‘Rice barn’ disappearing

The ancient tradition of rice barns in the famous Hossainpur grain storage area of Kishoreganj is almost extinct today. Rice barns are no longer seen to store the rice of farmers in this region.

Earlier, a farmer meant a cowshed full of cows, a pond full of fish and a barn full of rice, which is now becoming a proverb.

Rice barns, which were a symbol of the prosperity of rural Bengal in the past, are now almost extinct.

Now rice barns are unknown and unknown to the new generation. With the evolution of time, the traditional rice barns of farmers are disappearing with the touch of modernity.

In the past, barns were built in most of the houses of farmers in rural areas with bamboo, cane and mud to store rice. After that, a thick layer of soil was applied on the inside and outside. Its entrance or entrance was kept quite high for fear of thieves.

At one time, the leadership of the society depended on who had how many bales of rice. Not only that, people from both sides would take information about the bales of rice from the bride’s and groom’s families. Which is now just a myth. The barns could be seen from a long distance.

Earlier, there were skilled workers in different areas to build the barns. Now, barn construction workers from different districts and cities of the country are no longer seen.

They used to come to the house and make the bales of rice with bamboo. Now, due to lack of work, they have chosen a different profession.

This barn was the tradition of the noble farmer families. At that time, when the farmers could not dry the paddy in the muddy water in the month of Bhadra, they would fill the barns with wet rice.

The wet rice dried in the barns would be hard. But recently, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and modern mill ploughs have completely changed the rice pattern of the rural areas.

They no longer have enough paddy to put in the barns. Instead of barns, farmers have started storing paddy in modern warehouses. The barns have become a memory for the new generation.

Once upon a time, the bride’s family used to check the financial status of the groom’s family before marriage by checking whether they had a paddy husk in their house.

Now that custom is just a story of the past.

Many people, including Tunu Munshi (105) and Rahima Khatun, senior residents of the upazila, said that earlier, round-shaped paddy husks made of bamboo and reeds were placed on high places in rural houses.

There was a tin or straw canopy on top of the husk, which was made like a pyramid-shaped tower. A small entrance was kept on top of the husk so that it could not be easily stolen. Dry paddy was stored inside the husk through that path and taken out as needed.

They also said that once there were skilled craftsmen in making paddy husks in different areas. But now, as the use of husks has decreased, those craftsmen have also been forced to change their profession.
According to locals, it has become difficult to find the necessary craftsmen to repair the husks.

As a result, many of the families that still have the paddy husks have kept them as souvenirs. However, most families have demolished the old granaries. Now, paddy is stored in dry warehouses or sold in sacks to traders.

However, a few farmers from the old family of Charkati Hari village in the upazila have retained the tradition of the past.

Abdur Nekbar, a farmer from the village, said, “My grandfather, father and uncles used to store paddy in granaries. Now that practice is no longer there. Still, we have kept the granary as a memory of the tradition. Currently, paddy is stored in sacks in the granary.”

According to locals, due to the spread of modern warehouses and storage systems, paddy granaries are gradually disappearing. As a result, an important tradition of rural Bengal is becoming just a memory for the new generation.

Hayrat Ali (95) of Charkati Hari village in Jinari union said, “Aizkya is an empty granary, not a wooden angal, a dhehi, a fira, a tool, all the araya (lost).”

In this regard, Assistant Professor Mohammad Mahfuzul Haque of Hossainpur Women’s College said that farmers are reluctant to preserve paddy. Therefore, farmers sell it at the time of threshing. As a result, paddy husks are no longer visible.

With the development of technology and modern touches, warehouses are taking over the place of storing paddy and rice instead of barns. As a result, the tradition of barns is disappearing from rural Bengal.