Parts of rural northern India are currently erupting in color — not only with spring’s arrival but with seasonal festivals marked by folk music, dancing, farmers in traditional dress, and dishes such as sweet saffron rice.
One of these is Vaisakhi, an important date on the Sikh calendar. Celebrated in Punjab, it marks the successful growth of winter wheat and other crops like mustard, chickpeas, lentils, barley and sunflower seeds. “When the crop is fully ready for harvest, all the farmers come together to celebrate,” said Ashwani Ghudda, a local social worker. They offer prayers, visit fairs and then begin harvesting.
Punjab, which produces about 10% of India’s wheat and 15% of its rice, is historically agrarian and farming has long shaped local folklore and festivities, noted Harindar Grewal, environment adviser with Citizens for Change Foundation.
In Assam, the Bohag Bihu festival similarly marks the shift from the dry season to the agricultural cycle with singing, dancing and rituals focused on cattle care. Chandana Sarma, an associate professor of anthropology at Cotton University, says Bohag Bihu has roots in ancient fertility rites and serves as a ritual marker of ecological renewal where agriculture, sexuality and social reproduction are integrated. She emphasizes the deep interdependence between humans, nature and subsistence systems in local communities.
This year, celebrations happen against a backdrop of climate-related stresses that have damaged crops in both regions. In Assam, authorities say about 20,000 acres of crops have been lost to floods and hailstorms over the past year, events regional officials link to hydrometeorological disasters. In Punjab, unseasonal rain and hailstorms have damaged wheat across more than 135,000 acres in seven districts.
Grewal says farmers can no longer rely on precipitation arriving in December and January to aid wheat growth; when rain comes during grain formation or maturation it causes widespread losses. Beyond shifting rainfall patterns, Punjab’s farming system faces structural problems. The long-standing practice of rotating wheat and rice has contributed to groundwater depletion, a problem exacerbated by free electricity policies that encourage excessive pumping. “Punjab was never a natural area for raising paddy, unlike northeast India where you have plenty of rainfall,” Grewal said.
Assam, one of India’s wettest states, is also feeling climate stress. Average temperatures have risen and the state is vulnerable to increasingly intense and erratic rainfall. Since 2020, 1.32 million acres of crops — nearly seven times the size of New York City — have been damaged by floods, storms or hailstorms.
Some farmers are adapting by changing crop varieties and improving irrigation, but a recent study found many struggle to adapt. Limited access to credit, land shortages and inadequate government support hinder broader diversification.
Authorities in Punjab have deployed teams to assess crop damage, and Assam officials say state and central governments have released roughly $439 million (€405 million) to support farmers affected by climate-related disasters. Still, Grewal argues stronger institutional support could improve food security. Practical measures include building shelters where farmers can wait with crops for buyers instead of leaving trailers exposed to sudden rain. At the onset of showers, crops stored outdoors can be ruined; sheds and basic infrastructure would mitigate such losses.
For the longer term, Grewal suggests rethinking farming practices, including reducing reliance on paddy cultivation. Farmers could diversify into agro‑forestry, horticulture and greenhouse farming to raise productivity while protecting long-term sustainability of agricultural land. “Punjabi farmers are enterprising, and it was this human effort that drove the Green Revolution. What is needed now is strong intent,” he said.
Even as environmental conditions change, festivals continue to frame agricultural life. “Today, Bohag Bihu functions less as a direct agricultural ritual and more as a cultural framework,” Chandana Sarma said. The festival mediates between past agrarian lifeworlds and present mixed economies, sustaining cultural meaning even as material farming practices evolve.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker