WHEN MY SISTER texted me mom was feeling unwell, I hurried to pay her a loving visit while taking my youngest son along. After two nights’ stay in her house, I’ve witnessed her growing better and more stable. She seemed to have gained strength when she took us to the paddy-field of ours.
She demanded we investigate the four mango trees in the field and bring home some ripened ones. As soon as we got to the spot, I instantly discovered barren land instead of productive foliage. It is obvious our field has turned desolate as it was left unattended when my mom traveled for a pilgrimage last September.
Since our mango trees are not ready for crop, I was but tempted to capture a piece of land next to my mom’s where the owner grows corn as you can spot in the photo. The corn trees stood upright as if they exuded both confidence and independence. They occupy the whole lot so that they looked like scales of fish. I was imagining the landowner is going to gather a harvest of money in the nearest future.
But unknown to passers-by, me included, the crop have remained where they due to unproductive result. My mom told me all trees I could see were fruitless. Yes, they bore fruit but rats and mice have secured the entire crop before the farmer could. Farmers in the village have had no idea how rats have gone mad that they ate up every single seed. It is perhaps better to leave the trees to dry up in the sun until they collapse naturally than to hire labor to cut them at considerable cost.
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