Thiruvananthapuram’s Vinod Sahadevan Nair, also called ‘Banana Man’, shut down his internet designing agency in Kochi to return residence and construct a singular farm. Immediately, he grows over 500 types of bananas.

Do you know that there are over 1,000 totally different types of bananas worldwide? Whereas solely 10 to fifteen varieties of bananas are grown commercially in India, a farmer in Kerala has cultivated a powerful assortment of 500 varieties!

Fondly referred to as the ‘Banana Man’, Vinod Sahadevan Nair (63) from Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram, was not a farmer when he began his profession.

After finishing his BSc in Physics, Vinod labored for some time and later began an internet designing agency in Kochi. It was after his mom’s dying that he determined to come back again residence and turn out to be a farmer to broaden his household farms.

Vinod needed to create a singular farm and began gathering types of bananas, not generally seen in Kerala.

He travelled to totally different states — comparable to Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Manipur — to supply unusual types of plantains. He even approached varied horticulture departments, analysis institutes and universities to pay money for as many types as he might.

“Each type of banana has a sure cultural factor connected to it as effectively. For instance, ‘Manoranjitham’, quite a lot of Kanyakumari emanates a stupendous perfume. So within the olden days, individuals would dangle them of their properties throughout auspicious events, marriages and festivals,” Vinod explains.

Presently, his farms have 500 types of bananas — together with worldwide varieties like the girl’s finger banana, crimson banana and blue java. He journeyed to nations like Malaysia, Africa, Australia, Hawaii, and Honduras, returning with quite a few uncommon coastal local weather plantains.

Vinod sells his produce on the wholesale market and earns as much as Rs 1 lakh monthly. And to unfold consciousness about totally different types of bananas, he has began a Fb group the place he affords these varieties freed from cost.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)