What does a farmer look like? Turbaned, dhoti-clad, muddy-legged, and sweaty-browed? Driving a tractor or, an old-fashioned stereotype, ploughing a field with a pair of bullocks? A smiling face on a bag of organic grain or, another stereotype, a cheery figure, a sheaf of grain on one shoulder and a sickle in his hand?
The Indian farmer, in a country that has long been agriculture-dependent, is the stuff of folklore, the hero of popular culture. The face of the countryside. And, occasionally, a face that arrives in the city and makes its presence felt.
23 February 2025
