Slice of life: ‘If all the farmers quit, where will your food come from?’

It is difficult to push the cart around because of my age. But I need to earn money to feed, clothe myself, and have a roof over my head. I believe in simple living and this money is enough for me. The only issue is that I have some loans, which I took for my children’s education, that I must repay. My family members back in hometown are farmers. But as the world changes, farmers are forced to leave villages and come to Chennai in search of better opportunities, like me. We all need money to eat, right? But the fault is ours. 

Back in the day, we used to work in the fields, tilling the soil by hand, scattering the seeds, and keeping the soil moist, all by ourselves. Every farmer would do it for his land and they would work from 3 am to 10 pm. Now? Hired farmhands do everything. We used to do everything manually. Then came the bulls to help us in the fields, and finally, the oil machines came. Rains failed us time and time again, so then we dug borewells into the ground. We are ruining the Earth, and by doing so, the farmers are hurt. And if all the farmers quit, where will your food come from? God made this world with five elements – earth, fire, water, air and wind. We were given these to use them properly. 

But what has man made of it? The computers that you see everywhere, and the ruined soil. I tell you all of this because this is my earth, too.