They also serve who preserve. J. Joe Prakash, a retired headmaster, chose to more than ensure that his students’ future was preserved. He took his passion for banana crops a step further; he went in search of banana variants that were presumed to be extinct, or at least had disappeared.
“I began my search for rare bananas four years ago when my grand-daughter Adna Johannes was born. Since then, I have succeeded in collecting 35 varieties,” Joe Prakash, 63, told The Hindu.
A writer, who also considers himself a naturalist, he has been reproducing and distributing these rare varieties to those who are interested in growing them. His garden is 10 km away from his residence at Senamvilai in Kanniyakumari district; he spends his evenings in the garden tending to the banana crops. “My objective is to save these plants from becoming extinct. I collected mostly from friends and people who have similar interests,” said Mr. Prakash, who has planted them in his 35- cent garden at…