STORMY CROP.....
The glory of the yellow flowers lending their golden aura into my home, the thunderstorm which has helped in bringng down the temperature and now the collective sigh of relief that this month is almost over. In effect, April has not been a cruel month, with due apologies to T S Eliot.
But May stands tall, all 31 days, and if I dare look into it, looks like it is going to be insufferable. But who knows, the coming month 'May' also be packed with surprises.
While we were driving down from Vijaywada the other day, I had said the weather was balmy and very soothing, but even as we were driving back to Hyderabad, it seemed like we were chasing a minor storm and a light drizzle. But the skies were clean, a light blue with fluffy clouds. And later in the night one could see the arc of the moon and pretty Venus.
That it was more than a drizzle came to my attention, only when I saw minor farmers running around covering their harvest. Most of it would be paddy, unless they were mango orchards. No orchards on this route though.
All the paddy (vadlu) had been kept out to be dried out in the available sun. Other than an odd April shower, no farmer would have expected stormy weather with rains.
That the paddy got wet is one part of the story. That only the top part of the paddy would have got wet is what we hope for. Anyways, looked like with a lot of help, the exposed paddy had been covered but only after the damage had been done and it was dusk, so it would not have been possible to separate the wet paddy from the dry ones.
Now they had to get up in the morning and check for damage and hope and pray for sunny weather for the next few daysdays to dry the paddy.
Had it been a mango orchard, a storm like what happened to us in Hyderabad, means falling of the semi ripened fruit. Depending on the height at which the mango is, it would fall and mark itself or explode.
My sympathies are with the farmer for after all the hard work and just when it is time to pack and take to the market, Mother Nature plays truant. Obviously small time farmers are the one most affected, for they would keep some of the crop for themselves and then sell the rest in the market.
While the paddy can be taken by the rice mill guys, they 'obviously' would not because I believe the weight or Kaanta would show more weight and they would have to pay the farmer some more.
It sounds good to hear 'farm to fork' but the route is definitely not that easy nor is it cheap. Currently I say a few prayers for all the farmers.
But May stands tall, all 31 days, and if I dare look into it, looks like it is going to be insufferable. But who knows, the coming month 'May' also be packed with surprises.
While we were driving down from Vijaywada the other day, I had said the weather was balmy and very soothing, but even as we were driving back to Hyderabad, it seemed like we were chasing a minor storm and a light drizzle. But the skies were clean, a light blue with fluffy clouds. And later in the night one could see the arc of the moon and pretty Venus.
That it was more than a drizzle came to my attention, only when I saw minor farmers running around covering their harvest. Most of it would be paddy, unless they were mango orchards. No orchards on this route though.
All the paddy (vadlu) had been kept out to be dried out in the available sun. Other than an odd April shower, no farmer would have expected stormy weather with rains.
That the paddy got wet is one part of the story. That only the top part of the paddy would have got wet is what we hope for. Anyways, looked like with a lot of help, the exposed paddy had been covered but only after the damage had been done and it was dusk, so it would not have been possible to separate the wet paddy from the dry ones.
Now they had to get up in the morning and check for damage and hope and pray for sunny weather for the next few daysdays to dry the paddy.
Had it been a mango orchard, a storm like what happened to us in Hyderabad, means falling of the semi ripened fruit. Depending on the height at which the mango is, it would fall and mark itself or explode.
My sympathies are with the farmer for after all the hard work and just when it is time to pack and take to the market, Mother Nature plays truant. Obviously small time farmers are the one most affected, for they would keep some of the crop for themselves and then sell the rest in the market.
While the paddy can be taken by the rice mill guys, they 'obviously' would not because I believe the weight or Kaanta would show more weight and they would have to pay the farmer some more.
It sounds good to hear 'farm to fork' but the route is definitely not that easy nor is it cheap. Currently I say a few prayers for all the farmers.
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