Decline in Farming : These Scenes Will Vanish Soon
Pics from Jnaneshwar Moodbidri
Mangaluru: A few decades ago, rice fields could be seen in the city and surroundings. Pandeshwar, Bijai, Jeppu Bappal, Bajjodi, Derebail, Yekkur, Kannur, Padil, Farangipet, Kulur, Panambur, Suratkal and a plenty of other places offered a eye-pleasing scenario of lush green growth.
Factors like the onslaught of urbanization, migration of rural population, labour scarcity etc. during the past few decades have totally changed the picture. Fields are vanishing. Sites, layouts and commercial complexes have come up by the side of the highways passing through the district.
The present generation would never know that an activity like agriculture ever existed here. A reader from the city, who has settled in a distant place because of employment compulsions, was here recently.
With great attachment towards agriculture and way of life in the olden days, he wanted to show his little children how life was in the past. Sadly, there were no rice fields around. He had to drive all the way to Mijar and Moodbidri surroundings to show them how fields looked like.
Yet another reader of ours captured some rare views from the rural areas and sent them to us. These pictures, in future, would be seen on walls in homes and art galleries.
The thought is quite saddening.
With due respect to that reader who settled in the city, he must realize that he is the reason why we see this situation. We want to move to the cities and expect others to the hard work. The pictures look great but do we realise the hardships involved. I remember my younger days when all a woman toiling hard to transplant paddy would get was 2 measures (2kilos) of paddy( not rice). A day’s wage for the men was less than rs.5/. No work would mean no food for the family. The dreaded day’s of Aati would mean no work, a majority of DK had to survive only on jackfruit. How many of us remember this?
I think we are better of with our concrete jungles. Let us hang those beautiful pictures as we remember the hardships suffered by our ancestors.
The fields on both sides of M G Road in Mangalore are replaced by some buildings including TMA PAI CENTER. We used to watch the agricultural activities during our school days. it was in the early nineties that changes started in Mangalore at a dizzy pace. The greed of few over took the health of the city. SEZ killed it completely. We now depend on other states for all the commodities. MOST IMPORTANTLY, MANGALORE HAS LOST ITS CHARACTER.
I not only remember but I lived and survived such deplorable conditions. I was in all those pictures working in my teens and pre-tenns, exploited. Yes these pictures will be replaced with modern agricultural equipment if lungi size rice fields merge into whole nine yards. It is possible to work in the farm in three piece suits as many do at present without wetting one’s feet.