Palghar dairy farmer Raghunath Raut swears by a litre of milk a day MUMBAI (Mumbai Mirror), May 18, 2008:
Ram Parmar
Raghunath Raut has survived 105 summers, and even today religiously follows a routine that would put many a young man to shame. Raut, who turned 105 on May 12 this year, belongs to Makunsar, a small village near Palghar, 90 km from Mumbai.
Raut was born on May 12, 1903, to Jeevan and Sakubai, and is the lone survivor of a family of six brothers. Traditionally a dairy farmer, even today he makes it a point to supervise and even milk buffaloes in his stable.
Educated only till Std II at the Zilla Parishad Marathi School in Makunsar, Raut can read a bit, but as far as writing is concerned, he can only sign his name, says Yadhunath (44), his younger son. Even today, he follows an "early to bed, early to rise" regime.
Married twice to women named Yashoda and Anandi (both expired), Raghunath has fathered nine daughters and two sons, all of whom are well settled.
A staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi, he gave up tea, meat and is a teetotaller. In fact, the entire household follows a veg diet and alcohol is taboo.
After Gandhi's Quit India call in 1942, Raut took to swadeshi and as a protest to the then British Rule, gave up drinking tea and adopted a vegetarian lifestyle, says Yadhunath.
When Gandhi visited Palghar during the mid-1940s, Raut met Bapu and was swayed by his call of nationalism. It was at his farmhouse in Makunsar that other villagers assembled to participate in a small protest against the British Rule.
Work and diet
Raut drinks a litre of milk a day, and has two tablespoons of ghee (purified butter) with his staple diet of two chappatis, vegetable, rice and dal.
He has been following this diet for the past six decades, and not once has he visited a doctor. For things like routine coughs and colds, Raut turns to homemade remedies, Due to old age, he has problems in his left ear, but has refused a hearing aid.
On Thursdays, he maintains a fast, eating once a day, as it helps ‘cleanse the body of impurities.’
Even today Raut supervises the milking process of the 20-plus buffaloes at his farm. At one time, he used to himself milk at least 15 buffaloes a day, but has slowed down. Since 1991, I have reduced my workload, says Raut.
Around 200 litres of milk from his farm are transported daily to a Virar dairy, from where it is retailed to various Mumbai outlets, says Yadhunath. He gets angry if there is delay in despatching milk cans from Saphale by the 1530 hrs Surat-Virar shuttle.
“When I was young, I used to plough fields, but since 1998 I've stopped,” says Raut. His son Yadhunath has taken over the chore. His elder son, Chintaman (65) is paralytic and lives in Borivli, and so the responsibility of caring for 'Baba' has fallen on Yadhunath, who also doubles up as his barber. He yells at Yadhunath if he suffers even a nick!
Earlier, before setting out for the fields, Raut used to eat chana with jaggery as it gave him energy to plough the fields. But now he has gone easy on this, says Yadhunath. Still, even today, he demands spicy food and the vegetable must be floating in at least an inch of oil. Each day he has bhakri (bread) made out of rice as it is rich in carbohydrates.
“Milk is the secret of my energy, and one should shun alcohol and take to vegetarianism,” said Raut, when asked the secret of his health. And of course, no afternoon naps for Raut.
RAUT'S ROUTINE
04:00: Wake up, bath and prayers
07:00: Frugal breakfast of chana and jaggery. No tea. Drinking 500 ml of milk is a must.
07:30: Supervising milk farm with son Yadhunath
12:00: Lunch - two chappatis, vegetable, dal, steamed rice with two table spoons of ghee.
14:00: Supervising noon session of milking buffaloes
15:00: Supervising despatch of 200 litres of milk to Virar dairy from Saphale with son’s help
16:00-1700: Taking a round of the stable and farm
18:00: Listening to radio (not FM, but AIR) while drinking 500 ml milk
18:30: Playing the mridangum and chanting slokas
19:00: Viewing DD Sahyadri for news on agricultural updates. Then family talk
20:00: Dinner (same as lunch)
20:30: Playing with grandchildren
21:00: Lights off
Raut with grandchildren Source: The Times of India e-paper
