One of the standard chores on my list for every weekend at Kerala is to water the banana-plants and coconut saplings that we are cultivating on a small plot of land that we have. This is one of 2 plots that we have offsite - that is, a little away from the plot where our home is located, the other one being alongside the river. This one is around 400 metres from where our we stay and half of it is high land where we have the coconut and banana plants with tapioca cultivated in between them, while the rest is low-lying field suitable for paddy cultivation.
Usually, Kerala has rains almost round the year and there would be no need to water the plants. But 2012 has been pretty bad as far as rains go and in the last 5-6 months, we have not had any rain except for one or two days. Infact everyone in Kerala is predicting a severe drought due to lack of rains. There is an irrigation canal running alongside our plot which ideally should have helped our cause, but for the fact that no one has ever seen water flowing through it. While it was built years ago to help the farmers, the only folks who benefitted were the contractors, local authorities and the politicians.
Thus the need to draw water from a small pit I dug in the low-lying field to irrigate the plants. With each passing week, the water-table level goes down and I need to dig the pit a little more deeper to get water. So the usual routine is for me, Sheena, Aman and Ishaan to ride out their in the Scooty with a spade, couple of buckets and some snacks/water for the kids. When they are in town, Divya / Dany / Amy also join us - a snap below of them playing in our field when they had come home for the X'mas vacation and had joined us.
A snap of the plot, with the grassy patch in the foreground being the low-lying part and in the background you can see the higher-land with banana-plants, coconut saplings and older coconut trees. If you look closely to the right-edge of the snap, you can see Aman walking on the canal.
Usually, Kerala has rains almost round the year and there would be no need to water the plants. But 2012 has been pretty bad as far as rains go and in the last 5-6 months, we have not had any rain except for one or two days. Infact everyone in Kerala is predicting a severe drought due to lack of rains. There is an irrigation canal running alongside our plot which ideally should have helped our cause, but for the fact that no one has ever seen water flowing through it. While it was built years ago to help the farmers, the only folks who benefitted were the contractors, local authorities and the politicians.
Thus the need to draw water from a small pit I dug in the low-lying field to irrigate the plants. With each passing week, the water-table level goes down and I need to dig the pit a little more deeper to get water. So the usual routine is for me, Sheena, Aman and Ishaan to ride out their in the Scooty with a spade, couple of buckets and some snacks/water for the kids. When they are in town, Divya / Dany / Amy also join us - a snap below of them playing in our field when they had come home for the X'mas vacation and had joined us.
A snap of the plot, with the grassy patch in the foreground being the low-lying part and in the background you can see the higher-land with banana-plants, coconut saplings and older coconut trees. If you look closely to the right-edge of the snap, you can see Aman walking on the canal.
Aman usually loves coming to the "canal land" as he calls it (the other one being "river land") since he can walk/run along on the canal or in the fields. But last week when we are getting ready to go there, he says he can't join as he has a "meeting". Since I have been working from home atleast once a week since the time he was born, meetings and calls are part of his vocabulary.
"Aman, why don't you come with us to the canal-land ? We need you to engage Ishaan."
"I am not coming, since I have a meeting now."
"Meeting ? What meeting do you have and with whom ?"
"It is an "Invention meeting". So I am not coming with you."
"Invention" is another term that has got into his vocabulary and he is trying hard to "invent" something. He draws some fancy sketches and tries to explain the hi-tech functionality to us who are not as intellectually blessed as him. He mentions engines and power and what not. Anyway, we don't want to be obstacles in what could potentially be the next path-breaking innovation and move on. Because, he could be the next Edison, for all we know.
