“It’s been a month since all the sufferings of India were finally over, it was our victory as well as our loss, but all we have to do now is to put our country back on track. We all shall…” continued the big back television. Watching the whole situation was a young yet quite experienced pale black-haired man, Shobit. All his concentration was on the television, worried about the coming days, he could of course not look into the future, but was hoping for the best. “Water? Sir?” said another voice, Shobit quickly at the side from where the voice came. He looked at the man with a slight smile and replied,” Yeah sure, Rehaan…Oh! Before I forget, have the files about the town recovery analysis report reached us?”. “Yes, they just reached us, I will bring them right away,” said the latter.
For the rest of two hours, there was complete silence in that room, just the ‘flutter’ of the pages turning could be heard. After reading the whole analysis report, he could not help but smile at the rapid progress of the area, he then again called Rehaan for some files about some other economic sectors that were missing, “Some reports have not reached me, please look into it, especially the agriculture department-”. He was suddenly cut off due to the sound coming from the entrance of the building, loud sobs could also be heard. Both of them rushed down to see what was happening and to their surprise, it was a group of farmers who were not the only ones who seek agriculture as a means of livelihood but had also come on behalf of all the other farmers. “You cannot go inside! Sir will leave any minute!” said the guard in a stern voice. They requested “Please let us meet saabji, as it is important for the lives of hundreds if not thousands, and we must address the problem to him as soon as possible”. Looking at the instance from a distance, Shobit allowed the farmers to come inside as the only work he is supposed to do is serve the people of the nation. He settled all of them and tried to calm them down. After a few minutes, the farmers started to state their problem, which was nothing, but a side effect of the war. The soil fertility had declined due to the residues left from the bomb explosions and even after removing the visible black layer, nothing was going the way they wanted.
Assessing the situation, Shobit became worried and the first thing that hit his mind was to find out about the condition of the soil. As expected the soil was declared unsuitable for agriculture and the most disappointing thing was that it was also analyzed that the land is most likely to not regain its fertility in the next few years. It was heart-wrenching news for the farmers as they had families to feed and as they had been farming throughout their lives, they did not know other occupations. Being himself from a family of farmers, Shobit could feel the pain of the farmers. He knew he had to help them not just for the sake of his job but for the sake of humanity. He wrote a letter to the higher authorities about the situation, but as the days went by no response came. They could not afford to be patiently waiting for a response regarding help. The leftover supplies of food grains also could not sustain the families any longer, quick actions had to be taken.
The first and the foremost need of the hour was the food which was not easy to obtain at this time of crisis, the prices rose rapidly and their quality was also poor. Shobit initially did try to use his salary to feed the families, but it was unrealistic for a person to feed hundreds of empty stomachs with a comparatively meager income. Other families of the locality were asked to help but the war had affected everyone and no one was in a state to help another. But, the farmers had unwavering faith in god because of which a new help came along their way. A temple nearby had received huge amounts of donations during the war as all wanted the war to perish. The priests saw the number of Famers coming to the temple every day and got to know about their situations just by looking deep into their eyes, all they saw was grief, but still, a ray of hope, a hope to be able to feed their family, a hope to see their lands covered with green sheets, a hope be able to live a better life. Priests were determined to at least make sure that none of them sleep hungry at night.
As the first step was solved, the next was to help the farmers do something out of the unfertile land as they could not be helped forever. Some part of the land was used as cowsheds and a small business milk trade was set up. But, this would probably not be a sustainable option as fodders were required to feed the animals. The solution to all their problems was only one and that was to regain soil fertility. Shobit with others decided to restore the fertility of the soil, even though it was against the odds. The first goal was to remove the upper layers of soil later and try to make the newly exposed layer fertile. Naturally made manure was used as the artificial fertilizers and other chemicals were not affordable. The process continued for a month, and the farmers decided to grow some seasonal crops, but nothing grew, all their hopes vanished. It was a few days later that they received a letter back from the higher authorities and to their surprise got some aid in the form of fertilizers, pesticides, food, and much more. A new enthusiasm was seen in the farmers and they wisely used these resources. Another month went by, Shobit was in his office when suddenly a farmer reached him with excitement,” They grew! They grew! Our crops grew!”. Shobit gave him a genuine smile and tears could be in his eyes. Farmers thanked him, but all he did was thanked the ones who helped him during this journey, the god who gave them another chance and new hope.
