ayurvedic knowledge system of food value addition recipes that have evolved in over time.

Today, he promotes scientifically validated, 100-year-old traditional low input-cost and integrated poly-crop natural agriculture practices.

Talking to The Tribune, he said, “Agriculture is in my genes. I was only 4 years old when I started ploughing fields. I have served in Indian Army for long but chose to come back to my village, where my fields were calling me. I am happy living where I had grown up.” Honoured by the Spices Board of India, he is a torchbearer for the people and state government.