Dots in the Rice Fields

While some rice fields had solitary workers, others felt more communal. Everyone was pitching in, doing their part in the labors.

Two people carried large bundles of grasses on their heads, probably for cattle.

Some fields had small shelters dotting the land. Although simple and crude, they likely provided a little respite from the sun and rain when working.

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Rural Landscape of Central Java

Although the train passed by some smaller towns, much of the landscape to Yogyakarta was quite rural. Most of the land was quite flat and fertile, enhanced by volcanic ash. Rice was the dominant crop, with fields in different stages of the process. Corn, papayas, and veggies also were grown.

The pace of life was a bit different in the villages. Boys fished with cane poles in muddy waters. Goats, sheep, geese, chickens, and ducks wandered about. 

Some were digging in the rice fields by hand, while others worked up the land with two-wheeled tractors. 

Some homes were brightly painted, while most were quite simple - sometimes not much more than metal and bricks.

At times, the skies became very heavy, unloading rain with intensity. A little while later, patches of blue sky could be seen.

As we neared Yogyakarta, some lands became hillier. I was looking forward to seeing even more terraced rice fields when I went to Bali.

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The Beauty of Rain, Yunnan region

While traveling by car to the village of Shaxi in the Yunnan of China, we encountered several heavy rains. The build-up of the clouds became quite apparent that rain would soon come. Portions of the mountains became partially obscured where downpours occurred. 

Mists and low clouds formed, contrasting with the emerald-green rice paddies.

Sometimes patches of blue sky managed to peek between the clouds. Workers in the fields or doing construction on the roads (as in the photo above) continued on with their manual labor.

Even if the cloudy skies persisted, the views were still beautiful. 

Anything beats the polluted, hazy skies I later saw in Beijing....

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Through the Paddy Field

Through the Paddy Field

Color Pencil

by Melissa Enderle

Paddy fields such as this are very common in South India. I loved seeing the brilliant green of a lush field. Each paddy is rather small and is bordered by a raised mound of dirt. In this color pencil drawing, a farmer leads two of his cows on the narrow raised border of a Tamil Nadu field. Distorted, but discernible reflections of each is found in the flooded field in the bottom portion of the drawing. Measuring only about 24x44 cm, this rather small drawing made it a bit more challenging to render the figures. It did fit well into my suitcase back to Korea though!

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Pajamas and Watermelon Seeds

Climbing aboard carts drawn by water buffalo and a bullock, my two traveling companions and the other volunteers enjoyed a dusty ride out into the field. Our presence attracted the children of the village, with uniformed children at the school playground waving and smiling. One young boy ran to our car and followed us to the field, holding on to the back as if he was undertaking a very important job. He only stopped momentarily when he ran to pick up a yellow object he had spotted in a field - a spool of thread. We were taken to our first task - planting watermelon seeds for an illiterate farmer and his wife. They had already mounded the sandy soil, all we had to do was scoop a shallow hole and place five seeds inside, then covering it up. The wife then used her sprinkling can to water the freshly planted seeds, drawing water from the adjacent rice paddy. Village women were working in the rice paddy, planting rice. Despite being dressed in comfy looking pajamas (we found that walking around in pajamas was fairly common in Cambodia), their work looked far casual.

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Rice Paddies of West Bengal

Reflecting the West Bengali’s steady diet of rice, the fields leading down to the Sunderbans largely contained the tell-tale green of rice plants. Along with fish, rice is a staple of many residents. Alongside the river in some towns, I saw small plots of marigolds, popular flowers in the area for festive occasions. Tied to posts  and tree trucks near the road, goats rested on the edge of the road. Motorists had to watch out for them, lazy dogs, and the ambling cow.

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Word of the Week: Rain

More in the tail end of the normal monsoon season, the rains of the past week have been a bit unexpected.
 In just a 24 hour period, parts of Tamil Nadu received nearly 7 inches (17 cm) of rain. In Chennai, it rained nearly nonstop (and quite heavy at times) from late Saturday morning through Monday night. Normals for the Oct-Dec Monsoon season are about 376 mm; during that time, it has rained over 562 mm (22 inches).

My neighborhood fared much better than others, with only large puddles or isolated flooded areas in the next morning. Flooded streets made things miserable for commuters who struggled to find taxis, since most did not show up for work and the few around were in high demand. Many refused to pick up people in areas known to have high water. Auto rickshaw drivers were also hesitant to go through high waters, and those that did charged exorbitant rates.  Cycle rickhaws were in big demand in certain areas.Buses (again, far fewer available since many drivers didn't show up)  operated at a snail's pace through the waters, making commutes time intensive. Downed trees and branches also added to the road challenges.

 

While the rain was an inconvenience to some, it was potentially devastating to others. Street vendors and flower sellers were particularly hard hit. In rural areas,  rushing waters washed away roads, destroyed homes of simple construction, and submerged paddy fields - with some expecting more than a 50% loss in crop yield. With rice such a staple part of the diet, a combination of decreased supply and likely higher prices will make their already insufficient diet even more meager.

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Separating the Rice Bundles

Separating the Rice Bundles, originally uploaded by melissaenderle.

The monsoon weather in Chennai has enabled me to finish this pastel painting of a rural scene in Tamil Nadu.

See more of Melissa's art on Facebook

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Like Beads on a String

Like most women in Tamil Nadu, these paddy workers wear saris even when out in the field, doing construction, etc. It amazes me how they can work in 6 meters of cloth that is simply tucked here and there. I never tire observing the beautiful patterns and bright colors on saris, whether the cloth is an inexpensive cotton or the most expensive silk piece.  From my vantage point high up on Gingee Fortress' Rajagiri Hill, the colorful hunched backs of these women working in a row reminded me of beads on a string.

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