The area near where I live
I am living in the midst of an agricultural community and our house is situated in a village. Naturally the people are agriculturists. Since the village is served by a river which supplies enough water almost throughout the year, agriculture is a profitable occupation here. There are luscious fields of green paddy around and normally people raise two crops a year.
Since they are agriculturists following traditional farming, there is a set pattern of life among them though modernity has recently invaded their homes. Thus most of them own a radio and their houses have electricity. Their children go to the neighboring town for their education. Most of them own bicycles and a bus service connects the village with the neighboring town. In fact, my neighbors are actively interested in the politics of the country and most of them read newspapers and discuss politics. They are no more the innocent rustics, they were once believed to be. Some of them aspire to hold offices in the village councils.
These people are looking forward as agriculturists. Some of them even own tractors and almost all of them know the value of good seeds and fertilizers. For them agriculture is no more a shaky gamble of the unknown. They use pesticides and insecticides and have built a marketing federation to sell their products at a profit. They make use of the bank facilities so that they need not be a pawn in the hands of the village pawn broker and money lender.
Paddy growing is the major occupation though some adventurous farmers have switched on to cash crops like sugar cane. They employ casual labor when there is an intensive operation as in the transplanting, hoeing and harvesting season. But for those who actually own no land, the life of the casual laborer is very often uncertain. In an agricultural economy this can’t be helped.
The people when not employed go about in a leisurely way. There is a tea shop in the village where people gather for gossip over a cup of tea. If you sit there for some time you can learn all about the village.
Besides that, the cinema and films seem to be the most favorite topic with the villagers since they love frequenting the theatre. There is a small school which is not a hot favorite with the affluent villagers. The affluent villager prefers to send his children to the Convent or English Schools in the neighboring town. The village school has its strength of students drawn from the lower strata of the society. The chapel is visited by the parish priest once a week on Sundays. The Christian community in my village is a minority group.
