This farmer had a Déjà moo

Located in Kalavakkam, close to Kancheepuram is Senganthal Farm, run by Sureshkumar S. A native of Madurai but settled in Chennai for many years, this IT professional-turned-farmer wanted to do something more meaningful with his life, so he turned back to the profession of his ancestors. 

His farm specialises in rearing native breeds of cattle and poultry; selling the animals’ by-products like milk and ghee is his main occupation. More often than not, he also loves having children from various schools on field trips to educate them about traditional farming and conserving native species of domestic animals.

Today, he has 30-odd cattle under his care, native breeds of chicken or naatu kozhi, Indian dogs and other animals. “The idea to start a farm initially sprung when I was getting increasingly disillusioned with my corporate job. After a lot of brainstorming, I decided to get into cattle and dairy farming,” says Suresh. He took a trip to places like Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan with the aim of purchasing healthy, Indian cattle from the nomadic tribes there, but destiny had other plans for him.

He tells us, “Upon my return, I was driving somewhere near the outskirts of Chennai and when I pulled over to take a break, a foul smell nearly suffocated me. Out of sheer curiosity, I walked up to the spot where the smell was emanating from and found a dump yard of kitchen waste from the canteen of a popular city college. Healthy cows were feeding on this junk and that was the turning point for me.” Suresh decided to adopt or buy species of only cattle native to Tamil Nadu like Umblachery, Pulikulam, Irucchali, etc. to popularise them once again.

From the day he began the farm until now, he’s not had any regrets. “I can see the benefits of living amidst nature right in front of my eyes. My daughters were born prematurely and their lungs hadn’t developed fully. An allopathic doctor told me to wait until they grew up a bit more to give them exercises to boost their vital capacity. I enrolled them in many marathons during their early years, and since we moved to the farm, the physical activity has certainly improved their lives and stamina,” smiles the proud father. The little girls are daddy’s hands-on helpers, be it helping him tend to the massive Jallikattu bull named Karuppu or rescuing orphaned calves.

He wishes to spread similar success stories among parents and children of Indian animals being as special as Western breeds. “Students and teachers from Sri Ramana Vidyalaya Matriculation School, Tambaram, spent an entire day on our farm learning about the animals and their behaviour, playing in the mud, learning about agriculture and more. I’ve never seen anyone enjoy themselves as much as they did! So I urge all parents to encourage their kids to be one with nature,” he adds.

Finally, when we asked him why he named his farm Senganthal, “That’s the state flower of Tamil Nadu,” replies Suresh, before signing off.