By: Umar Farooq, Mehr U Nisa & Shemu Wani.
With the arrival of paddy sowing season, routine work has changed- women, men and children are excited to set foot in the water-logged paddy fields. The arrival of the paddy sowing season has brought joy on the faces of young children who skip school and get a few days off to help their families.
In the rural villages of Kashmir like Abadpura, grandparents push the younger generation in the family to participate and learn paddy sowing. Abadpura, a 10-kilometre drive from Budgam, is a remote village with a population of 800 people living in 150 houses. Most work as farmers and manage ancestral land that has been passed through and sustained the livelihood of generations.
The potholed roads that lead to the village cross dust-ridden apple orchards and paddy fields. On the entrance of the village lies a green signboard that reads “Welcome to Abadpura”.
As our group entered Mukdam Mohalla, we were led towards the main paddy fields. Walking through thin allies and crossing little wooden bridges, these pathways help the smooth transportation of paddy saplings to the fields. Alongside the paddy fields, the village has apple orchards and brick kilns.
“I feel suffocated in my village,” says 41-year-old farmer Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat. As the village has nearly 100 brick kilns; the major agricultural land is under its use. The rising smoke from brick kilns has polluted the air extremely and harmed all agricultural practices.
“It feels like we live in hell,” says Mushtaq. Apart from the effect on farming, the smoke rising from brick kilns has affected the daily life. Local villagers say there are sick people in every household with breathing problems.
Mushtaq, 41 works as a government employee with the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Sunday for him means a full day for work in the fields. He wakes up early in the morning to make proper use of his holidays. He arrives before his family to prepare the water-logged fields for smooth plantation, removing muck and slit from the field.
The paddy seeds are sown in a little patch of land called “Thaej Waan” in Kashmiri language. These little nurseries demand extra care and constant watering for 40 days. After the period of 40 days the nurseries turn lush green, with the saplings ready for plantation in the field. The saplings are taken out manually and transported to the paddy fields.
In Mushtaq’s family, his father, Gulam Rasool Bhat, 87, extracts the paddy saplings alone. He makes sure the family members do not face any shortage of paddy saplings, and the work is not halted.
Mushtaq’s father narrates his story- when he was 12 years old, he started working alongside his father, who was also a farmer. “I often used to sleep in the fields at night to fetch the water to our fields,” says Gulam Rasool.
As Mushtaq’s family arrives to begin sowing paddy saplings, his younger daughter Mehroob joined the team for the first time. “I was waiting to become 10 years old so that I could help my father,” says 10-year-old Mehroob as she practiced sowing paddy saplings for the first time.
While her school friends are on a picnic, she skipped the event to help her family. “This workday is no less a picnic for me.” Mehroob added in excitement.
As the family gears up to finish before dusk, Mehroob’s grandfather calls his son Mushtaq to take the saplings to maintain the flow of work. As the stock of saplings ended, the team got a chance to take a brief break and rest.
The younger son of Mushtaq lit a cigarette, after just taking a few drags Mushtaq arrived with a sack of paddy saplings over his shoulder. As the young boy’s cigarette plops into water, the team resumes the work.
Meanwhile, Mushtaq makes sure that Mehroob learns paddy sowing properly. Discussions over politics and society starts with the younger son Yawer, who believes the newly elected Lok Sabha candidate in their constituency will speak for the people and their demands in the Lok Sabha. His uncle Qasim disagrees and adds that political leaders have always exploited Kashmiris.
As the political debate heats up, Mehroob has a different question which she wants to ask her father: Why are people making new houses in the agricultural land and why are authorities permitting it? As her father opines that the new constructions in the agricultural land are because of the rising population, Mehroob’s question remains unanswered.
The lush green paddy fields are rapidly disappearing in Kashmir. The unchecked urbanisation and conversion of land are the two main factors that have affected the agricultural land use adversely. In the last decade, Kashmir has lost nearly 3,3309 hectares of paddy land, and is left with 1,29,000 hectares now, according to online data.
Interest in agriculture has also decreased among the natives. More non-local labour is being hired for paddy seed sowing these days. However, in the Abadpura village, the women work alongside men. As men and children work tirelessly in the fields, women also make sure to cook special meals and bring the lunch to the fields. “Lunch at the side of the fields saves time and gives me a good vibe,” says Yawer.
As the family eats lunch collectively on a yellow-printed tablecloth, Zubaida makes sure to examine her daughter’s work. While the positive feedback from family members satisfies her, she smiles and says that her daughter is a quick learner.
As the family finished lunch, the young lad went a few steps away to light the cigarette. Zubaida wraps up and collects all the utensils to head back home. “Now I will go home. Wash all the utensils and start preparing the Nun Chai (salted tea),” says Zubaida, to make sure to return on time. As she leaves towards the home, she balances a wicker basket over her head and walks along the thin patches of land between the fields.
After lunch, Mehroob left for home, and her young cousins joined her. As the gossip started again, Yawer’s cousin Ruwaid wanted to finish within the hour to enjoy the rest of the time watching a movie together at Yawer’s place. While the other cousin believes it will take them nearly three hours to finish the full work, they ended up finishing the full work within one and a half hours and left happily for home.
