Centenarian, using walker, still farms land he has always known

Kuravilangad: At 100, Narayanan Nair of Idakkoly Panthananickal shows no distance from the land he has worked all his life. In fact, age itself seems to fade away when he walks through the rain-soaked soil of his farm.

Still firmly rooted in farming and nature, the centenarian carries the strength of decades spent in agriculture in his hands. About four years ago, a minor fall weakened his legs, leading him to rely on a walker. But far from slowing him down, the equipment has become an extension of his farming life. He now uses his walker to carry fertiliser, water and other essentials to the fields.

A respected elder of the hill-dotted Idakkoly region, Narayanan Nair currently lives with the family of his late youngest son, Haridas. Apart from some hearing difficulty in recent years, he has no major health concerns.

It has been more than eight and a half decades since Narayanan Nair first became actively engaged in farming. He continues to cultivate a wide range of crops, including cowpea, yam, brinjal, tapioca, colocasia, okra, ginger, turmeric and leafy vegetables. Even today, he himself prepares the land, plants the crops and tends to them. Bags of cow dung, manure and water are tied to both sides of his walker as he moves through the fields.

When the rains keep him indoors, Narayanan Nair turns to another form of craftsmanship. He weaves baskets and other handmade items, and uses coconut shells and wood to craft a range of household articles. Palm-leaf umbrellas and hats also take shape under his hands, all made entirely from natural materials.

Over the past eight and a half decades, he has planted and nurtured hundreds of trees in his homestead and in public spaces. He also led the Nakshatravanam (star forest) project at Idakkoly Bhagavathy Temple. Supporting him in his daily life are his daughter-in-law, Jayasree, the wife of his late son Haridas, along with his grandchildren, Vishakh and Veena.