A telltale of Sarjapura Curries and associated art space SARLA in Bangalore
This spring, Makery co-produced issue 6 of the occasional newspaper The Laboratory Planet. This issue imagines a peasant and neo-peasant future, invented by global peasants, organised in diverse territories, cultivating biotopes that are more heterogeneous, more democratic and therefore more habitable. The central section is devoted to the recent Soil Assembly initiative, and develops some of the experiences, reflections and surveys gathered within this emerging network. Here Deepanjali Naik presents Sarjapura Curries, a community ran by the artist Suresh Kumar G, which combines artistic and agro-ecological activities near the city of Bangalore (India).
For the past decade, Bangalore artist Suresh Kumar G has been committed to the art of growing food and reviving recipes that his community has long forgotten in the fast-growing capital city of Karnataka. After focusing on large-scale installations and site-specific sculptural works that addressed social and environmental issues within his community, the artist began to imagine a community that would be nurtured through a nearby farm. There would be constant sharing between the farm and the community, for example household waste recycled as compost, vermicompost, and various types of natural pest repellent, while these same households would eat the vegetables and herbs grown on the farm. It was his vision to encourage healthy eating at a reasonable price, without the costly “organic” label.
Nurturing this vision, Suresh Kumar also likes to add Samuha (“community/group”) to his name, as a testament to his passion for community. Food is at the center of any community’s well-being, and Suresh has always fiercely guarded this idea from other lucrative business opportunities to package anything remotely organic into a premium “organic” product.
The backstory of Sarjapura Curries
“Space is never an issue, any space is suitable for growing a garden,” says Suresh, basking in the sun in his garden. He has collected used trays, drums, and fabricated structures to transform his home terrace into a green haven – unlike most other private patios in big cities, which remain unused. Suresh’s terrace is where it all started, where the artist practiced making sculptures and designed spaces to grow plants, including edible weeds, forgotten vegetables, indigenous flowers that repel pests, and animals that nurture the soil.
Sarjapura Curries emerged when Suresh Kumar transitioned from his home terrace to initiating a community garden at the village community center where he had spent his childhood—a journey nurtured by passion. The pivotal moment was when the Bangalore Sustainability Forum granted Suresh a year-long grant. With this support, he began gathering seeds of lesser-known plants and weeds, cultivating them meticulously on well-organized growing beds.
It was an eye-opener to his kith and kin, who had never attached much value to the weeds, as they were unaware that the village landscape on which the weeds grew was going through a drastic change. These wildly available weeds would soon go extinct at a time when farms were being replaced with townships and high-rise apartments; these weeds had no future, and the recipes attached to these edible weeds were almost lost. Growing them in a kitchen garden was the only way to keep them in the local diet. Suresh organized meet-ups and giveaways to inspire more and more villagers to grow these lost vegetables and cook them.
As the community garden became increasingly popular and successful, Suresh’s cousin Satish invited him to grow the same edible plants in a bigger space in the neighboring village of Hosahalli (meaning “new village”). This paved the way for Sarjapura Curries Farm: an old practice in a new village. Now Sarjapura Curries had a permanent home base. Hosahalli was already known for growing the largest quantity of vegetables in the taluk of Anekal, approximately 30 kilometers southwest of central Bangalore. Truckloads of vegetables are sent to the market every day.
This was a place for healthy competition and teaching farmers to adapt to organic farming. Suresh shared seeds for free with everyone who came to the farm. It was mostly village women and city-dwellers who took the seeds home for personal gardening. When Suresh suggested growing organic to neighboring farmers, they were skeptical about the customer base for organic produce. They were used to using chemical sprays to destroy all growth in the soil, calling it weeds, and exposing the bare soil. This is not how it is done, Kumar told them: “Soil is a living being just like your pet, a dog, a cat, or a cow. You cannot strip all life from it and expect to get the yield of selected crops.” The first formative years of farming must be spent on growing soil, regenerating the soil, and then there will be yield.
All Soil is Sacred
Gradually, Suresh scaled up his organic vegetable garden to an integrated farm with ducks, chickens, rabbits, goats, cows, and dogs. Some of the animals had been abandoned or donated by other farmers. Everyone found shelter at Sarjapura Curries, as the farm was focused not just on monetary profit, but on holistic benefits to animals on the land. Land is as fertile as the number of animals stomping the earth on the farm. At one point, even a mare (female horse) found a home at Sarjapura Curries, which made the farm more interesting to people who had a liking for horses! All in all, the farm kept sparking interest in all types of people for its unique and wholesome vision.
Mr Nagaraj, a retired school teacher who had been following the farm’s activities, invited Suresh to replicate the model on his own land. The new farm is located next to Satish’s farmland in the same village of Hosahalli.
This land came with a small hut where one could rest and cook meals, with space left for Suresh to design and develop. He designated an open kitchen to demonstrate recipes, a nursery, a storeroom for the harvest and seeds, and a dedicated space for birds and other animals. Raju, Manisha, Bhadhur and Shamala were the full-time caretakers of the farm, with a proper schedule for harvest and delivery.
After visiting the farm and documenting their process, online platforms such as Farmizen started placing bulk orders for fresh veggies and greens from Sarjapura Curries. Suresh began collecting produce from other farmers who followed in his footsteps and supplied it to Farmizen along with his daily produce. Nearby educational institutes brought their students for farm tours. The professional colleges Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, IIHSc (Indian Institute of Human Sciences), and APU (Azim Premji University) supported workshops at Sarjapura Curries to expose their students to organic farming. This gave way to more workshops, farm walks, and projects around farming and sustainable living. APU has since introduced a whole new course on farming in collaboration with Sarjapura Curries.
Launching SARLA art space
During this time, a new facility opened up. After Suresh’s good friend Lata vacated her house, he took over the rent for his new venture: Sarjapura Arts Residency at Lata’s, also known as SARLA. Along with Nancy Popp, Seema Jain, and Advithi E, the budding art space launched as a workspace, artist residence, and art gallery. These days, SARLA organizes regular art exhibitions.
The Bengaluru art scene is mostly confined to the city center, where art galleries and colleges flourished before the Information Technologies boom. SARLA is a one-of-a-kind art center situated outside the conventional artist circle, where it is gaining traction in the not-so-arty suburbs. Now SARLA has shifted its focus from artist residencies and exhibitions to neighborhood and community engagement, with new volunteers working passionately alongside Suresh Kumar.
From an artist standpoint, SARLA is a sister concern of Sarjapura Curries. Artists have an additional leeway to use farm environments and natural materials to make art. The association of art and an organic farm space brings a unique advantage to artists, art lovers, and the community.
The website of Sarjapura Curries.