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Anantaneni Umamaheswari: A hard life sweetened by seedless grapes

Anantaneni Umamaheswari A hard life sweetened by seedless grapes

Sheer determination to face all odds in life has made Anantaneni Umamaheswari a pioneer in seedless grape cultivation in Rayalaseema. 


This farmer from G. Kothapalli village, Anantapur district, now earns about ₹15 lakh a year from a small 2.15 acre holding, with an initial the investment of just ₹4 to ₹5 lakh. 


And the idea is spreading. Her story has inspired hundreds of farmers in the region to switch over to seedless grape cultivation, taking her experience as their guiding spirit. 


Anantaneni Umamaheswari A hard life sweetened by seedless grapesA shy woman, Umamaheswari avoids media exposure.  Being a marginal farmer, Umamaheswari's interaction with the outside world is minimal. 


"I don’t want my small family and simple livelihood to be disturbed by the pulls and pressures of the outside world. I didn’t go to any bank for a loan nor did any bank approach me to lend money. I suffered and struggled with my own little income. Now and then, I took help from my parents,” she said.

 


“Many channels and reporters want to speak to me. But what are all these for, sir? We don’t know what will happen once my photo is printed in newspapers. Let's not venture into a world which is not ours,” she told Asianet Newsable when contacted for permission to visit her farm.


She has several requests from the media pending with her. But a woman with high self-respect, she is not inclined to talk about her life’s ups and downs, and she never considers her present vocation a success story. 


Though confined to a small farm, Umamaheswari is not short of ambitious goals. Her success on the farm gave her enormous courage to set much higher goals in life.


“I dream to make one of my daughters a collector. The elder one is doing B.Tech in Bengaluru. The younger one is taking coaching for civil exams in Hyderabad. A major share of my income goes to their education,” she said.


Umamaheswari’s life had turned upside down when her husband died 16 years ago. Overnight, she became the sole breadwinner and parent of two daughters. Her husband didn’t leave any inheritance except a 2.15-acre patch of land, and huge debts. 


To make matters worse, Umamaheswari was not a farm-hand and had no experience in land cultivation.


“Even though I didn't work on the farm when my husband was alive, I had to take the plunge, with the help of my father, since there no other livelihood options were available,” she said. 


Anantaneni Umamaheswari A hard life sweetened by seedless grapesThis transformation was not smooth. But she stuck it out, overcoming her lack of farming knowledge with the help of her father Kumara Swamy, who supported her efforts and taught her farming.


“Had it not been for my father, I would have ended up as a farm labourer in the village. With no help coming from any quarter, I would have sold this tiny plot of land and migrated to my parents' village to live like a labourer,” she said, narrating how she was forced to learn the tricks of the trade by circumstances.


She planted seedless grapes and began working day in and day out nurturing the farm like her two daughters. 


“I learnt everything about farm work - including driving the mini tractor borrowed from my parents. I sprayed pesticides myself to cut the cost of labour. My efforts started yielding good harvests after two years. Until this last year, there has been no problem.

 

Extreme water scarcity forced me to go to the bank for a crop loan this year,” Umamaheswari said, hoping that such the situation wouldn’t recur in the future.


She is very popular in surrounding villages as a brave farmer. Many people left small trades and transformed themselves into seedless grape cultivators, inspired by her success. And they have started making a decent living. 


Among the legion of people inspired by her experiments are a bakery owner, a railway employee and many small and marginal farmers. Her own brother quit a job in the railways and began cultivating grapes in a nearby village.


Though she has been a farmer for 15 years and inspired many others to enter grape cultivation, there has been no recognition from the government yet. 


“I don’t know if working on a farm gets me awards. This is my farm, and I work for my livelihood. Two times, District Collectors invited me for a meeting. Beyond that I don’t know anything about awards,” she said, in innocence.

 

Anantaneni Umamaheswari A hard life sweetened by seedless grapes

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