Pongal restored to ‘factory settings’

Only a toehold in Chennai

Parameswaran Natarajan has exchanged the fast lane for a pace of living best described as leisurely lumber. There is a literality to what was just said. From being an auto journalist with reputed publications who test-drove cars that pretend to possess the speed of light, almost convincingly, he settled on a form of existence where pauses for ‘just being’ are as pronounced as bursts of activity. 

Welcome to The Lazy Grasshopper Farm set in a parcel of land (a two-hour drive from Chennai, at Ozhavetti village near Madurantakam) that he and his wife Ayesha Chandy purchased a few years ago. Residents of Pudupakkam, where the bustle from the nearby IT Corridor (aka Old Mahabalpuram Road) is only barely muted, the two have created the option of cutting out the noise entirely when they choose to. 

The farm is a demanding entity with fields of paddy seeking care, cows bellowing for their share of attention and farmhands needing supervision. 

Parameswaran Natarajan’s Man Friday Dorai with the cow Lakshmi at The Lazy Grasshopper Farm in Ozhavetti village near Madurantakam.
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Special Arrangement

Parameswaran and Ayesha, who is a chartered accountant, grow organic paddy on a limited scale, primarily for friends and family and then for the larger world (check out thelazygrasshopperfarm.com). Guests are accommodated at the farm. Growing their own rice has altered Parameswaran’s understanding of the harvest festival. “You are not just boiling over some Pongal at home. Out here, you are part of the land. You are part of what the celebration is.” Parameswaran’s switch to a lower gear was expected, having been marinated in J Krishnamurthy’s philosophy organically through education in a KFI school in Chennai. Seeking the same educational anchor for their son keeps Parameswaran and Ayesha still tethered to Chennai, Ayesha more so than Parameswaran.

Parameswaran comes into Chennai only when he absolutely has to. “Very occasionally,” is how he would like to put it. The primary reason for having a toehold in Chennai is his son Armaan’s education. The boy is in Class XI at a KFI school in Thazhambur. For now, Parameswaran lives mostly on the farm, while his wife spends most of her time in the city. When his presence is required Chennai, the arrangement is reversed; Ayesha holds the fort at Ozhaveti.

The tech consultant is  also the farmer

When Virugambakkam-based tech entrepreneur Kiruba Shankar is at his 13-acre organic permaculture farm (vaksanafarms.in) in Rettanai, a village in Tindivanam that is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Chennai, he is not seeking an escape from urban life, not entirely. 

This is how Kiruba, who runs a digital consulting firm in Virugambakkam, views farming: “I consider this my second profession.” 

He alternates between Virugambakkam and Rettanai, one week here and the next there.

There is therefore an earthiness to how Pongal is observed in Kiruba’s household; an expansiveness to the festive spread. 

At 2.30 a.m., the household is already awake with Kiruba’s wife, mother, daughters, and Kiruba himself preparing a feast that is both abundant and grounded. Sixteen vegetable dishes are cooked, using produce grown on the farm or sourced from neighbouring fields.

Pongal at Vaksana Farms
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The land itself shapes the celebration. The farm grows rice, pulses, greens coconuts, and over a dozen varieties of vegetables. Its orchards hold nine varieties of mango, multiple varieties of guavas and bananas, not to mention citrus fruits such as lime and sweet lime. 

For Pongal, the farmstay run by his parents is booked months in advance. Guests are mostly urban professionals who grew up in villages or watched their parents and grandparents celebrate Pongal close to the soil. They do not come to observe, but to participate. They wake early, dress in veshti and saris, cut vegetables, stir pots, and stand close by when the Pongal boils over. As evening settles, the celebration moves beyond the farm. Guests travel by tractor trailer and bullock carts to the centre of Rettanai, where the village gathers. Dressed in saris, and veshti, villagers welcome city visitors even foreign guests without ceremony. They join the games, the conversations, and the shared pulse of a village neck deep in festivities.

Farming has profoundly changed Kiruba’s relationship with food. Growing rice takes nearly 95 days from seed to plate, involving backbreaking labour, uncertainty and persistence. “When you know that journey,” he says, “you develop deep respect for food.”

Published – January 17, 2026 09:07 pm IST