Snow-Covered Struggles: A Farmer's Tale in Narkanda's Winter Wonderland
Hello hive family. I hope you all are healthy.
As soon as I open the door in the morning, the icy wind wakes me up from sleep. The icy wind blowing in Himachal has increased the extreme cold in Narkanda. It is bonechilling cold from the mountains to the plains. Despite the sunshine, Narkanda is shivering due to the ongoing cold wave.People are enjoying the lukewarm sunshine even during the day. As soon as the day sets, they are forced to hide in their homes.
The first thing in the morning I light a fire in the stove and have breakfast. My mother gives fodder to the cow and bottles the milk for Narkanda market. I am also ready to take milk to the market. This work in the morning is no less than a challenge as there is black ice on the way which makes it slippery. This eight kilometer route seems much longer today. I go to Narkanda market with 10 liters of milk. This is our source of income.
After coming back from Narkanda market, I bring grass for the cow. Due to the cold in the mountains, we store dry grass for 5 months in advance. Rearing a cow is hard work in the mountains.
Light snowfall starts again and I arrange wood for the stove. Which takes a lot of time. There is no work due to snow in the fields. I light a fire in the stove and watch a movie on my mobile.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi by me and I have taken the help of Google Translate to translate it into English.