Panchayat Season 4 is finally here, and this time, the election drama in Phulera is turning up the heat. In the latest season, Manju Devi’s party is represented by a lauki (bottle gourd), while her rival Kranti Devi is contesting under the symbol of a pressure cooker. To promote the show, a striking installation featuring a giant lauki smashing a pressure cooker was set up on a busy street in Lucknow, drawing plenty of attention.
However, it’s the real 8-foot-long lauki grown by Sheo Pujan Singh that’s truly stealing the show, and it’s no ordinary vegetable. This lauki can make music too.
Reacting to the viral post, a social media user commented, “It is Narendra Shivani variety of Bottle gourd and it is developed by Dr Sheo Pujan Singh sir, he is also present there, wearing the hat.”
Who Is Sheo Pujan Singh, And What Is Narendra Shivani?
The man seen wearing a hat and holding a real bottle gourd in the video is Sheo Pujan Singh, fondly known as the “Bottle Gourd Man,” according to The Better India. A professor by profession, he teaches at the Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology (NDUAT) in Kumarganj, located in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad district.
In 2001, Sheo Pujan Singh came across a farmer cultivating an unusually long variety of bottle gourd. Realising the potential of this unique crop and noting that the farmer wasn’t fully aware of its value, Singh acquired the seeds. By 2004, he began studying them with the goal of improving their size, shape, yield, and growth rate. He eventually cultivated this special variety in the university’s polyhouse and named it Narendra Shivani.
Interestingly, once fully grown and dried, this variety of lauki can be transformed into a musical instrument, producing a sound similar to that of a conch (shankh). Singh revealed that most farmers are unaware of this unique characteristic and the potential use of the bottle gourd.
The post went viral in no time. An individual joked, “Lauki lite.”
One more added, “Pradhan’s lauki has reached here too.”
Everything About Panchayat Season 4
Panchayat Season 4 brings the escalating rivalry between Manju Devi and Kranti Devi to the forefront, as both vie for the position of village head in Phulera’s high-stakes election. Their teams are pulling out all the stops, promising big developments, playing catchy campaign songs, and organising local events to rally support. While the atmosphere may seem festive and light-hearted on the surface, there’s intense strategising happening behind the scenes. Both camps are engaged in a game of political chess, using clever tactics and mind games to outmanoeuvre each other.
The latest season, which has begun streaming on Amazon Prime Video, stars Jitendra Kumar, Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Sanvikaa, Durgesh Kumar, Sunita Rajwar and Pankaj Jha.