I have a soft spot for books that take me to the heartland of my country and it\’s people. I love books that pose questions and make one think. I like it even more if books are rooted in reality and the writers thoughts seem to resonate deeply one\’s own thoughts and beliefs. Moong over Microchips ticked all of the above boxes for me and was so much more than just a reading experience.
I am a very slow reader and coupled with a two year old who keeps me on my toes it takes me forever to finish books. But this book was so engrossing and so fascinating I finished it in less than 2 days. Considering it is a simple, honest first person account of agriculture, farming and village life the book is unputdownable, which in my opinion is quite a feat. The writing is focussed and very informative ( especially to those who dream of owning a land in India) but at the same time thought-provoking. The narrative is fascinating at times, especially anecdotes about how the author tackles corruption at every level or how the water Diviner( I had to Google this) locates water in his field or how he goes in search of indegineous variety of rice crop that has vanished from fields thanks to it\’s hybrid counterparts. Though the book speaks about farming for a large part it also touches upon other topics like differences between village and city life, demonetization, village economics and a totally unfair supply and distribution network that our poor farmers have to deal with on a daily basis. It is a very important book considering it is a voice of an educated, aware self-taught organic farmer who has willingly chosen farming over a highly paid software job and it needs to be heard to understand the current scenario of agriculture in India. This is a book that made me think deeply about the food that ends up on our plates, the people who grow it and their stories. Would highly recommend it…
lmage credit: www.amazon.com