More from @nisheethsharan

Nisheeth Sharan

@nisheethsharan

21 May

कोरोना और ब्लैक फ़ंगस ने मृत्यु की वेदना को आंसुओं की क़ीमत से तौल दिया है। रोज़ किसी एक घनिष्ट मित्र का जाना क्रूरता से स्मृति से एक एक कालखंड पोंछता जा रहा है। संवेदना की अभिव्यक्ति अश्रुपूरित ईमोजी, प्रणाम में जुड़े हाथों तक सिमट गई है
ऊँ शांति बेबसी का घोष बन गया है।
1/n

पिछले एक पखवाड़े में अपने दो करीबी मित्रों को खो चुका हूँ। मित्र भी ऐसे, जिन्हें परिवार का सदस्य कहना उनके संबंधों को अपमानित करना प्रतीत होता है।
कल दोपहर गौतम का मेसेज आया कि दद्दू का स्थिति क्रिटिकल है। चार पाँच दिन पहले बताया था कि कोरोना के मकड़जाल से छूटकर..
2/n

दद्दू ब्लैक फ़ंगस की चपेट में आ गये हैं। दद्दू हमारे जीवट से भरे पूरे थे, पचहत्तर की उमर में पच्चीस वाले जोश से भरे हुए। जूझते रहे, जीवन में बड़ी विपदाएँ झेली थीं उन्होंने, कोरोना को पछाड़ चुके थे। कल गौतम बोला दद्दू हार रहे हैं, काल के आगे समर्पित हो रहे हैं।
3/n

Read 17 tweets

Nisheeth Sharan

@nisheethsharan

2 Apr

@radhabharadwaj

When @radhabharadwaj decided to tell the story of women in India’s space programme, she innocently started talking to Bollywood production houses.
Little did she know that Bollywood thrives on thieving ideas and scripts. 1/n
#SpaceMoms

Her script was taken, idea stolen and without as much as a nod, a hackneyed version was produced by Bollywood behind her back.

Radha was not going to take it lying down. She proceeded legally against the producers while committing to produce her own script.
#SpaceMoms 2/n

The outcome is #SpaceMoms , a wonderfully original take on the ordinary Indian women at ISRO who do extraordinary work.
It is a depiction of characters as they are, NOT as caricatures.
You know that Akshay being a scientist route, dont you?
#SpaceMoms
3/n

Read 5 tweets

Nisheeth Sharan

@nisheethsharan

17 Mar

It is a rather old story.
Few generations back, our affluent ancestral home was attacked by unknown immigrants.
They robbed our home, set fire to the barn, looted what they could, tried to misbehave with the womenfolk and ran away into the night.
1/n

My ancestors fortified their home, made better provisions for security, kept 24 hour guards. A few years later, again one night an attack happened. This time the guards were killed, the cattle stolen, large part of the house burnt down. My ancestors survived but barely so.
2/n

The village came to offer succour, even some financial help to rebuild. But there was no finding the attackers. They just vanished into the dark.
Life gradually began to come to a normal. Hardwork and effort brought the household back to normalcy.

3/n

Read 8 tweets

Nisheeth Sharan

@nisheethsharan

30 Nov 20

Since the time of these agri reforms, it has become convenient to blame Adhatia/middlemen/commission agents for every ill of farming.
NOTHING CAN BE FURTHER FROM TRUTH.
Middlemen exist because they serve a purpose. It deep rural communities, they are a single point source of 1/n

loans and advances, guidance and help. Yes, there are people who may exploit, but that doesn't make the entire system malafide. Where does a poor farmer get advance in emergency? The adhatia who knows him, his farm, his crop and his credit reliability.
2/n

The adhatias also are the farm produce aggregators, much like Amazon/Bookings etc. Large buyers place their order with adhatias. They are ones who buy from small farmers, sort pack and make it acceptable quantity for the buyer. How would you imagine a 2.5 acre farmer trying 3/n

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Nisheeth Sharan

@nisheethsharan

30 Nov 20

If all subsidies and govt support to farmers is removed, agriculture in India will crash in less than one crop season.
It is an artificially sustained system to help 80% people to sustain their work.
Can any country whose 80% people survive on artificial income progress?

We have the lowest land holding per family than most agri nations and it is dwindling with every generation. We have poor yields and mechanisation. Poor crop diversity. Non existent demand intelligence, meagre cold chains.
And agriculture in India is not yet deemed an industry.

But this artificially sustained sytem accounts for 80% votes in most elections, so no govt wishes to touch it.
Time to take stock and dismantle an artificial, rotten system. Agriculture needs to completely reboot.
But it wont because of political considerations.

Read 5 tweets