The Drought WithinThis story is about a farmer who commits suicide in a small village on the Maharashtra-Telangana border in India and the rehabilitation efforts carried out by two young enthusiastsa doctor called Pawan and an engineer called Mukeshalong with Padmayya, a farmer. The story opens with an old hard-working farmer called Venkatayya, who otherwise is a highly positive-thinking man, but he is driven into depression by the acts of his son and daughter-in-law, debts, and circumstances of a severe drought. As the story moves on to future, a troika of friends is gathered by destiny for a purpose. One of them is the grandson of Venkatayya. They find a godfather in the form of a retired military man named Captain Vijaysingh, who is a courageous, determined old man and who had lost his one arm while fighting terrorists on the border; also he has dedicated his entire life singly to rehabilitate this idle village. This troika and their guiding godfather fight against all odds and live up to their conscience and willpower; they propose to build a huge water reservoir in the barren land to overcome drought. They also plan an orphanage because huge suicide rates and liquor deaths have rendered many kids homeless in their village. Moreover, Padmayyas father too had died of liquor sold by the local liquor shop owner and the moneylender, Seth Karodimal, an heirless, stingy miser who owns the barren and much-needed land for building the reservoir. Seth Karodimal has no friends in this village; liquor and money are his only friends. The village sarpanch is a helpful man acting as a liaison to their needs. The troika constantly meets at a highway dhaba run by Javedbhai, who later becomes the chief cook of the orphanage. How they solve problems by themselves, how they change negativity in thinking minds into positivity and productivity, how they inspire one another from dystopia to utopia, and how they successfully take the village into a prosperous future form the rest of the story. This is a story about what can be done in extreme situations rather than what has happened or is happening. This story of human guilt, human bonds, human nature and its desires, and the power of positive thinking will keep the readers tied up with feelings of optimism and hope. |
Contents
More Orphans and Disease | |
Evermounting Miseries | |
Road Map for Dreams | |
Padmayya Decides | |
Karodimals Penance | |
Restoring the School | |
Rains bring Green rewards | |
A New Beginning | |
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Common terms and phrases
acres Aithal angry Anyway asked Padmayya Banyan beautiful Bhujias canal chair committed suicide cycle dhoti didn’t doctor drought eyes face farm farmer father friends front funds godfather Gopu Gulab Jamun hands happily happy heart Hindi hope Indian Javed Javed’s dhaba Kalakand Karodimal’s house King’s English School lakhs land living Maharashtra Mallayya mind Moreover morning mother never night nodded o’clock orphanage orphans Paaji Padmayya and Pawan Padmayya looked Padmayya sat Padmayya’s house pakoras Patil Pawan and Mukesh poha Praveen principal Punjabi rains Ruskin Bond Saab Sarpanch seemed Seth Karodimal Sethji Shankarayya Shloka simply sitting smiled sofa stared started Sumati sure Suvarnamandal talk tank teapoy Telangana thing tonga town tree trying turned Venkatayya Vijay chacha Vijaysinghji village walked wasn’t watchman water reservoir wife worry would’ve wouldn’t yesterday