Peepli Live

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0000

The women of Peepli… well, there are no women in Peepli. Yes, there are daughters and mothers and wives, and to them Natha is purportedly “son and brother.” Natha is in dire straits; he has taken a loan from the bank and now cannot repay it. In an attempt to keep their lands from being auctioned off, Natha and his brother, Budhia, go to the local strongman cum political candidate for advice.

The politician recommends that one of the brothers commit suicide, for while the government does not provide debt relief or agricultural subsidies for farmers, it will give a sizable payout to the family of a farmer who has committed suicide. And therein lays their salvation. The family will have money and what have the two brothers done with their lives anyway? Let one sacrifice himself for the greater good.

Natha is a simpleton and his somewhat more savvy brother convinces him that since Budhia is the one who has a family, Natha must be the one to commit suicide—only he can save them all. Obligingly, Natha agrees. Later on that evening, after the brothers have drunk themselves into a stupor, a visiting reporter hears their story. The following morning’s headline foretells the death of farmer Natha and a media circus (as well as a political one) descends onto Peepli. The various parties and partisans push and pull, and attempt to decide whether or not Natha should live.

The three female characters in the film are all shrews. From Natha’s wife, who badgers and assaults the brothers, to his mother who complains and swears, to the reporter who appears to be unconscionably chasing leads, there is not a single positive female figure in the film. Inflation herself is a witch, wreaking havoc and ruining the farmers’ lives, leading them to their early graves.

Written by: Elisheva Zakheim, July 3rd 2010

The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers

admin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:10:00 +0000

By Lynn Byczynski

Chelsea Green Publishing

As far as dream jobs go, being an organic flower farmer ranks right up there with travel writer, cake baker, and rock star. As Lynn Byczynski thoroughly explains in The Flower Farmer, growing organic flowers for profit is a completely reasonable and realistic career choice that anyone can accomplish.

Byczynski, who has been growing flowers commercially for 20 years, takes the reader step-by-step through the beginner stages of flower farming. She includes “foolproof” flowers for the novice and discusses annual beds, perennial beds, bulbs, flowers for drying, herb bouquets, foliage and grasses, and grains. Subsequent chapters examine soil and site selection, buying plants, techniques such as transplanting and pest control, how to extend the growing season, flower arrangement, and marketing the flowers.

In addition to the knowledge that Byczynski shares about flower farming, the book itself has been exquisitely designed and features numerous diagrams and several color photographs of flowers. It’s fun just to flip through the book and study the Songbird Cardinal’s layered petals or the brain-shaped Cramer’s Burgundy. The chapters are also interspersed with even more detailed information on various flowers like sunflowers, poppies and peonies, as well as profiles of flower farmers throughout the United States.

The book concludes with a complete list of recommended cut flowers that each have their own description and also an extensive sources and resources guide for seeds, bulbs, marketing supplies and more. Everything you ever needed to know about becoming a farmer in the floral sense is at your fingertips in The Flower Farmer.

Byczynski says that just one acre of flowers can generate an income of $25,000-$30,000 per year. Even if you can’t imagine yourself tending fields of flowers day in and day out, The Flower Farmer is still a worthy companion for anyone who wouldn’t mind a little bright foliage in a small garden or on the coffee table.

Written by: Beverly Jenkins-Crockett, June 19th 2008