The obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self and post them on social media– selfie, turned out to be a trend, too serious. And monetising this wave of the trend was long prophesied!
An astute farmer from Chamarajanagar district decided to turn his scenic sunflower field along NH 766 into a quick business idea by charging money from those who take selfies with the flowers in the background.
According to Bangalore Mirror reports, Kumar (42), of Begur village in Gundlupet taluk, cultivated sunflower over six acres of land. And his fields attract a lot of attention, mostly drawing people passing through the national highway. Even after repeated appeals to not enter his field, people continued to take photos. This is when he came with the genius plan of charging Rs 20 per selfie during Eid. However, the problem of people accidentally or otherwise damaging his crops and picking flowers remains.
People heading towards Kerala and Ooty for the long weekend couldn’t help themselves, apparently. They would see the beautiful flowers and quickly find a parking spot on the roadside and walk into the flowers for photos.
“I have earned about Rs 40,000 in the last few days. Over the holiday weekend. Now, I am charging Rs 10 from Tuesday. We can’t prevent tourists from entering the field during the day, and because of scanty rain, the yield is low too. Keeping all this in mind, I have started charging for selfies [inside the field]. I would have earned around Rs 2 lakh if the rains were enough,” Kumar said.
Also read: Fearless Girl: Symbol of feminism, a debate in art, or a lesson in male fragility?
