Meet Taslima, Mulugu Sub-Registrar, who works as farm labourer on weekends

MULUGU: Taslima Mohammed, Sub-Registrar for Mulugu and Bhupalapally districts is beginning to hog the limelight, not just for her professional work, but more for redefining holidaying with a silent revolution. Come Sunday, she would shun her status as the most influential registration official in the region and, to everyone’s dismay, don the avatar of a farm-labourer.

And February 26, 2023, was no exception as she was seen toiling hard in a chilly growing farm in Rayinigudem of Mulugu mandal. There were no airs of an administrative boss and the invisible barriers of inaccessibility. She jumped into the agricultural field and quickly mingled with other daily-wage earners, so much so that it became hard for the onlookers to see her apart from the rest.

As people would say, it has been her latest passion to spend her weekends out in the fields along with other daily wage labourers. This time, she chose the red chilly farm owned by Cherukula Srilatha and Sambaiah in Rayinigudem. Starting the hard routine early in the morning around the same time as other women workers, she plucked fully grown red chillies from the plants until it was lunch-time.

And there was no special spread of food items brought from home. She joined the other women and partook the same food shared with her by the other labourers. After a bit of rest, the farm work resumed as usual post lunch, under the scorching Sun. The day finally ended with Taslima Mohammed pocketing a hard-earned Rs 250 in the form of the daily wage. An immensely happy Taslima added some more money and distributed the amount among the women workers who helped her pick the ropes during the day in the arduous farm work.

One is not sure what kindled this awakening in her but people in a few villages of Mulugu have already seen the brighter side of it. And its positively contagious effect is clearly rubbing off on others too. Inspired by Taslima’s frequent farm trips to show solidarity with the daily-wage earners, Neelamma, a junior colleague of the sub-registrar, has also joined the field work to do her bit on Sunday.

Even as Neelamma and the women farm workers were elated and showered praises on Taslima for her unique gesture, the sub-registrar was at her modest best while staying rooted to the ground. She said that her decision to work in the agricultural fields was only aimed at showcasing the hardships of the daily-wage earning labourers. It was also meant to spread the message that agriculture is the lifeline for the society and how farmers, as those selflessly feeding the country, are the backbone to it, she quipped.