FARMING IN INDIA VERSUS IN MADAGASCAR
WHAT IS HAPPENING AT LPU?
On Friday 23th August 2024, many students from the program Journalism and Mass Communication went to Chihero Village, Jalandhar, to explore more about the agriculture in India, and especially to practice documenting as a Journalist.
To begin with, it is important to mention that this was the first site visit for the fresher, so as a fresher and international student, we were so excited for the journey.
At 9h30 of the morning, we had a quick meeting with our mentor Dr. Jitendra Singh before leaving to give us some instructions about what exactly our tasks are, and what will be waiting for us.
At 11h, we eventually left LPU. And to be honest, we were not expecting that we will get to the field by foot. Nevertheless, the feeling with my batch mate was funny as usual, so that was not really a big issue. Also, Chihero village is just around 2 kilometers from LPU so we only had 30 minutes of walking, even though the weather did not want to cooperate with a high of 93.0°F, so after reaching only 1 kilometer, the majority of us already started to get tired, including myself. Happily, from the Chihero Train Station we can already embrace the beauty of Punjab which are the landscapes, the trees, the birds sounds, and many others, from that time everyone started to shot their own pictures and videos. As far as i am concerned, i was facing with a little challenge while taking my videos because yet i was using my mobile phone and without a tripod or any stabilizer materials, it is quite hard to stabilize some shots especially during static camera like Pan or Tilt, however i eventually knew how to deal with it.
After a while, we came across place which is really new for me and interesting called Mandir (temple) a place of worship for Hindus where religious rituals and prayers are performed, i also knew that Mandir can vary in size and design, from small holy place to large, decorated with some little details. we started to meet some farmers, so we took advantageous to interview them. And here comes another challenge, as an international student, the only language we used to communicate is English, still almost all the farmers only speak their mother tongue which is the Punjabi language, so as a solution, i only recorded their voices so that i can easily ask a friend for a translation.
At 12h30, we started to be starving and thirsty. Luckily, we bumped into an angelic guy who offered us free juices and water, also that was a chance for every single one of us to take a little break in order to get refreshed. Everyone was enjoying it so much. After that, we reverted back to our duties.
Arriving in a one farmhouse which was the last one and my favorite, everyone started to vibe with each other, some were enjoying the underground water, some were playing with cow and some even sang, and many more. We also took a group pictures with everyone, that was an opportunity for me to extend my friendship as i talked to almost all the students from other classes. The fun part was when i taught them my native language.
Perception
What i noticed about the farming in Indian or more precisely in Chiheru, Punjab is that there are not really much agricultural product besides rice. I know that there are probably more than that somewhere in India, though Punjabi people are more into rice paddy and cattle farming. About the farmers themselves, they are sympathetic and indeed generous.
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