It’s 2024, and you’ve just enjoyed a bowl of palak paneer. Now, take a moment to consider where the spinach might have come from. No prizes for guessing that—in metros, most vegetables are grown in ‘gutter farms’ near railway tracks, with untreated sewage water used for irrigation. An unsettling reality that could make your favourite dishes far less appetising and all the more unhealthy.

Enter 2025, and now, imagine reaching your window sill to pick fresh basil and tomatoes for a bowl of soup, and the lush green methi tempts you to dish out parathas—just like Mayank Sharma, who has been terrace farming for almost a decade. He tasted his first major success in 2017-2018 when he managed to grow a full garden of winter vegetables. That harvest was a turning point, showing him that urban farming could sustain a family and that the vision of a chemical-free harvest is enough motivation.