Originally reported and written in March 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content. 

Over a fast-paced life in the city and socialising with friends on weekends, Karnataka’s Chethan Shetty chose the slow life of a village. He quit his corporate job to become a farmer.

When people found that he left a lucrative career to grow crops, they were stunned. “Everybody would question me, ‘What was the point of coming back? Who will get their daughter married to me now? Why was I spoiling my life?’ They also said that I will go back to the city after a year,” he recalls in a conversation with The Better India.

“My father was not okay with my decision and my mother was definitely not okay with it! My friends were confused about where we would sit and party every weekend. Everybody had their own set of concerns,” he laughs.

But far from these worries, the 35-year-old farmer is living the life of his dreams.

In 2017, he relocated from Bengaluru to his ancestral home in Bellare, 75 km away from Mangaluru city. He started to grow exotic fruits like banana, papaya, and grapefruit on his farm.

Today, Manjanna Shetty Family Farms has over 2,500 areca nut trees, 800 pepper vines, 50 nutmeg trees, 300 coconut trees, 650 rambutan trees, over 100 mangosteen trees, and 50 avocado plants.

‘My journey from a corporate job to fruit farming’

Chethan was born and brought up in Mangaluru. During vacations, he would visit his grandparents in Bellare village, where he would spend all day playing in paddy fields and........

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