On the farm, land was ploughed by Bullocks, only cow dung and leaf compost was used as fertilizer, No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or weedicides were used to grow the crops and there was crop diversity, not mono cropping as is now practiced in today’s agriculture.

The meat we ate was from hunting game : partridge, wild boar from forests and hills nearby and from the river we get would get fresh water fish and migratory game like duck . Free range chicken was kept on the farm and cows gave us milk , buttermilk, butter. Grain and food was grown on the farm and we needed very little from the market

A bygone Era where simplicity of life was paramount, a lifestyle that no one today can even contemplate existed,

Today’s lifestyle is hectic, full of stressful times, smart phones. social media, concrete jungles of cities that have been created by cutting down forests and trees, cities full of polluted air , water and farms growing foods laden with pesticides, weedicides, chemicals, everyone conduming processed foods and drinks, ruining their health

The internet, social media rules everyone’s life and people have forgotten a one to one communication.

We were fortunate to have been a family of four generations living under one roof : my great grand father, grand parents, parents, and myself. This unique lifestyle of our multi generational household, spanning four generations, has been a source of wisdom , love, and shared experiences. Living alongside my great grand father, grand parents, parents, and me an only child, fostered a unique environment where traditions, stories, memories intertwine, creating familial unity. Our home is filled with the wisdom of the older generations, the energy of the younger ones, and the bonds that tie us all together.

Relatives visited, stayed weeks, Experiences were exchanged over open kitchen fires, there was no television, smart phones, internet, social media, only lots of reading and personal one to one relationships. It was truly a special environment where traditions are passed down, stories exchanged, memories created every day. The sense of familial unity and support is something we cherish dearly.

The Lawrence School Sanawar, Simla Hills, Himachal Pradesh.

My schooling was at The Lawrence School Sanawar in the Simla Hills, known for shaping young individuals into well-rounded adults, as Rudyard Kipling famously remarked : Send him to Sanawar to make a man of him.

The rigorous environment coupled with the serene surroundings of the Simla Hills created a unique setting that fostered personal growth and intellectual development.

My focus revolved around Science and Mathematics, fueling my passion for these subjects and laying the foundation for my future academic pursuits and career aspirations.

Our Family moved to Kasauli, a beautiful quiet hill station opposite the School , during the 10 years of my schooling the family lived in the unpolluted beautiful environment of the Himalayas. Kasauli was under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board of the Indian Army and the hills were preserved, No construction was allowed that could harm the natural environment , just sparsely located homes of those who lived there.

St Stephens College , Delhi University

My academic pursuits led me in 1962 to Delhi University's St. Stephens College for Mathematics Honors, Pure Mathematics at the postgraduate level and later studying for a Ph.D. in Topology aspiring to teach the subject.

University those days was a great intellectual Experience, debates, discussions, political and philosophical, and there was time to experience music, arts and so much more,

Again no internet, no mobile phones, a different Era , where you talked to each other, had little money to squander.

During the years of my education, my special interest was Mathematics and Science : to research and teach eventually

However, in 1973, marriage beckoned, and my wife Neeno and I chose to return to Punjab to embark on a journey to create a bio diverse farm on our Ancestral Farm in Punjab.

Our Journey of farming started then, as we set up one of the first bio diverse farms :

The farm was developed as an orchard of rows of fruit trees, 25 ft apart, featuring a variety of fruits. like pears, peaches, plums. oranges , grapefruit, bananas, with vegetables rowing under the fruit trees.

In between the rows of fruit trees, we grew different crops during the year, sunflower, maize, pulses, mustard and rape seed, The flowers of the crops provided nectar to our bee colonies for honey production and pollination by the bees increased seed setting. The harvested seed from the crops was supplied to the National Seeds Corporation, who then sold the seed to farmers to grow these crops for the market.

On the boundary of the farm we set up a windbreak of timber trees which protected the farm from storms and inclement weather. The boundary was hedged by a row of black plums, and flowering trees providing nectar to our bee colonies , producing honey So it was a multi cropping pattern instead of the standards wheat and rice rotation which is practiced now. Wheat Corn, pulses and rice were planted only for home consumption.

Soil was regenerated with green manuring plants, while also utilizing the dairy farm's waste for bio gas and compost. this ensured fertility and porousness of the soil. The farm demonstrated a holistic approach to agriculture, generating income year-round and supporting environmental sustainability.

This journey over the years has been a great learning experience by means of which we developed our current model of a sustainable Lifestyle, where our home in Delhi has been converted into an Urban Farm with clean AQI 15 air quality, growing organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, fresh water fish with Aquaponics and Permaculture.for our family, preserving the natural environment and combating climate change .