By F. Ahmed, IANS
Srinagar : As turtle doves start picking their share of fallen grain in partially harvested rice fields, autumn reaches its golden best in the Jammu and Kashmir countryside. But many are wondering if the idyll will last.
The valley’s peasants are in a haste to harvest this year’s paddy crop as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on the 14th of this month.
“Physical labour becomes difficult during Ramadan as the faithful neither eat nor drink from dawn to dusk during the month,” says Ghulam Muhammad Rather, 32, a north Kashmir farmer.
Women share the autumn’s hard work with men in the fields. Except for the thrashing of grains, which is exclusively done by men, women contribute as much in every other sphere of agriculture in Kashmir during the harvesting season in this strategic Indian border state that is at the heart of its dispute with Pakistan and where a simmering insurgency has killed tens of thousands of people.
It is not just the vast majority of local peasants who look forward to autumn with great expectations since it returns to them the fruits of their toil and sweat. Kashmir has also been the choice destination of travellers and tourists from far off lands during this season.
With average daytime temperatures hovering around 25 degrees Celsius and a wonderful nip of cold at night, Kashmir provides immense possibilities to tourists during autumn.
“There are mountains for the hardy souls, trout fish for anglers, flower gardens for honeymooners, fruit and vegetables for calorie conscious dieters, mind boggling recipes for gourmets, picnics for fun lovers with facilities for boating, surf-riding, river rafting and other attractions,” Farooq Ahmad Shah, Kashmir tourism director who expects a large number of Indian and foreign tourist arrivals here this autumn, told IANS.
It is not just the paddy crop that is ripe here these days. Fruits like apples, grapes and walnuts are also being harvested now.
Besides producing some of the best varieties of apples, which is the mainstay of the local horticulture industry, Kashmir grapes, especially those produced in the north Kashmir village of Repore (Lar), 28 km from here, find mention in some of the famous chronicles, including the one by Abu Fazl, the Mughal historian who came here with emperor Akbar in the 16th century.
“Kashmir walnuts are fast emerging as competitors with some of the best varieties produced elsewhere and there is tremendous potential so far as the local walnut industry is concerned,” said Basharat Ahmad, 36, a local walnut grower.
Walnut trees along with mulberry and chinar trees are protected under local laws and their felling is prohibited here.
But there is a threat to these idyllic autumns?
Habibullah Dar, 67, a retired school teacher here, said: “Even though housing building and other construction on agricultural land is banned by law, investors and businessmen are buying land at exorbitant rates.
“The rising cost of land is posing a grave danger to agriculture here. It lures poor peasants to sell their ancestral lands since agriculture is not a lucrative profession in Kashmir.
“The practice is gradually pushing peasants out of their ancestral occupation and the tension free life they once enjoyed. More money definitely brings in more worries,” said Dar.
Despite the skyrocketing land prices in the valley, many peasants are still happy toiling it out in the fields and sharing the fruits of their hard work with their families.
“Even if my land fetched a million rupees, it would be foolish to even think of disposing it of.
“We have been farmers since my ancestors days. It is a trust I cannot break. I live life at my own terms. I cannot overnight buy a truck and become a transporter. Some of my neighbours did that, and now they are repenting. The trucks are gone and the money has vanished,” said Abdul Samad Sheikh, who lives in a foothill hamlet in north Kashmir Ganderbal district.
Sheikh’s love for the lifestyle and occupation of his ancestors proves the adage “once a farmer, always a farmer”.
But unless all local farmers start thinking like him, the golden harvest of Kashmir could be lost forever. The smoking chimneys of industrial units will replace the fields that are laden with grain. Kashmir might lose its claim of being a paradise on earth.