Srinagar, May 14 -- You can feel it in the air. Families prepare their fields. Tools like spades and mattocks are pulled out, sharpened, or repaired by local blacksmiths. Sometimes we buy new ones. Neighbors lend a hand. Children join their parents in the fields, laughing and playing between the rows. Even government and private employees take a day off to help. It's not just work, it's tradition.

It all starts in early April, when rice seeds are first sown in specially prepared seedbeds. After about 40 days, these seeds grow into seedlings, ready to be transplanted. Before that happens, a lot of groundwork is needed, literally.

Fields are cleaned, weeds are removed, and the soil is cut and dug in careful shapes to prepare it for tillag...