Traditional Society of Bam: In the beginning of settlement Bam
had traditional economy. Farming was the mainstay of the Bam economy .They
mainly produced paddy –two crop a year- Ahu,the summer rice broadcast in
middle of March to April and harvested in June to July, Sali
the major crop ,transplanted from July to middle of September and
harvesting in middle of November to
middle of January .The farmers were
nearly unemployed or under employed during remaining months of the year when
they would grow winter vegetables for home consumption and mostly idle away
their time . During off season they would also visit relatives ,read Putthis
like Ysuf Julekha,Halutunnabi,organise Gatter Gan,perform marriage ceremonies
of sons and daughters at comparatively early age, attend waj mehfils, preparing Chunga-the the traditional winter
delicacy, go for fishing ,hunting or ,collecting honey from jungle. Life was
simple and easy. The yield in the farm was very low despite land being fertile
because of use of traditional variety of seed. The cash crop was minimal. Livestock
was negligible. It was not exactly barter economy, but money was minimum in circulation.
People got their cash mainly from sale
of surplus of paddy,supari(betel nut),plaintain ,eggs,poultry fruits and vegetables mostly produced for
domestic consumption.Business was unknown to them.Monthly salary of a LP school teacher was Rs.30.00 and
price of one ‘kati’ of rice-present day
2 kg equivalent-was eight anna or present day fifty paisa in early fifties of
last century.
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