Farming and living a generation before

My mother accompanied me this time to farm. She is around 77 and healthy and walks around the farm and does not have the fear of the new generation about snakes. Once a friend from Bangalore visited my farm and I had asked them to come wearing shoes if possible so that it is easy to walk around. On arriving I told him, about the snakes so have to walk carefully, he was scared and was thinking of going back without seeing the farm !!!

My mother was telling me that they had 3.5 acres of land and the complete family was dependent on that land, they were 5 daughters and two sons. All of them will be completely busy with farming work/work at home from morning to evening.  Money was hard to generate and mainly came from selling the coconut and cashew nut. They had rice field and used to do two cultivations in a year. Once in June time frame and second at October. The second cultivation is based on water from the canal, which is coming from natural sources. I remember this canal where I used to catch fishes in bottle when I was small. Most of the items were produced at farm, seasonal vegetables and rice was there. There were no vegetable shops since people produced their own vegetables. In the afternoon they buy fish and for dinner fish curry will be there. Fish merchants carry the fish on the two baskets which will be hung on a wooden support which they carry on their shoulders.

The rice they farm is not sold and consumed completely at home.

People used to cultivate 'modon' also called as 'paramban' in the forest land after clearing the woods and also in the land they have. They will plough the land and after that these paddy seeds will be sown and they are completely rain fed. It will be grown among the trees also..no fertilizer...it takes around 5 months to mature.. sowing done along with first rain in April mid.

Life was all around farming,not much money and not much worries.