"Rice is a beautiful food. It is beautiful when it grows, precision rows of sparkling green stalks shooting up to reach the hot summer sun. It is beautiful when harvested, autumn gold sheaves piled on diked, patchwork paddies. It is beautiful when, once threshed, it enters granary bins like a (flood) of tiny seed-pearls. It is beautiful when cooked by a practiced hand, pure white and sweetly fragrant." Shizuo Tsuji

The rice heritage of our country has witnessed erosion is the last five decades and is under grave danger of being lost completely. The diversity of rice genetic resources is being eroded and the once thriving rice fields are shrinking and there is a decline in cultivation of traditional rice varieties. The wider adoption of high-yielding varieties and changes in cultural practices, has eventually lead to the loss of diversity if measures are not taken now. The neglect of the vast diversity of indigenous crops has threatened the livelihoods of the small farmers, increasing landlessness and loss of income for women and environmental degradation. Reviving this would build a more sustainable environment of our diverse food system.

In this context Sahaja Samrudha in collaboration with Thanal, Kerala is building a strong movement by campaigning for "Save Our Rice" in Karnataka and in this regard a one day Seminar was conducted to bring farmers, scientist, media, consumers and sellers of rice on to a common platform.

Edu bathada hadu, Ondu bathada hadu, Bathada goneya hadu, Akki thinu hakiya hadu, was how Shivarudrappa Gogi a Folk artist of Sourabh sang the bathada hadu to commemorate the rich rice heritage of Karnataka and commenced the inauguration of the Batha Utsava (RICE UTSAV). Batha Utsava was organized by Sirinadu Gramina Janabivrudhi Samsthe, Shimoga and Sahaja Samrudha, Bangalore in collaboration with Thanal, Kerala. The event began with pouring paddy by the Chief Guests into the Ganige, a traditional storage pot made out of bamboo, to mark the rich legacy of rice diversity in India. Pouring of paddy into the pot translates to worshipping of paddy.

The stalls were designed with enough space for effective product display and creatively introduced you to each organization that participated in the event. The stalls were of other partner NGOs, who were disseminating and creating awareness on their particular organizations and also distributed and sold literature pertaining to organic food and traditional cultivation. The stalls were hoarded with organic materials both food and non-food items like seeds, manure, botanical pest repellants and also some of the stalls displayed herbal medicines and other health care products, literature, posters, books and many more, all pertaining only to rice. The paddy seeds were sold in bulk packets of five to ten kgs, but some of the rare varieties were packed in one kg and two kg packets.

The Seminar began with a welcome address and an experience sharing by Mr. Krishna Prasad, Director, Sahaja Samrudha. In his speech he shared the experiences of seed conservation in Karnataka that had began with only a few farmers and had now spread too many farmers across different districts of Karnataka and to other states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The exclusivity of the Utsav was it was being held in the middle of a paddy field in Holeanasawadi village to be amidst the farming community and where it is easily accessible to the villages, instead of some A/C hall or in some university campus, which is not within the reach of the farmer.

The Chief Guests Lingamadiah and Dr. Rudrardhya inaugurated the Rice calendar. The beautiful calendar is part of the Rice Campaign and is being introduced from April to April, to signify the beginning of the agriculture season and also the Hindu New Year - Ugadi, which marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar. Also a newsletter was launched, again as part of the 'Save our Rice Campaign. The newsletter is mainly to reach out to the general public and create awareness on sustaining rice and rice-culture.

Key note address was rendered by Dr. Rudrardhya, Scientist, who popularized the 1 acre farming concept for enhancing the income levels of small and marginal farmers. He said that diversity is not new but has been there, neither have the humans invented nor have grown, it was just found. So as humans we have just found plants and crops to suit our diet and living environment. We have only improvised on it and lately have taken the liberty to destroy it.

Usha, Director, Thanal, Kerala spoke about the threat the rice based system faced. This system had played a significant role in the lives of a very large population, influencing the language, culture and rural economy of our country. With introduction of Green Revolution the cultural practices, systems and values, which naturally evolved over thousands of years, was replaced by this 'scientific' agriculture. And within a span of 50 years, our agriculture, especially rice experienced more threats and hurdles than ever, she shared.

Sessions included - Farmers Experience sharing session, where pioneer farmers from different districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participated to share their experience in seed saving, seed improvement and conservation of paddy diversity. Other sessions included Methods of crop improvement, Farmer's Experience of seed conservation, Paradigm of Threats to Rice Cultivation, Marketing Constraint, Agriculture Crisis and Possibilities ands Challenges of rice diversity. Sridhar, Thanal, V K Aruna Kumara, Krishi Prayoga Parivara, Thirthahalli, Dr. Mohan Thalakalugopa, Agriculture Scientist, Dr. Hanumati, Agriculture Scientist, were among the prominent speakers who shared the floor.

Cookery Contest - The highlight of the event was a recipe contest, attended by twenty five participants. The contest used the occasion to familiarize the audience with the recipes made from traditional rice varieties. It also familiarized everyone to know about the nutritional benefits of such recipes and the method of preparation and the specific rice varieties used in preparation. Also a drawing competition was organized for children in the age group of 5 to 12 years, with central theme on Rice conservation and cultivation.

Concluding Session - In the final session there was prize distribution for the cookery contest and drawing contest. Later the mementos were distributed to all the dignitaries. The declaration that was discussed and prepared by the farmer representatives was presented, that included