Bengaluru techie turns gardener

He was in class 8 when Hariram Pagadala Sreenath's grandmother told him he was blessed with 'green fingers' -that whatever he sowed would turn green. In retrospect, this endearing tale -meant to get a child interested in the garden - was akin to receiving a boon. Sreenath, now a 43-year-old IT professional, grows over 40 varieties of vegetables, fruits and greens on his terrace. And he encourages children, neighbours and colleagues to become terrace farmers.

"I moved to Bengaluru in 1997 and over the years, I realised that the terrace is the only vacant space for growing greens in this concrete jungle," he told ET.

His 500 sqft terrace garden -where he grows spinach, carrots, brinjals, corn, herbs, coriander, ginger, garlic, onion, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, strawberry and curry leaves -meets almost all vegetable requirements of his family of four. But Sreenath also wanted others to benefit from his knowledge. "I started sending homegrown produce to my neighbours. Most of them came back to me to know more and I started teaching them how to replicate the practice on their own terraces," he said.

To take the message across to the next generation, Sreenath has engaged children too. He let them observe him tending his own garden and conducted free workshops for them.

The next step was to take it to his NIIT Technologies office near Silk Board Junction.Sreenath convinced skeptical colleagues to use a vacant 1 ft x 60ft space to grow organic food instead of ornamental plants."It was only when I grew spinach for close to 200 employees did they understand the merits of the concept," he said. Today , more than 25 colleagues join Sreenath after work to collectively grow a variety of organic food on that plot. And most of them have even adopted the practice at home.

Sreenath knew his efforts were bearing fruit when his friends and relatives invited him to their gated communities to teach others about gardening and composting. "So I spend 4-5 hours with these people once a month, teaching them how to grow safe food and also ways to save or earn money out of it." All his teaching sessions and workshops are free of cost. "I just want to use my knowledge to help people have a better and healthier life," he said.

Dr BN Vishwanath Kadur, President of Garden City Farmers, said responsible individuals like Sreenath save people from pesticide-ridden vegetables. “Through efforts like this, people realise the benefits of growing their own vegetables and eating healthy ," he said.

Hariram can be contacted at hariramps@gmail.com.