By Florine Roche

Karwar, Jun 11: When oxen are used to plough the field it does not make news. Yet, if man or a woman replaces oxen to plough the field it makes headlines. Sheer poverty and dire need to feed his family and himself has forced physically challenged Giridhar Nagesh Gunagi of Gunagiwada, Karwar. Gunagi ploughs while his sister tills the land. For the older generation this might be a reminder of the legendary 50’s film ‘Mother India’ where the poster depicted Nargis ploughing the field. Besides, Nargis portrayed reel life instance, whereas for Giridhar Gunagi and his family comprising of his mother and sister pulling the plough is a reality and that too in the 21st century.

Unlike most people who have thousands of reasons to complain and play themselves as victims of life, Giridhar, 40, comes across as a breath of fresh air. Considering that he is physically challenged and suffers from joint aches due to early arthritis that has immobilized him, he does not complain.

With a benign smile on his face he says that what he does in the field to eke out a living is normal considering his situation. “To take care of my family I have to grow vegetables and go for crops with quick yields. I can’t rent out a tractor or oxen because of my poverty and I have no other alternative source to plough. So my sister Sujatha and I plough the field and grow variety of vegetables and my mother Loly sells them in the market. As a result we are able to lead a self-reliant life”, he says with pride. 

For the last eight years Giridhar and his sister have been ploughing the field but only recently they have attracted the media glare. The brother-sister duo takes to the field with the plough as fish takes to water. Nothing dissuades them, not even the attention of passersby who watch the duo struggling in the field with their plough. 

Giridhar has studied up to SSLC and his sister who suffers from epilepsy is illiterate. “She was never interested to go to school from the beginning. I tried to enroll her into school during the adult literacy campaign but could not succeed”, explains Giridhar. He wanted to go to college but could not do so due to arthritis which engulfed him by the time he finished his SSLC. Debilitated for almost a year, Giridhar's family tried all the different medicines. But their efforts went in vain. By now he was crippled and his movement was also affected. Finally, he was taken to Mangaluru to Dr Shantharam Shetty who prescribed painkillers saying there is no cure for it. Since then, Giridhar is dependent on painkillers without which he cannot be mobile. 

Giridhar has two brothers who live separately and one of his sisters is married. He lives with his mother Loly and other sister Sujatha. In the half acre land he inherited, he grows paddy during rainy season. He grows mixed vegetables, groundnuts, leafy vegetables and other crops during the rest of the year. His mother sells the vegetables in the market and the family is able to lead a self-sustained life. The family faces hardships during the summer but Giridhar does odd jobs which includes helping the fishermen to pull the fishnet. He is a workaholic and his arthritis does not allow him to sit idle for long. The street dogs come as a menace, against which Giridhar has to guard his crops as he has no means to fence the fields. Except during rainy season when he sleeps in the temporary shed he has constructed near his fields to guard against stray animals. Giridhar, who lost his father 2 years back says he learnt farming watching television and now he uses only organic farming techniques to grow the vegetables. 

Though one can say life is unfair to this family Giridhar is always cheerful and displays positive vibes which endears him to people. Giridhar is happy in life and says his main goal is to take care of his old mother and his dependent sister and lead an independent life. Giridhar and his sister need daily dose of medicines to keep their sickness at bay. 

Another positive aspect of Giridhar is that he does social service that includes accompanying sick people to Mangaluru or rendering any other help to those who need it. Sometimes people in his neighborhood request him to go with them to hospitals and Giridhar helps them without expecting anything in return. Every year he takes at least 15 to 20 patients to Mangaluru. “I am happy to help those who are in need of my services. I can relate to the pain and agony of people who are unwell and I want to help them” he said. 

His 70 year old mother’s eyes well up when she talks about her son. “Because of him we are able to live a dignified life which would not have been possible otherwise. I dread what our life would be without him”, she says. 

With the media reporting his plight the Department of Horticulture and elected representatives of the region have promised help the Gunagi family. He has been promised a tractor and a three-wheeler which would ease his difficulties to some extent.