Every grain of rice costs someone a drop of sweat. During my time in Hampi, I could witness the process of transplanting: First, rice seeds are being planted in a field. After these seeds have pre-germinated, they are being transferred onto a wet acre. Men are wrapping the pre-germinated seedlings in bundles, throwing them onto the wet-fields where women, of all ages, are taking over the next step. Bended forward, they spend all day in the flooded fields, executing a never-ending hand movement of grabbing a seedling and planting it quickly but gently into the muddy ground - one seedling at a time. From his small plateau, a stone in the middle of his fields, the plantation's owner is carefully observing the process. Hampi, Karnataka, 2020
