The mud clung to my legs and trousers as I stepped barefoot into the muddy water. For someone who spends his days in boardrooms discussing metal alloys and electrical contacts, this was unfamiliar territory.
But as I bent down to plant my first rice sapling, something shifted in my understanding of what truly powers our nation.
Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy; it is a fact I’d quoted countless times in presentations. But standing there, with mud between my toes and the sun warming my back, I finally understood what those words meant.
This was about forging a real connection to the land, to tradition and to the very essence of what makes India.
Each rice sapling demanded careful attention. The farmer beside me, weathered hands moving with grace, showed me how to insert the young green shoots into the rich soil. “Like this,” he said, demonstrating the gentle yet firm motion required. “The earth must embrace the plant.”
His words carried the weight of generations. In India, farming is a way of life woven into our cultural fabric.
Lord Krishna’s elder brother Balrama is revered as the patron deity of farmers, and across villages, agricultural practices are intimately connected to local customs, festivals, and religious rituals. Standing in that field, I felt this ancient wisdom.
The process was indeed meditative. Plant, step forward, plant again. The rhythm reminded me of the assembly lines in our manufacturing facilities, but here, the pace was dictated by nature, not machines.
My back ached soon enough: a reminder that these farmers work from dawn to dusk, season after season, to feed our nation of 1.4 billion people.
As time passed, I began to understand the intricate ecosystem that agriculture supports. The farmer’s wife must have risen before dawn to prepare breakfast, their children may later help with the harvest, and the entire village economy revolved around the agricultural cycle.
The rice they were planting would eventually find its way to processing facilities, creating employment in allied industries. The straw would feed livestock, supporting the dairy industry.
Even the water buffalo wallowing in the nearby pond played a role in this complex web of rural livelihood. I thought of the supply chains I manage in my business yet this village ecosystem displayed an elegance and sustainability compared to modern industries.
The farmer also shared stories passed down through generations. Tales of good harvests and bad, of monsoons that came late and festivals that celebrated the first grain. His words were expressions of a deep understanding that agriculture is about more than production. It’s about humanity’s relationship with nature and about faith in cycles larger than ourselves.
In my world of quarterly reports and annual targets, I’d forgotten this longer view.
The farmer also spoke of unpredictable weather, rising input costs and the young people leaving for cities. Yet his voice carried no bitterness, only a quiet determination to adapt and survive.
This resilience struck me. In business, we often talk about innovation and disruption, but here was a sector that had been innovating for thousands of years: developing drought-resistant varieties, creating irrigation systems, adapting to changing climates. The Green Revolution of the 1960s had transformed India from a food-importing nation to one approaching self-sufficiency, proving agriculture’s capacity for dramatic change.
As we finished planting, I realized this experience had fundamentally changed my perspective.
Agriculture provides raw materials for industries like textiles and food processing, contributes significantly to our export earnings, and ensures food security for our massive population.
But more than that, it represents the values of patience, persistence and harmony with nature, and I believe modern businesses and industry desperately need all these.
Walking back to my car, mud still clinging to my feet, I thought about the farmers who would tend these fields through the coming months. They would watch for pests, manage water levels and eventually harvest the grain that would feed families across the country. Their work, often invisible to urban India, makes all other economic activity possible.
Later, as I sat in my office reviewing reports on silver alloys and copper tungsten alloys production, I found myself thinking differently about value creation.
The farmer I’d worked with that morning created value in the most fundamental way. He was nurturing life from the earth. His work connected him to centuries of tradition while feeding the future.
My hands may have been temporarily caked with mud, but my mind was permanently enriched by the experience.
Agriculture is indeed the backbone of our economy, but it’s also the soul of our nation. It reminds us that beneath all our technological advancement and industrial progress, we remain dependent on the patient work of those who ‘create’ life from the soil.
Murli Nikam is the Chief Executive Officer of Modison Ltd, listed on BSE and NSE
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