Buying Grain From a Village Shop

8/7/2019 Buying Grain From a Village Shop

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15/02/11 11:38 AMari Batti's Green Light Dhaba: Photo feature: Buying grain from a village shop

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Photo feature: Buying grain from a village shop

by Lina Krishnan

I dont know if too many kids nowadays know that rotis are made of atta, and

that atta itself comes from wholewheat grain. I guess we are so separated

from the process that we have almost forgotten these basics. I remember

though, in my childhood in Delhi, one bought kanak (wheat) and took it to the

chakki (grinding house), where it was first sifted, then ground into flour. The

bright colors of the odhnis of the Rajasthani women who worked there, the

golden color of the wheat spread out in the sun, the harmonious chak-chak of

their sieves as they worked, it was all from another time and space. Now we

buy boring packaged atta in a chain store, adding to the plastic on the planet,

and distancing ourselves from the source. Which is why it felt so good the

other day finding myself at a village shop buying grain.

Ragi, the ubiquitous staple of Karnataka. It is ideal for dryland farming. Adding

a bit of it to your daily diet gives a lot of energy, plus strengthens the bones.

We got ragi grain for Rs 12 a kilo (plus Rs 1 per kg for grinding), as opposed

to Rs 25 that one pays here at the supermarket for a kilo of ragi atta. Whats

more, it was naati (desi) ragi, a lot more nutritious than the factory product.

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Shopping becomes a friendly encounter, with a leisurely chat about the crops,

rain, his village, our route. Since we were tempted to buy quite a bit, and

ground ragi doesnt keep for so long, the shopkeeper offered to come along to

the nearby chakki and explain that we wanted the grain only to be cleaned for

now.

The chakki is a powerhouse on the go, despite working out of a limited space.

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6/7



Cows find a handy trough and some shade from the midday sun

Okay, I guess its time to get back.

****

Lina Krishnan blogs over atJude Sessions. It's full of good writing about

important things.

For more about food-related issues, check out the dhaba's food security page.

And if YOU have something interesting to share, why not send itour way?

POSTED BY HARI BATTI AT 8:10 AM

LABELS: FOOD, VOICES

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I really enjoyed this. Thanks you. We used to get wheat ground at Chirag

Dilli as recently as a couple years ago. There's a chakki there, and I guess

you could call Chiraq Dilli an urban village. We gave up on the chakki

there. But more recently buying preground wheat at Navdanya, and

mixing it with amaranth etc. Will see if we can mix in some ragi as well.

15 FEBRUARY 2011 9:30 AM
http://www.greenlightdhaba.org/2011/02/photo-feature-buying-grain-from-village.html?showComment=1297742409678#c8396169091140246572http://www.blogadda.com/http://www.greenlightdhaba.org/feeds/9034261943609083028/comments/defaulthttp://www.greenlightdhaba.org/http://www.greenlightdhaba.org/2011/02/saving-seeds-natabar-sarangi-goes.html

Buying Grain From a Village Shop

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