TWO SIDES OF A COIN

 Being a weekend farmer, I started growing crops and started monitoring them every Sunday. Working in the fields for five odd hours gave me the realisation of how much effort is required to grow crops. I started learning nuances of farming by making mistakes and to be honest the process of learning still continues. We had a fairly good crop of Ragi or Nachni as we call it in our mother tongue. On an experimental basis we got almost thirtyfive kgs of the grain. Rich in fibre, calcium and iron, this is commonly used as a weaning food for infants. Put up an advertisement in a whatsapp group of Shastrihall, a place where I reside. The great effort of sowing, replanting, maintaining, cutting and drying which took four long months resulting in a quick sale out. A great start indeed. 35kgs of Ragi which took 4 months was sold-out in mere twenty minutes fetching me Rs 2000. I was happy to supply a quality yeild, grown organically in my farm with my blood sweat and tears put into.

Within minutes of this activity,I got a call from a lady who had just delivered a baby girl all of 7 days. The mother's voice sounded heavy and she was worried as her baby was crying incessantly. "Please attend to my baby today, I would be highly obliged" Worried parents and crying and possibly starved baby. I could not refuse even if it was a Sunday evening. Quickly switching my profession from a hard working weekend farmer to an even hard working pediatrician, I reached my clinic to calm the  parents' anxiety. Examined and counselled the first time parents answering their never-ending queries. A common phenomenon seen in the first timers. 'Rs 2000' was my answer when they asked my fees which they happily paid through Gpay. Walking down towards my home which I always do my mind started to introspect. Four months of hard toiling under the harsh sun,35kgs of produce, selling with all marketing skills for 20 mins earning a red colour note with Bapu's pic on the right side. At very next moment sitting in an AC cabin for 20 mins earning the same red note with Bapu's pic on the right side albeit getting deposited directly in my account.

I was in a dilemma about the farmer being underpaid or the doctor being overpaid. Many of us would agree with this statement. But. Why doctors?? There are so many professions which are overpaid. Take a top-notch soccer player earning few lakhs per day or a movie star earning similar amount. Management graduate from IIM or similar get a package only a doctor can dream of while farmer cannot even take a risk to dream similarly. Doctors had to toil hard physically as well as mentally for more than ten years just to get qualified enough for a deserving earning. The sacrifice this profession requires is only next to the armforce. But then what about me the farmer?? Right from purchasing the seeds to maintaining its growth require money, physical effort and bit of a luck and favour from the nature god as farming is all dependent on the whims of nature. Able to sell directly to the end consumer than to the agents also matters the most.

That particular day I earned a similar amount from different professions but a farmer in me was more satisfied than a doctor. Doctor was simply doing his duty and being loyal to his noble profession while farmer was happy indeed to see his hard grown crops getting its value. I will wait for that day when a farmer in me gets a equal respect I get as a doctor. When we start respecting our 'Baliraja'( farmers fondly known in marathi), our country with agriculture as its main profession will grow leaps and bounds. Till then the dilemma still remains!!!