Farmers cultivate a new image

LUDHIANA: Over a period of time, the image of traditional farmer has changed a lot as now instead of coming in trolleys, they come in their big luxury cars wearing denim jeans, bright T-shirts and cool goggles. Also participation of women entrepreneurs has increased over the period.
No longer restricted to white kurta pyjama and jutti, the new age farmers zoomed in their SUVs, instead of bullock carts, for purchasing seeds at the Kisan Mela.In fact, to complement their hi-tech machinery, they had got a wardrobe to match.
Pawan Preet Grewal, a young progressive farmer, who was seen driving a tractor at the mela, said, “The images were only made by us, who said that a farmer cannot wear denims and drive the tractor. It is the fashion fetish which has come in vogue with college-educated youth working in farms.”
Echoing a similar view, Taqdeer Gill added that not only it was a style statement but it showed change in villages with clothes ruling their mind. Earlier, the farmers used to come in carts but now one could see their favourite vehicles the all-terrain SUVs gleaming in the mela parking zone.
”These are days of new technology. Gone is the time when the farmer used to keep the seeds on his head and look for the trolleywallah to help him, now every farmer has his own set of four-wheel drive to visit the Kisan Mela,” said Vikram, another farmer and student. The change was not only in wardrobe but also in machinery as nowadays machines had replaced the traditional methods. During the two-day ongoing Kisan Mela it were not only the men but women also made their presence felt at mela along with more participation of the NGOs was seen.
Sukman Kaur, who deals in fabrics, said that it had been one-and-a-half-year that she had started putting up the stalls at Kisan Melas and according to her this time more women had participated in the mela.