ছদ্মবেশী: When Ambition Wears a Fool’s Crown
- Sudip Sinha
- May 23
- 5 min read
Optimism is both an elixir and a curse. AgriSciense was born out of a hope and fueled by visions of revolutionizing RPW detection. For months, we scoured the market like treasure hunters, eyeing sensor technologies with the precision of a lapidarist.
Ghalib, as often, was the companion during those countless trips across date palm orchards.
हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले
बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले
آلاف الأمنيات كأنها تُنهك الروحُ من كل أمنية،
نفذت أمنياتي العديدة، ومع ذلك تبدو قليلة جداً.
Thousands of desires, each so strong they could take one’s breath away;
Many of my wishes were fulfilled, yet they still seemed too few
This underscored our reckoning with reality. And reality, as it turned out, had a wicked sense of humor.
Triumphs in Safety, Tragedies in the Wild
In controlled conditions in our Noida lab, the sensor performed with immaculate precision. That was the first deception. Armed with promising results, we stepped into the field, expecting validation. Instead, the universe served us a dish best described as scientific failure with a side of humiliation. The sensor, which had been so cooperative in lab conditions, recorded nothing but silence, as if nature itself chuckled at our hubris. It wasn’t broken; that would have been understandable. It was simply indifferent.
Yet, while our sensor sulked in the field, we were unexpectedly invited to join in a lavish celebration – a family wedding. The irony was as thick as the gravies on our plates, each bite a reminder that sometimes life, in its mischievous way, insists on a delicious interlude. A feast that was thoroughly undeserving yet voraciously enjoyed.
The Quixotic Quest for a Faultless Probe
There are few things that are more tiresome than admitting defeat and starting again. Our troubles, beyond cost and quality, revolved around two major challenges: improving the sensor’s ability to detect minute vibrations and recreating field conditions in the lab. This was essential to avoid becoming an annoyance to every farmer within a hundred-mile radius.
Long discussions, trials, and failure later, hope arrived in the form of a new approach to capturing the subtle sound emitted by RPW larvae. We were excited as the approach was novel yet simplistic, but it required a completely new probe design and sensor mechanism.
As we moved forward with renewed vigor and optimism, we met Lady Luck, who smiled as she oft does to best laid plans. The new probe mechanism, carefully designed, theoretically perfect. Reality, however, remained unimpressed. The machining was incorrectly rendered, delaying our assembly plans further. We were already slipping dangerously close to the end of March, with nothing to show for our efforts except a growing collection of setbacks.
Finally, in the early days of April sun, we had another success. We devised an innovative way to simulate field conditions in the lab. This was crucial as it allowed to test variety of sensor performance without stepping into the field. Whether this was brilliance or blind luck was irrelevant. It functioned. And that was enough.
With cautious optimism (read: learned skepticism), we prepared for the next phase; the real test in date palm fields in Rajasthan.
Hanumangarh at Midnight – Still Alive, Still Unapologetic
There is something uniquely disorienting about arriving at a railway station well past midnight. As I have documented in previous trip reports, Hanumangarh greeted us with an energy that defied the hour – hawkers still loudly peddling wares, weary travelers haggling over chai prices, and the inexplicable presence of cows, who seemed just as unimpressed with the scene as we were. It was alive in a way which at this point in the journey, we had no energy to appreciate.
The following day, we stepped out in the boiling early noon to procure a sun hat, a drill bit and a T-spanner. It should have been an easy purchase, but nothing ever is. The hotel staff sent us chasing a shop (Ram Lohe Wala) that had shuttered for several months. We spotted an automobile spare shop which had the T-spanner but apparently a drill bit was unheard off. We were redirected towards Ram Lohe Wala which we politely ignored and continued to explore the town. Soon, we spotted Mr. DIY, my favorite shop, just 50 meter down the road! Hidden, in plain sight! It had everything that we wanted and more.
We were soon met by our friend, guide, and distributor, Dr Godara, and planned the next steps for the AgriSciense team. We had a busy fortnight ahead of us as we travelled through towns, fields, and research laboratories across Rajasthan, interacting with a multitude of stakeholder in the date palm industry – farmers, nurseries, entomologists, plant pathologists, and date traders. Not forgetting our elusive frenemy, Red Palm Weevil.
More than one way to skin a…
Our next stop was Suratgarh, a mofussil town midway through to Bikaner. While working on the business plan for AgriSciense we had taken a conscious call to approach this with an ecosystem mindset. This approach was driven by an appreciation of the challenges that date palm growers were facing. For one, market access remained a major issue especially in emerging acreage in Rajasthan and Punjab belt. With limited post-harvest storage and processing capacity, farmers were forced to liquidate all supplies in the short harvest season in June. A date processing factory would go a long way in securing the market linkage for the growers.
It was supposed to be a short trip to scout location for a date processing factory. Amidst the usual sights, there were some surprises. The mofussil town landscape across Rajasthan was rapidly evolving as the regions started to industrialize. We witnessed a location across Shree Cement officer quarters which had wonderful architecture, at once empathic to local culture and environment and comfort that senior managers at the cement plant expected. Another location, our preferred option, was bang in the middle of bustling village (access to labor) with direct access to roads, 350KV electricity, good water resource, and attractively priced.
As we discussed our option at a tea point with superb pyaaz kachori and chai, I noticed this beautiful sight. A truck out of history books but working effectively as ever and wonderful sight on the dull sandy road. I could try to find a deeper meaning in the image but got lost in the sheer beauty and artistry of the mechanical beast.
Curtain Call: Exit Suratgarh, Enter Redemption
Our luxurious feasts alongside bitter trials, our midnight tool hunts and the contrasting faces of Suratgarh, have all set the stage for what I promise will be an unforgettable comeback. As we finally pull out from Suratgarh, the next chapter beckons. Bikaner looms on the horizon, and with it, the hope that redemption might finally harness our unyielding spirit.
Stay with us in the next report as we travel through the sandy Bikaner town in search of redemption.
Notes
The photograph of Mr. DIY was sourced from google reviews. Copyright resides with the original poster
Other images are owned by AgriSciense
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