Grow in India,' artists send message to Modi

Bhopal: With parts of the country still reeling from drought and farmer suicides, a group of artists from Paradsinga village of Madhya Pradesh carved out a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to, ‘Grow in India’.

The message is part of the Gram Art Project, aimed to discuss why India’s young are not taking to farming or cultivation. The all-natural mural has been created by using actual vegetables on a 7200 sft field.  

According to the creators, the art is trying to convince BT cotton-growing farmers to explore other crops using Indian seeds rather than those from international companies. The idea was put into action by two Nagpur-based artists Shweta Bhattad and Lalit Vikamshi.

Both are not new to protest art. In December last year, during a performance in Paris to highlight farmers’ plight, Bhattad dressed up as Bharat Mata, was placed in a coffin and buried for several hours.

“While we found that local farmers are battling against seed and land mafia, water shortage, electricity and other issues, we also realized that they have completely shun traditional agriculture which was more sustainable.

“Modern-day farmers are a misguided lot living under fear instigated by private agencies,” Bhattad was quoted as saying in a report.