When India was still under a strict coronavirus lockdown, I traveled to my home state Punjab. I went to see my parents, but what I saw instead was deeply disturbing https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/world/asia/india-coronavirus-farmer-suicides-lockdown.html Follow this thread to know more, or immerse yourself in the piece below.

At first glance, Punjab's lush green fields will have you believe that all's going well. It's not.

I met and spoke with more than a dozen farmers, and most of them had horrifying tales. This boy’s father killed himself by putting his head onto a railway track when the lockdown got extended a third time https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/world/asia/india-coronavirus-farmer-suicides-lockdown.html

In Punjab, and much of rural India, farmer suicides are a long running tragedy. But experts say the pandemic (and the government’s handling of it) has now multiplied suffering many folds https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/world/asia/india-coronavirus-farmer-suicides-lockdown.html

This man, Leela Singh, hung himself from a neem tree (Indian lilac) in his own rice farm because he felt he couldn’t save it anymore. They were already knee deep in debt.

Scarred by death and misery, a young generation of Punjabis is looking to leave rural life behind. Read along, I promise this one is worth your time https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/world/asia/india-coronavirus-farmer-suicides-lockdown.html Expert edits and mentoring by @photojournalism, @gettleman, @laurettaland and @adriennecarter.