Udupi: 25 Years of Providing New Corn to Parishes

by Alwyn Danthi, Pernal
Pics: Wilson D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (RD)
 
Udupi, Sep 8: Monthi Fest is a time to rejoice with family, a time when the young and old come together to share a feast with equal enthusiasm. It is a time when nature is respendent with plenty of rain and moderate sunlight nourishing the flowers to full bloom.

New corn forms an essential part of the Monthi Fest celebrations. Rice being the staple food of south Indians, it signifies the agricutural legacy of the people in this region. It's the season for harvest, and the farmer gets ready with the new crop to be first offered to the Lord. Thus, the new produce is blessed by the church priest and distributed among the faithful. Moreover, the corn is even sent to relatives staying abroad or far away.

The new corn for Monthi Fest is available for offerings in every parish. And the person who deserves applause and gratitude for making them available is Paul D’Souza, a progressive farmer and a parishioner of Our Lady of Health parish, Shirva, near here.  Paul has been donating new corn to almost all parishes in the Mangalore diocese for the past 25 years.
 
As Monthi Fest approaches, Paul gets busy with calls from several parish priests and even the bishop, asking him to supply the new corn. The corngrown in Paul's farm reaches the parishes in the deaneries of Shirva, Beltangady, Mangalore city, Karkala, Udupi, Kundapur including monasteries and chapels. All those parish priests who served in Shirva before being transferred to other parishes of Mangalore diocese keep in touch with Paul to source the stock of new corn for offerings on Monthi Fest.
 
That's not all. The produce from Paul's farm reach even beyond the seas to the Gulf countries, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, the UKand Israel. North India and Mumbai too benefit from his farm.

Paul is the youngest among seven children born to the late Isidore and Evelyn D’Souza. He inherited the ancestral farm as his siblings settled in other parts of India and abroad. He has been farming on 17 acres that is inclusive of six acres of corn cultivation while the rest comprises commercial crops of many varieties. He is married to Flavy and is blessed with two sons.

He has a tiller in the farm as it was uneconomical to rear buffaloes. He makes extensive use of natural manure to fertilize the crops in his farmland. He has cattle stock, rabbits, chicken farms etc that bring him good income. His wife supports him in his farmland, managing the labourers and so on. He disagrees with those who feel that farming is not a profitable venture and firmly believes that if one puts in the right amount of effort and manages the farm enthusiastically, farming can turn out to be a lucrative business. 
 
Paul has been contributing nearly six quintals of new corn annually to the parishes. He believes that God has blessed him abundantly and he is determined to be of service to his community.
 
Paul was conferred the Best Farmer Award in 2000 by Shirva Junior Jaycees in recognition of his progressive farming. His interview was published in the parish bulletin of Shirva parish. He has been honoured by the priests of many parishes in Shirva deanery. However, it’s unfortunate that he has not yet been felicitated by any organization, neither in the country nor abroad. 
 
Speaking to Daijiworld, Paul said, "The bishop had taken the new corn personally when he had been to Israel. He has even written to the Holy See recommending special blessings to me for contributing new corn for the past 25 years."
 
Paul has been generously donating vegetables and farm produce especially to convents and monasteries in the Mangalore diocese. The priests and nuns in large numbers attend any auspicious celebration held at his house. Despite the substantial farm produce and income, Paul and his family lead a simple living.