AIS-Lancastw Fanning, Saturday, May 24,1986
Indian Visitors Surprised by Americans’ Friendliness
BY SALLY BAIR
Lancaster County
Correspondent
LANCASTER - “Americans
are more friendly, more smiling
and more loving than I expected.
We are getting much more than we
deserve.” These observations
were made by Udendra P.
Waghray, one of 29 Ambassadors
from India spending two weeks in
the Lancaster area through the
Friendship Force Exchange.
Several of the Ambassadors,
who are staying in homes for their
two-week visit here, have
agricultural backgrounds, not
surprising in a country in which 70
percent of the people are employed
in agriculture. India has a
population of 723 million people
and has land area about one third
the size of the United States.
Udendra, who is being hosted by
Keith and Kathy Vogt of Marietta,
said he did not expect Americans
to be so friendly or that hosts would
spend so much time with their
guests. He also said he thought
they might not receive as much
respect because they come fr<£n a
country that is poorer than the
United States.
Similar comments were voiced
by Jhina Padam Singh and
Mahendra S. Patel who were
spending the first of their two
weeks with Earl and Doris
Hummel, Landisville. Jhina
operates about 10 acres of or
chards with two of his sons and
Mahendra grew up on his father’s
60-acre farm.
Mahendra says truthfully, “We
had some apprehension about how
we would find Americans. We have
been absorbed as family members
and have a fantastic family here.”
Jhina agrees, “We have festivity
all the time. We are completely
indebted to Doris for all she does
for us. We are simple people, and
are all children of God.’’ Both men
agreed that they would not choose
Oeepakbhai T. Patel, center, is being hosted by Tom and
Tiz Williams, left, who operate a dairy farm in Dauphin
County, and, in the second week, by Creedin Bixler, Cum
berland County. Deepakbhai operates a 35-acre farm in
India, raising sugar cane, bananas, mangoes and vegetables.
-i
* >*«#
' 'id*
Keith and Kathy Vogt, Marietta, are hosting Friendship
Force visitors Udendra P. Waghray, left, and Dilip Kumar
Patel, both of India. The Friendship Force Ambassadors will
stay on the.Vogt farm for one week before moving to second
week hosts.
to come as tourists, but liked the
Friendship Force exchange
because they could actually live in
a home in this country.
Also visiting with the Vogts, who
operate a grain hauling business,
is Dilip Kumar Patel, who is a
wholesale vegetable grower from
the state of Gujarat in western
India. Dilip is enjoying the lush
agriculture in this area, and has
had the opportunity to go to the
wholesale vegetable auction in
Leola.
Dilip grows vegetables on seven
acres of land in the west central
state of Gujarat, a major
agricultural area of India. His
father grows vegetables on five
acres. Their crops includes such
local vegetables as cabbage and
cauliflower as well as mangoes. He
said bananas and sugar cane are
also major crops in his area.
A member of a cooperative,
Dilip hires seasonal help as
necessary to work the crops. Labor
is cheap and readily available in
that populous nation. However,
Dilip makes a universal statement
about the agricultural economy,
when he replies to a question about
the prices he receives. “I would
like to make more money,” he
said.
Dilip purchases hybrid plants for
planting and when he needs a
tractor for working in the fields or
for hauling his produce to market,
he hires one. Most of the work is
done by hand.
His comment about the Lan
caster County countryside is, “It’s
beautiful. In India it is mostly
flat.”
Udendra agrees, “In India it
rains just once a year during a
three or four month period. There
is not as much greenery there.”
To compensate for the lack of
rainfall, Dilip irrigates his crops.
The India delegation began their
trip by spending three days in
London and two days in New York,
and both young men agree that
Lancaster Countians are friendlier
than the city people with whom
they came into contact. Waghray
says, “This is a beautiful place to
live in. There is a lot of land
available and a lot of nice people.
They are very ‘helping natured.’
They laugh a lot and smile a lot.”
Kathy Vogt quickly notes that
the smiling and friendliness seems
to come forth from both sides. She
said that during a trip to the
Capitol on Monday to meet
Governor Thornburgh, the Indian
visitors were very outgoing.
The food served here is quite
different from India. Udendra
explains, “Your diet contains a lot
of protein, and we take a lot of
carbohydrates.” Indian food is
more highly spiced, though he
admits than in India there are
more and more foods being in
troduced from other cultures.
Udendra lives in Andhra Pradesh
in south central India.
Jhina, who has a degree in
horticulture, raises apples,
cherries, apricots, almonds,
peaches, walnuts, hazelnuts and
citrus fruits on the land he
operates with the help of two sons.
While they farm about 10 acres, he
said the average farm may be
about three acres. His orchards
are located in Himachal Pradesh,
north of Delhi, within view of snow
capped peaks of the Himalayan
Mountains. Indeed, the chief
minister of that state is an
agriculturist, Shri Vir Bhadra
Singh, who has a special interest in
apple cultivation.
His home state has a lot of
agriculture, and it is from 5,000 to
17,000 feet above sea level.
