It was a little past noon, and the foggy winter skies covered the faraway hills overlooking farm fields at Pedalabudu village near Araku in Andha Pradesh. Against the backdrop of green patches of fields, Bilal Shiekh’s keen eyes scanned strawberry after strawberry, being cultivated on a four-acre land.
The judgment has to be correct. Ripe or not yet? Is the colour just right or is it still a day to go before the perfect shade of red? To pick or not to pick?
Bilal, a third-generation strawberry grower from Mahabaleshwar— the strawberry capital of India— has had a busy day harvesting and packing boxes along with the team of Pedalabudu village sarpanch Das Babu.
