Harvest is one of the poems of O.P. Bhatnagar which deals with our agriculture and economics. A poor man’s economics, who has striven to know? A farmer’s life, have we at least tried to know?  Indian agriculture, Indian economics is the thing of discussion. An Indian farmer’s life, have we tried to look into? There had been times of droughts and famines and we struggled to come through.

Indian crops are a gambling with the monsoon. If the rains ‘are good, plenty of crops can be expected.  But their life is very painful and so full of strenuous toil. They keep busy with all day long labor. In the evening they come from the lands. But what do they get in return? Manure too is needed for good production. Poor irrigation costs them bitterly. The poor fellows they fail to do cultivating in a well-planned way. They depend on the rain gods for the rains. Indian farmers in dhoti and ganjee and with a towel on the shoulders, this is a typical image of his. What prices do they get for their harvests?  Just the skies and the heavens are their solace. Just with labor, what can they do? Tattered economy is their property. They toil and till to keep the fight in life. When the crops fail, they too break down. Taking debts from, they make a tryst with destiny. Crops show the golden dreams to them. Harvest figures in Bhatnagar’s Feeling Fossils collection of poems. The poem itself speaks of the matter discussed in. If the crops show them the otherwise dreams, take it for that they are but the shooting stars.

Indian farmers:
Stars on the firmament
Of our tattered economy
Take no sleep
And look to skies
And spaces wide
To make their next harvest
Rich.
Soon they are stars shooting
Down their fields
And they harvest them
With a heart hit
With depleted crops.