His agricultural products are
sold wholesale in New Delhi
through agents on commission. He
said that markets in his country
are mostly open air markets with
the exception of an air-conditioned
market, called the Baliki Bazaar,
founded by Indira Ghandi’s late
son.
Jhina noted that his orchards are
managed with two to three extra
people helping on a regular basis.
During harvest and other busy
times they hire up to 30 additional
workers.
Jhina is quite proud of his ac
complishment in growing almond
trees in a climate which features 65
inches of rainfall annually.
Usually, those trees can’t take that
much water, but he works in
changing the structure of the soil to
permit it to have proper drainage.
He said he also grafts trees “for a
perfect union” of the stalk and the
budding branch. A careful spray
program is also important to his
success. “I have built up
resistance in my trees, and I have
standardized from the beginning to
marketing, and have built up a
reputation.”
Because of the value of land,
Jhina said his orchards look like “a
veritable jungle.” Nonetheless, in
a trail blazing experiment, he
managed to grow cauliflower both
for its fruit and seed among the
trees while their leaves were off.
He said fie did it to show others that
it would work, and he received a
premium price for his seed.
While Mahendra works now in
graphic design, he is in close touch
with his family. Two of his
brothers farm with his father, also
in the Gujarat state, in western
India. They grow cotton, wheat,
mangoes, peanuts and bananas.
Mahendra points out that
bananas produce a crop once every
14 months, and the crop is worth
18.000 rupees per acre. There are
13 rupees to $l. Cotton yields about
6.000 rupees per acre. Cotton takes
about six months to grow and is
rotated with wheat or com. '
Mahendra said that eight to 10
employees work on his'father’s
farm regularly, and during the
busy season they employ 40 to 50
additional workers.
Doris Hummel, Landisville, poses with her two Indian
visitors near their favorite tree, a magnolia. Mahendra S.
Patel, center, is graphic designer who grew up on a farm in
the state of Gujarat, and Jhina Padam Singh, owns about 10
acres of orchards in the state of Himachal Pradesh
The diet for many of the visitors
is vegetarian, and Mahendra
explains that rice and pulse, the
edible pods of peas, beans or
lentils, comprise a large part of
their diet. His father-in-law
produces spices like fennel for
sale
Deepakbhai T. Patel is visiting
on the Dauphin County dairy farm
of Tom and Tiz Williams, and will
spend his second week with
Creedon Bixler, a technician for
Atlantic Breeders Cooperative, to
give him wide exposure to Penn
sylvania agriculture.
Deepakbhai, whose home is also
in the state of Gujarat, raises
sugar cane, banana, mangoes and
vegetables on 35 acres. He also
wholesales his produce.
He owns two Holstein cows and
two Jersey cows, and his family
uses the milk.
Jhina pointed out that they too
have two milk-producing cows, but
they also milk a “she-buffalo”.'
According to Jhina. the buffaloes,
Farm and Home Scholarships
School, she will study nursing at
Messiah College. She was a
member of the chorus, county
band and concert band.
Carol Shenk, 18, is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Shenk,
R.D. 1, Manheim, and is a senior at
Lancaster Mennonite High School.
She will attend Goshen College
and study nursing. She is a
member of the National Honor
Society and is layout editor for the
yearbook staff.
Ut Thi Vo, 17, is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Sinh Van Vo, 1245
Wabank Street, Lancaster, and is a
senior at McCaskey High School.
She is in the National Honor
Society, orchestra and the Burning
Glass magazine staff. She will
study nursing at Lancaster
General Hospital.
(Continued from Page Al 7)
Gina Metzger, 18, the daughter
of Sally A. Metzger, 540 Martin
Avenue, Mount Joy, is a senior at
Donegal High School. She will
study nursing at East Stroudsburg
University. A member of the
National Honor Society, she plays
field hockey and football, is a
cheerleader and serves on student
council.
Mai N. Nguyen, 19, is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thao
Nguyen, 548 W. Walnut Street,
Lancaster. A senior at McCaskey
High school, she will study nursing
at Lancaster General Hospital.
Kathleen J. Robinson, 17, is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald
M. Robinson, R.D. 2, Ephrata. A
senior at Conestoga Valley High
hi
Students who will study nursing who received Farm and
Home Foundation scholarships include, from left: Gina
Metzger, Mount Joy; Kathleen Robinson, Ephrata; Carol
Shenk, Manheim; and Ut Vo, McCaskey. (Mai N. Nguyen was
absent from photo.)
milk has 6.5 percent butterfat
content, which is higher even than
Jersey cows. He said the original
Jersey stock has been crossbred to
help them withstand the rigors of
the Himalyas. Mahendra said they
have about four buffaloes from
which they use the milk, and they
keep bullocks for doing the field
work.
Udendra expresses the feelings
of many of the visitors when he
explains why he chose to visit the
United States through the
Friendship Force Exchange. “A
tourist can see places, but they
cannot meet the people. We can
read a lot about America, but I
wanted to see how the American
behave, how they go to the grocery
store and how they live.”
For these Indian visitors, the
glimpse of the agriculture in South
Central Pennsylvania is in
teresting, but the opportunity to
live with families is an experience
they will cherish a lifetime.