In 2011, the small village of Rajuri in Pune district’s Junnar experienced an unusual event. People from Pune city arrived to work in the fields and get a taste of farm life. Manoj Bhimaji Hadawale, a farmer’s son who organized the trip, was among the most surprised.
“Who comes to see farms?” he recalls the villagers thinking.
Hadawale, who studied agriculture, worked in a bank, and traded onions, had an inspiring idea to organize a grape-picking trip to his family’s village in Rajuri. He invited friends through emails, and more than 200 people signed up. Hadawale started taking groups of 32 on these trips. “The first group alone bought Rs 40,000 worth of grapes, along with chikoos and sprouts from the farmers,” says Hadawale. This led to the creation of Parashar, a startup that offers an authentic agrarian experience through agri-tourism. The name Parashar is inspired by sage Maharishi Parashar, who wrote the world’s first agriculture manuscript, Krishi Parashara, and whose ashram was in Junnar.
The Maharashtra Government is promoting agri-tourism, rural tourism, and sustainable tourism, and has formulated a policy to support it. Parashar is a key player in this field, targeting thoughtful tourists rather than commercial ones. “We don’t have resorts. Instead, we offer clean cottages with thatched roofs, bamboo walls, and cow dung-wiped floors. The bathrooms have modern amenities. The food is local, freshly grown produce, cooked by locals, and seasonal fruits like custard apple, chikoo, grapes, and pomegranate,” says Hadawale.
Entertainment options include visiting weekly markets, participating in farming activities like irrigation, sowing, harvesting, and farm pet rearing, understanding village administration, credit systems, and cooperatives, and visiting a 50-year-old dairy.
