A return to the land

A return to the land

From Books and Authors by Hindustan Times - HT Smartcast

March 5, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Arti Dwarkadas discusses her experiences establishing a farm in rural Maharashtra and the challenges faced along the way.

"We went in with urban confidence and rural reality hit us in the face at every turn! Establishing a farm is probably the most difficult thing I've done. I think everybody should do it."- Arti Dwarkadas, author, Two Bandra Girls Buy a Farm, talks to me about growing varieties of rice, mangoes, tomatoes and more on the patch of land in rural Maharashtra that she and her friend Suzann have been nurturing for the last five years, their Adivasi neighbours' encyclopedic knowledge of plants, the agricultural uses of Google Lens, the wild boar attack that destroyed a whole banana patch, why the future of small farm holdings looks increasingly bleak, and winning friends and influencing people with mithai diplomacy, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Arti Dwarkadas

Topics covered

  • farming
  • agriculture
  • rural life
  • urban vs rural
  • sustainable practices

Keywords

  • rice
  • mangoes
  • tomatoes
  • Adivasi
  • Google Lens
  • wild boar
  • mithai diplomacy

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Google Lens

Books & works: Two Bandra Girls Buy a Farm

Places: Maharashtra

More episodes of Books and Authors

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Books and Authors podcast page.