Farmers Of India - Fields Of Solidarity Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

No crop is more blessed
than the one a farmer sows and tills,
working in his field from dawn to dusk,
digging and cultivating every yield
and then sharing it with all those
who find those grains to consume
in their plates at every meal
whether rich or poor their plate gets full
though the grains originate
from the terrain so unknown
from the farmer we never know
yet sustenance plays its flute
doing its duty to support the nourishment
of every citizen, every family, every child
who is born and residing in my country.

My gratitude to those farmers of our land
whom we never meet or met
yet they toil in those fields in the hot sun
driving tractors, irrigating consistently
those farms and fields so that they can reap
bountiful harvests and bring providence to my nation
and to our millions of brothers and sisters
who get their nutrition from each variety of crop
whether it is wheat or rice,
whether it is sugarcane or corn,
whether it is jowar or bajra
whether it is fruits or vegetables
we get to choose what grains and pulses
we want to cook and eat for the day
we get to eat bananas and apples
or any fruit, as much as we wish.

Unaware are we of the endeavors and efforts
that the farmers undergo and face
as they grow those crops in abundance
to provide food to our vast population;
and as they utilize their land and labor
they help us live and survive
though we hold no blood ties with them
yet they are so committed to farming
and providing us with the nourishment we need.

The earth is their deity
the farming is their devotion;
and whether it is the lifetime
they have spent in cultivation
or whether it is a day
they have spent in a temple,
their dedication is the same
and their duty blends with self-satisfaction
as they plow those crops with enthusiasm
and move my nation into
self-sufficiency and good health
for which each they seek no honor or reward
but they seek to continue
their own sustenance and livelihood.

And just as honey and honeycombs
know their connection and circuit,
the farmers and their agricultural activity
has its own affiliation which has thrived
thro generations and centuries;
and as reforms become hard to accept,
no one knows the fragrance of a flower
until it has blossomed from the bloom;
likewise farmers want to be farmers always
and uphold their allegiance and unity.

And as they utilize their energy and force
it is their toil and efforts,
it is their crops and harvests
that keeps my country away from hunger and starvation.
So, I salute the farmers for their endless sacrifices
I pray for their dreams of good harvests to continue
so that my country can eat two square meals a day
or at least eat dal and chawal in plentiful.