Sheela Balaji

Sheela Balaji leads the Indian educational nonprofit organization (NGO) AIM For Seva. She is known for preserving rice varieties. She started with four varieties and now has thirty. She has been awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar for her work and leads one of the largest organisations offering free education in India.

Sheela Balaji
NationalityIndian
OccupationManaging trustee of an NGO
EmployerAIM For Seva
Known forpreserving rice varieties

Life

Balaji is the managing trustee and chair of a nonprofit organization (NGO) named AIM For Seva.[1] The organisation runs a large school in Manjakkudi in Tamil Nadu and also has 100 hostels across India. It is one of the largest organisations offering free education in India.[2]

The school is an area where there are paddy fields growing rice. She noticed that a farmer was spraying a lot of chemicals on some rice and she asked why he did it, knowing that the chemicals were bad for him. She was told that the rice variety that was being used would only grow productively if it was treated with chemicals. Balaji decided to find out more and it was agreed that she could plant unusual varieties of rice on 40 acres of land.[3]

It is estimated that today there are 6,000 varieties of rice and that 110,000 varieties have been created since rice was introduced to India 14,000 years ago.[3] In 2013 Balaji organised a festival in Manjakkudi dedicated to grains. The annual festival has attracted farmers and it has led to the rediscovery of old rice varieties.[3] She began by growing four rice varieties but it grew to thirty. To make the rice cultivation sustainable she opened a store in Chennai where her varieties of rice can be bought. A map of Manjakkudi is used as the logo and the packaging describes the properties of the rice and the historically claimed health benefits.[2]

In 2015, her book Without a Second: Concepts of Non Duality was published.[4]

In 2018 she was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar.[5][2] The award was made by President of India Ram Nath Kovind at the Presidential Palace (Rastrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, also attending. About 40 people or organisations were honoured that year, receiving the award and a prize of $R 100,000.[6]

References
  1. Reporter, Staff (2014-02-02). "Aim for Seva sets up 100th free student home". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  2. "Meet Ms. Sheela Balaji, #NariShakti Puraskar 2017 awardee". PIB India. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  3. "This Woman's Preserved 30 Indigenous Rice Varieties & Is Making Sure You Get a Grain of History Too!". The Better India. 2017-07-21. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. Balaji, Sheela (2015). Without a Second: Concepts of Non Duality. ISBN 978-93-80049-83-0. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  5. "Nari Shakti Puraskar - Gallery". narishaktipuraskar.wcd.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  6. "International Women's Day: President Kovind honours 39 achievers with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
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