Withum withayum-Rice seeds and Planting

        

Come vishu, the first day of Malayalam month of Medam (April to May) Preparations for the new #rice cultivation starts.. On the Vishu day, the spade and plow will be decorated using rice powder and flower garlands, and prayers done. The senior-most member of the family and others enter the rice field with the decorated plow and spade. Small channels (called chal in malayalam) are then made in the field. This is followed by covering the field with cow dung and green manure. This filed is later used to grow rice. This cultivation during the South West Monsoon is known as virippu krishi.

Rice seeds are then measured in to jute sacs and the sacs will be tied with plantain threads. They are then soaked in water over night. Next day, the soaked seeds will be spread over wet jute sacks .they will be covered by wet sacs also. Some weight (big stones) will be put above them. Within two days, they sprout. Seeds are sown by hand to plowed fields. After 30-50 days of growth, the seedlings are transplanted in bunches to flooded fields when monsoon sets in .By then they will reach a certain size say about 1 ½ feet. #Harvesting begins when the grain becomes yellow and the plants start to droop in during September- October months.

  

                                                     Witha- an oil painting on canvas
                           Grand father supervising workers as they are  measuring rice seeds  for sawing in fields.
                           website for image- www.sheelapadmanabhan.com