The farm diary
“They eat what grows here — jowar, berseem, and nothing from a sack.”
Written with Bashir · photographed at Kalmeshwar, Aug 2026
Bashir’s grandfather brought the first Sahiwal pair from Punjab in the 1960s. The herd has stayed pure-bred since, and every cow on the farm today descends from that pair.
Bashir’s grandfather brought the first Sahiwal pair from Punjab in the 1960s. The herd has stayed pure-bred since, and every cow on the farm today descends from that pair.
Twenty-two cows means two milkings a day with three people. The morning milk is at our Kalmeshwar centre by 6, tested for fat, SNF and adulterants before it goes anywhere near a bottle.
He grows all of his own fodder and rotates it with cotton. “Packaged feed makes the numbers go up for a month,” he says, “and then the vet’s bill goes up for a year.”
“Noor will not be milked by anyone but my son.”
