Gandhian Ramachandra Rao passes away in Cherkady

Eminent Gandhian, progressive farmer and Krishi Panditha awardee Cherkady Ramachandra Rao passed away at his residence at Cherkady village in Brahmavar on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 91. Born in 1919 at Aroor village in Brahmavar in Udupi district, Rao lost his parents when he was two.

He was brought up by his elder sister in Cherkady. He was so much moved by the Gandhian thoughts that he started spinning the charkha at his home. In fact, until his death, he worked and lived in simple way by imbibing Gandhian thoughts. He never took electricity connection to his home Besides Mahathma Gandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave too had a great influence on Rao.

In his two-and-a-half acre land, Rao experimented with every possible crop from paddy to vegetables and various fruit bearing trees. His farming experiment made him discover that the plant grown out of natural nutrients yielded more than the usual variety.

His novel farming practices named “Sarvodaya paddy cultivation” became popular in the area as the “Cherkady crop.” But he had to wait several decades to win the Krishi Pandit award by the State government in 2002-03. His last rites were performed at his property on Monday. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.