IIT couple quit high-paying jobs in US to set up organic farm in India

IIT alumni Arpit Maheshwari and Sakshi Bhatia (Screengrab from ANI video)

Techies Arpit Maheshwari and Sakshi Bhatia gave up their high-paying jobs in the US to buy a 1.5-acre plot in Madhya Pradesh and begin farming. The couple, who were inspired to make the move after they went backpacking through South America, said that earlier they felt disconnected from nature and that farming was a way to give back to the environment.

Maheshwari, a 2010 IIT Bombay graduate, told news agency ANI that he felt that life in US cities was one-dimensional. "One thing we did not like about city life was that it was one-dimensional. We felt very disconnected from nature in that lifestyle."

Bhatia, an IIT Delhi graduate added that because they were feeling the disconnect, the couple decided to go on a backpacking tour to South America. "Our motive was to just explore and spend a lot of time in nature because we were longing for it. There we became aware of how humans were exploiting the environment. Then there was a deep desire to return to India and work with nature."

So, in 2018, the couple bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Ujjain and decided to try an alternative lifestyle -- one in harmony with the environment.

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Maheshwari and Bhatia then began to practice permaculture and organic farming and even invited others to explore their way of life.

"We have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables growing here which meets most of our needs," Bhatia told ANI. "We also wanted to spread this awareness so we began to invite people to come and spend time with us. There have been people who have spent a week or 10 days working with us and learning on the farm.

When asked about what was most challenging about their lifestyle, the couple said it was building a mud house. "The sand and the clay used to make the house was sourced from the land and we worked every day for 45-50 days to sculpt the mud and make walls out of it. It was a meditative experience for both of us and the house has sustained us for four years," Bhatia said.

Read more: 1038 gram panchayats will practice organic farming in coming years: Yogi Adityanath