Sunday getaway to a village - A walk through tomato fields

To be honest, I expected a lot of tomatoes. Ocean of red all across kinda red. But that did not happen because I was early by a month. Though it turned out to be a good escape from the boredom of my room, all thanks to the unexpected March rains that have hit our region. Though I expected to see red, it wasn't a bad sight to see lush green all around and clear blue skies peeping from above.

This is what I saw from my residential building last evening and that spawned the idea of taking a stroll amidst these sprawling fields which go as far as the foot of the hill visible in this photograph.

There used to be a clear field as far as the eye could see until a National Highway was planned here. Now the four lane highway cuts right through the middle of this field making the region accessible for the agriculturists and their trade partners. I decided to get a wide angled photograph of this highway but the sun was too bright, and I could not find a suitable vantage point to find my shot. Maybe after another overnight shower, I may get a better picture from the same spot. However, I did manage to click something of worth. Have a look

There is a small rivulet that flows along this road and one has to see it during the rainy season to see its might. Summers are dry but come the rains and the rivulet wants to be a roaring Himalayan river.

Now coming back to the tomato fields, in this part of our country tomatoes are grown using long bamboo sticks which are inserted vertically in the ground that eventually helps tomato crop to cling to them and support the weight of tomatoes. However, all I could find today was bamboo sticks being installed in the field. And because sticks are used in huge volume, the entrance to the fields was muddy and swampy making it almost impossible to reach the fields. I could have reached, had I tried a little harder but I saw no point in getting there as tomatoes were nowhere to be seen. I mean, what is the point in seeing bamboo sticks after toiling this much.

I did get to talk about a group of farmers who told me that the new road has proved to be a blessing for them. And within a month or two their crop would be ready - from field to the market. I have read that this valley sells tomatoes worth crores every season. Must be a happy sight for the hardworking farmers to get fair price for their produce.

Temporary camp setup by farmers in the fields. The field work continues day and night so that they wrap this bamboo job before the next spell of rains.

The road cutting through the middle of fields.

Temple in the fields

And that's all for today. Maybe after a month, we shall get to see the ocean of red. Now in hindisght I can say that it turned out to be a good drive away from the madness of, well my room to this quiet little village.