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Chapter One. The Naga Hills |
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girls and boys planting out rice seedlings near Sathazumi |
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One day we climbed up to a village and as we made our way through the labyrinth of terraces, the rhythmic working songs of the groups of boys and girls fell upon our ears. They stood in rows, ankle deep in water, planting out the rice seedlings in the soft, flooded ground while one of the lads walked ahead, throwing down the green bundles of seedlings at short intervals. The sun blazed on bent brown backs and the water reflected a thousand dazzling rays. Many hours later, returning on the same path, we found the people still standing in the water and still singing the same rhythmic song. They had probably rested at noon in the field-house and quenched their thirst with rice-beer, and then they had taken up their work once more. |
