No Cash, No UPI, Just Grain! Villagers Keep Centuries-Old Barter System Alive In MP’s Bhikangaon

Bhikangaon (Madhya Pradesh): In an era dominated by cash transactions and digital payments, an unusual economic practice continues to thrive in parts of the Nimar region, where agricultural produce still serves as currency.

For generations, villagers have exchanged grain for earthen lamps, festival offerings and even services, preserving a traditional system built on mutual trust rather than monetary transactions. Known as the Bhata and Adav traditions, this practice operates without fixed prices or written agreements.

During Diwali, potters deliver earthen lamps to households and receive grain from farmers in return. During the Gangaur festival, members of the Kahar community distribute traditional puffed grain ('Dhani') and receive agricultural produce.

Under the 'Adav' system, members of the barber community receive grain on 'Akhateej' for services provided to families throughout the year.

In Kedwa village of Bhikangaon tehsil, 60-year-old Tulsiram Prajapat and his wife Asha Bai continue to uphold their ancestral pottery business. This year, they supplied nearly 20,000 earthen lamps to Kedwa, Dhakbedi, Sangvi and neighbouring villages.

Several families continue to pay for the lamps in grain rather than cash. Farmers Sardar More and Ramchandra Arne said the quantity depends on individual capacity and agricultural yield.

Champalal Verma said the Kahar community maintains this traditional exchange with farming families during Gangaur. Similarly, Chandu Sen explained that barbers provide haircuts, shaving and other services throughout the year and receive grain after the harvest on Akhateej.

Although modern markets and cash transactions have gradually reduced these practices, their continued existence reflects a remarkable rural economic system in which trust, agricultural produce and longstanding social relationships remain central to everyday exchanges.