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Babulal Dahiya is a farmer and poet.He was awarded India's fourth highest civilian the Padma Shri. About 30 km from Maihar, lies Pithaurabad village in the Unchehara block of Satna district in Madhya Pradesh. What is unusual about this village is the 2-acre land, where you will find 110 varieties of rice crop. The farm belongs to 72- year- old Babulal Dahiya, who has been collecting these varieties since 2005. In the rest of the 6 acres, Babulal has also grown 100 more varieties of pulses, grains and vegetables. Babulal also had an unusual knack for Bagheli (a local language in Madhya Pradesh) poetry and storytelling right from childhood. So, even after finishing his studies and working as a postmaster in his village, he would keep participating in poetry meets and performances. Soon he started writing columns for renowned publications like Navbharat Times. Babulal became a household name soon in the Bagheli speaking tribal community and joined the Madhya Pradesh Adiwasi Lok Kala Academy. The academy requested him to document Bagheli folk literature -songs, proverbs, folktales, legends, myths and so on, to retain their culture. Babulal, who was already passionate about Bagheli literature, then authored five books on Bagheli oral folk literature and published two poetic collections.Babulal would often think about how one can save folk culture by preserving the songs and folktales, but what about the diverse variety of grains and crops that were once a part of the culture? Thus, in 2005, Babulal started his mission of saving the rice varieties that he had heard about in folktales and songs. He started visiting each and every farmer across the country, who had seeds of the unique varieties of rice and sowed them in the 2-acre space of his 8-acre land. Babulal has also formed a Sarjana Samajik Sanskritik and Sahityik Manch, which has served as a medium for documenting and disseminating information on traditional seed varieties. Mr.Babulal Dahiya is one among the native people from Satna District of Madhya Pradesh, who are keen to protect and conserve the environment through their ancestral knowledge. He is affiliated to a non-profit organization named Sarjana Samajik Sanskratic Evam Sahityatik Manch, Pittaurabad, Satna, M.P. He observed that the local varieties of rice and other cereals were vanishing due to modern agricultural practices and started conserving them. He focused on conserving rice species as they were more in number and often used locally. He started with 10 species of rice and now conserves more than 80 varieties of rice species in his agricultural fields in Satna. He cultivates the crops in small plots using a trial and error method. Once the crops are ready, he harvests and shares them with other farmers. He has developed his own seed collections of rare species, which he distributes to the farmers who are interested in cultivating them in their field. In return, during harvest, he gets back new grain to continue the seed bank. He also conserves Desi Makka, Sama, Kakun, Kutki, Kodo and Katia wheat and others. Besides this, Mr.Dahiya has written several poems and documented local songs of tribal festivals, rituals, customs and traditions in Bagheli language, the local dialect. “There is a saying in Bagheli ‘Dhaan bove Kargi, suvar khaye na samdhi’. (If you sow, the Kargi rice variety, it is neither eaten by wild boars nor by the family of the son-in-law). This variety has small protective spikes and so the boars can’t eat them. Then there is this mention of ‘kalawati’ variety which is black in colour and takes 145 days to get ready to be harvested and it has amazing medicinal properties” he explains Babulal Dahya His work has benefited the tribal and rural community of Madhya Pradesh, for which he has received the Biodiversity Award of 2011 from Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, Bhopal. He is also recognised by different government and non-governmental institutions for his work in the field of rice conservation. To continue and promote his work, he has been financially supported by institutions like Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, SGP, GEF and Paryavaran Mitra Project of the Centre for Environment Education. Shri Babulal Dahiya an accomplished poet and farmer from Pithorabad village in Satna District of Madhya Pradesh has been conserving 125 Folk Rice Varieties as well as a number of indigenous varieties of Wheat, Barley, Millets etc. His passion lies in protecting and conserving environment through the region ancestral knowledge. His work was recognized by State Biodiversity Boards, Environmental organizations and he received many accolades including Padma Shree which is India’s fourth highest civilian award.