Vanakkam”. This greeting in chaste Tamil, coming from two turbaned Sikh men riding a bike in one of the remotest places in Tamil Nadu, has me stumped. But it is just another in the series of surprises I have witnessed and am about to witness.

I have been driving from Madurai to Rameswaram on the southern tip of Tamil Nadu. The 200-odd-km journey has been far from pleasant, with the sun blazing down on the long, lonely road that passes through an arid terrain. My only occasional companion on this parched and barren stretch has been a green thorny bush, which the locals call Kattu Karuvelam. The locals grow this bush, then burn it and sell its ash to make a living. It’s a practice that started decades ago. What no one realised was that this bush sucks the ground water, making the land dry and unfit for cultivation. That is precisely what happened. Ramanathapuram, or Ramnad, where I am, is today one of the driest districts in south Tamil Nadu.

Just when there seems to be no hope for this land, a green oasis materialises before my eyes. And the two men, one in an orange turban and the other in a black one, come riding through it. This is Vallandhai, a small village in Ramnad that could well be a place out of Punjab.

The men lead me through a big iron gate, a board near which reads: “Akal Farm”. The locals call it “mini Punjab”, and not without reason. The farms — 900 acres in all, of which 200 acres are cultivated as of now —are owned by a group of farmers who migrated here in 2007. Over the years, they have turned the barren land into productive fields.

Today, the land yields mangos of varieties like banganapalli, alphonso and ratna. Coconut, papaya and guava trees dot the landscape. The fields also produce amla, carrot, okra, watermelons, cucumber, pumpkin, orange and custard apple.

I am taking all this in when a commanding voice calls out to me: “Vanga, vanga (Welcome, welcome).” I turn around to find a six-foot-tall Sikh, Manmohan Singh, beckoning me over. The 65-year-old with a flowing white beard is one of the group leaders-cum-supervisors of Akal Farm.

Manmohan Singh, one of the leaders-cum-supervisors of Akal Farm

In 2007, around 17 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi formed a small group and started buying land in this district. “The land was dirt cheap here as compared to Punjab,” says Manmohan Singh who, along with his friends, bought 300 acres. One of the locals sold them 11 acres for Rs 10,000 per acre.

They took a house on rent in nearby Virudhunagar and travelled to their “farm” every day. Initially, the locals discouraged them and said theirs was a futile exercise. Today, some of them are workers at Akal Farm.

The initial years were difficult. In the first year, there was no rain and some of the farmers returned to Punjab disappointed. Some others left later, convinced that agriculture was not possible on this barren land.

But Manmoahan Singh and a few others stuck on. They spent three years clearing the land, digging bore wells, installing drip irrigation and preparing it for plantation. “Our hard work and patience finally started yielding results,” he says.

The entrance to the farm

“They are our brothers and are like family, just like we are theirs” says Manmohan Singh. “We participate in their festivals and functions, just like they do in ours. Here, we are at home.” Many locals, like 77-year-old Karupiah, echo these views. They have worked very hard to achieve this, says Karupiah. Their prosperity has also caused some envy among the locals, who feel they sold their land cheap.

While initially these farmers lived outside, today Akal Farm is where they have built their houses. But the families of most of the farmers are still back in Punjab and they visit them every three months. Manmohan Singh’s wife, however, has joined him here. Over the years, they have all learnt a bit of Tamil. Manmohan Singh says he can understand Tamil and can also read the bus routes written in the language.

While they have built a prayer and meditation room on the farms, the nearest gurudwara, Guru Nanak Dham in Rameswaram, is just about an hour’s drive. While vegetables help them meet their daily expenses, the government ration cards help them to get essential commodities, including pulses and rice.

Manmohan Singh has now roped in consultants and experts from the agriculture university to guide them about cultivating high cash crops and teach them about inter-crop cultivation so that they are able to earn more.

This year, for the first time, the mango trees on the farm bore fruit. From the yield, the farm earned Rs 10 lakh. Manmohan Singh says he expects the farm to break even and perhaps even make profit from the next season. “At present, we are making just about enough to sustain ourselves,” he says. There is also a plan to sell off part of the lands that are not under cultivation.

The farmers have recently also started growing almond and pomegranate. Dairy farming is also planned. They have also planted amla and timber trees on about five acres and they intend to expand their mango and guava farms. Manmohan Singh says Akal Farm is acquiring around 100 acres of land, 50 per cent of which will be used to cultivate papaya and amla, while on the remaining they plan to grow almond, lemon and dates.

Akal Farm, which has small cottages, a dormitory and a common kitchen, wants to get into eco-tourism as well.

Man makes his own destiny — these words ring in my ears as I take in all that these farmers have managed to achieve through sheer hard work and their spirit of enterprise. As I take my leave from them, the image of the green oasis accompanies me back on the lonely, sun-baked road.