BASILICA OUR LADY OF HEALTH HARIHAR

Responsive image

Annual Feast 2026

Sowing Tradition, Binding Families: A Little Paddy Field in the Heart of the City

  •   Tue, Sep 08 2026
  •   By Pravilla Dimple Fernandes

September 8, 2026 

As Monthi Fest draws near, our hearts are filled with cheer,

Green paddy plants grow within our church compound here.

The very stalks that soon will grace our altar bright,

Fill our parish family with joy and delight.

 

A gentle pause from our fast-paced city life,

A soothing sight for eyes tired of screens and strife.

A touch of the village, growing within our city,

Keeping our roots and cherished traditions alive with dignity.

 

The joy of preparing the field, bringing the soil with care,

The excitement of shaping the paddy bunds, planting seedlings fair.

The happiness of nurturing each plant as it grows,

And the harvest we await-making this Monthi Fest uniquely ours.

 

Our church compound holds a rare and beautiful sight-a little paddy field growing right in the heart of the city. Amid the constant honking of vehicles and the hum of city life, it brings a gentle stillness. A green paddy field stands proud amidst the towering buildings, bringing a little piece of the countryside into our urban surroundings. As the breeze passes through the paddy, the green plants sway like gentle waves across the little field. The earthy smell of fresh mud takes us, if only for a moment, back to the familiar paths of our villages. And then there are the little paddy bunds, making the sight even more special for those of us accustomed to concrete roads. For a moment, surrounded by green, soil, and silence, the busy city feels a little more like home. 

For our ancestors, working in the fields was a way of life. Sowing the seeds, nurturing the growing crop, harvesting the new grain, and offering the first harvest to God were all part of a beautiful tradition. They knew the food on their tables because they had watched it grow in the fields and had nurtured it with their own hands. Today, that connection has slowly faded. Instead of seeing the food we eat growing in the fields, we often see it neatly packed in plastic bags on shop shelves. Amid this changing way of life, our church brings a little piece of that forgotten connection back to life through a unique and beautiful celebration of Monthi Fest. 

Paddy stalks hold a special place in the celebration of Monthi Fest. The new harvest, lovingly brought to the church, is blessed and distributed to every family, where it finds a place on the dining tables of our homes. In earlier days, these tiny stalks even travelled across the seas in postal parcels, carrying a little piece of home to families living abroad. We call them "Novem"-the new harvest. Though small, they are powerful links that connect families, bridge distances, and strengthen bonds. What makes this tradition even more special is that the Novem we will carry home has been grown right here, within our own church compound. This little field has become a shared labour of love, with the priests of our parish, seminarians, and youth joining hands to nurture it. From soil and seedlings has blossomed something much greater-a beautiful expression of faith, family, tradition, and togetherness. 

In a city where agriculture has slowly disappeared, seeing a paddy field feels like finding water in a desert. As the green paddy sways in the breeze, it feels as though the pages of an old tradition are turning before our eyes. The field reminds us of our deep bond with the soil and opens a treasure chest of memories-our childhood days, village paths, our land, the struggles of our ancestors, and their hard work. The smiles of field workers, footprints in the mud, ploughing the fields, sowing seeds, and the joy of harvest bring those memories rushing back to life. This growing paddy is more than a celebration of tradition. It is a gentle reminder of a way of life that is slowly fading, and a bridge helping a generation drifting away from the soil rediscover its roots. 

In days when the city seems to have forgotten the feel of village life, the sight of a little village landscape quietly growing within it brings immense joy. It is more than a beautiful sight-it becomes a living decoration of Monthi Fest. These little paddy plants carry a message far greater than their size. Behind every paddy stalk lies a story of gratitude, simplicity, unity, hard work, nature, and tradition. They remind us where we come from, what we have inherited, and what we must carry forward.

 

Let our traditions not shrink as our cities grow.

Let our family bonds not weaken as our roads widen.

Let our devotion to Mother Mary rise as our buildings rise.

Let our roots grow deeper as the pace of life grows faster.

 

 

 
By Pravilla Dimple Fernandes
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Leave a Comment

Title: Sowing Tradition, Binding Families: A Little Paddy Field in the Heart of the City



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.