Progressive yet traditional farming: In times of hi-tech farm equipments, traditional ploughing with bulls still prevalent in Kupwara
Kupwara, Jun 20: Despite the invention of modern farming tools, many rural areas of north Kashmir's Kupwara district continue to rely on conventional agricultural practices. In several villages, farmers still use bulls to till their land a sight that stands in stark contrast to the modern methods being adopted in other parts of the region. While tractors and other tilling machines have taken over most agricultural and horticultural activities, the use of bulls remains prevalent in areas where people can't afford machinery.
Saif-u- Din Bajard, a resident of Rajpora Hamla, a remote village of Handwara has honed the art of tilling land with bulls since his childhood. He has been into business for almost twenty five years now. Bajard said that although tractors have replaced the conventional way of tilling land, people in his native village still till land with bulls. “People prefer bulls over tractors in hilly land besides use of bulls increases manifold in swamps,” Bajard told Greater Kashmir.
"Usually I till three kanals of land on a given day and for that I charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500. The tilling of land starts with the onset of spring and lasts up to ending June," he added. "Earlier I had paired my bull with the bull of a neighbor, so we used to till land on turn basis but now I own two bulls which has paved the way for me to till and prepare the land well before time," he added.
Bajard said that one needs to be very cautious while tilling land with bulls, otherwise there is a possibility of getting injuries. He said that an inexperienced person cannot till land with bulls. "During working season I have to spend Rs 200 each on the food of bulls and with the culmination of tilling season, I handover them to a local shepherd who takes them to Bangus till October," he said. "Tilling of land with bulls has been an integral part of Kashmiri culture but with the modern tools in place it is fading away slowly but Alhamdulilah I am still associated with it. The new generation feels it unique when they come across ploughing land with bulls," Bajard while tilling land, revealed to this correspondent. "Ploughing by bulls may be slow, but it allows us to farm in uneven fields where machines can't reach and most importantly it connects us to ancestral practices," he added. "This traditional method of ploughing is an integral part of our cultural identity which many in rural areas of Kupwara are proud to preserve with great preservance," said Advocate Imran from Rajpora Handwara.
