Living Off the Land
Reminiscing about farm life
with 101 year old Kesar Kaur:

Can you tell me about life in rural Punjab, India around 1910?
Life back then was very, very easy. As landowners, we were not very rich, nor were we very poor. The farmers, who worked for us, didn’t have as much money as us landowners, but they lived a comfortable life; they worked on the land, so they had money, clothes, a place to live and food. In the villages we also had cobblers, shoemakers, carpenters, blacksmiths. We were all very close-knit.

What crops did you have on your fields?
On our land, we used to sow wheat, corn, millet, oat and barley. There were different kinds of cauliflower and yams, carrots, radishes, cabbages, tomatos, small potatoes, big potatoes, ginger – all kinds of fruits and vegetables. In the sandy places near the riverbeds we used to grow lotus roots too. There were also different kinds of oranges in our orange grove, and different berries, like gooseberries. We also grew all sorts of beans and lentils.

How were the crops watered and cared for?
We had a canal system built up from the rivers. From the canals, smaller streams would be used to water the fields. Even when there were no heavy rains, the canal system would link the land with the rivers, which were always flowing.

What animals did you have on the farm?
We had many buffaloes, cows, horses to ride into the villages. Nowadays they have cars, but back then we would get on the horses. We used to have oxen to plow the fields, because people didn’t use tractors back then. We had one donkey that would climb the mountains. We used to have roosters and hens for eggs. We had goats and different kinds of sheep that would give us wool.

What would you do if someone became ill?
People rarely became ill because the villages had open, fresh air. Even the old people were not pale-faced, but strong, with a rich golden complexion from working out in the fields. They would eat all the natural foods: radishes, carrots, lentils and in the morning, thin, sweetened, flavored yogurt. There were people knowledgeable in medicine, who would know how to heal a sick person with natural remedies.

What was your best memory of the village?
The village life. People were very simple. People in the villages were helpful to each other, never clever or conniving. They were good sincere, folk. After our land was divided into India and Pakistan, the lifestyle totally changed. After partition, we didn’t have the same kind of peace of mind. But in the village, no matter who the person was, we had a good relationship, with good food, and a good life.