To
Success
The New Wonderland
Keep your dream,
Hope & patience alive!
Part-2
Birister Sharma
Dedicated to my loving parents
I surrendered to you O my Lord……
“Om Namah Shivaya!”
6
About thirty-five years ago, this land was called Dharmnagar. The people of this land were happy and prosperous. All the inhabitants of this land were very hardworking and laborious. Nobody remained idle. Each and every body remained busy in their works. They enjoyed in their works. However, with time, everything was changed. The people of this land remained no more hardworking and laborious. They were no more busy in their works. They were no more enjoyed in their works. They started living a life of carefree and idle. They disliked work. They hated to work in their fields. They started abandoning their fertile lands. They wanted to earn their living by easy means. So they began a work like gambling, smuggling, illegal trades and business, selling their cattle and cutting down the valuable trees for money and practiced many unfair means to earn easy money. They spent their time in drinking wine and leisurely. But, how long, then the day was arrived when they didn’t get time to realize anything. Everything was turned into topsy-turvy.
The land of Dharmpur turned into a land of Adharmpur. The soil of Dharmpur turned into barren land. There was no rain and no crops were sown and reaped. The porous and fertile soil turned into hard rock like structure. And gradually the entire area of Dharmpur was converted into a desert and barren land. The weather condition was completely changed. Once all the four seasons were favorable and arrived in time. Then everything was altered, blowing in reversed order. Everything started delaying. The people started moving away by and by and one by one in some other places for foods, shelters and for works.
They started selling their houses and lands in very cheap price at the rate of like vegetables and waste materials. But who would buy their houses and lands. There was no one who would give them good price for their houses and lands. They came to my father to sell their houses and lands. My father was only a rich man in our place at that time. Our forefathers were once ruled the entire region.
“My lord, whatever you pay for our houses and lands, we will accept. Please give us some money,” the villager requested to my father.
“But, why do you want to sell your forefather’s houses and lands?” My father asked the villager.
“We have no other alternative, my lord.”
“Why?”
“You know very well, my lord, our lands are no more useful. There is no possibility to grow any crop in our lands.”
“Who is responsible for these problems?” my father started charging the villager.
The villager remained silent.
“You all are responsible for these problems in our place. If you wouldn’t prefer to live a lavish life and hunger for unfair means, these hard days wouldn’t arrive in our place. If you wouldn’t cut down the valuable trees and clear the entire forest indiscriminately, the weather condition of our place wouldn’t change. These things will never occur in our place.”
“You’re absolutely right, my lord.”
“No, I wouldn’t buy your houses and lands and I can’t pay you anything.”
”I’ll pay you when you stay in this place. Work here like you worked earlier. I’ll help you as much as I can.” My father added.
But the villager didn’t hear any word of my father.
“No, my lord, we can’t live here anymore. We’ve already decided. We’ve no good future here.”
“So, I, too, can’t pay you anything,” my father said harshly. “Sorry, I can’t buy your houses and lands.”
The villager touched my father’s feet. “Please, my lord, don’t do this to us. We beg you. Please, give us something.”
The same drama was occurred in our threshold every day, every month and every year.
And at last my father had to pay something to the villager.
In that way, they sold their houses and lands to my father in very cheap rate. They wanted to flee from Dharampur. At that time I was only twelve years old. I had witnessed everything. I had seen the poor conditions of villagers, their wives and their children. They were dying in hunger. I had seen their helplessness. I had seen their hopelessness. I had seen their tears and sorrows. But I hadn’t seen their desires to work harder as earlier. They wanted to quit before giving their best works. They started blame game to each other. Sometimes they blamed to the environment; sometimes they blamed to the government and sometimes blamed to Almighty. But nobody realized that whatever had happened were their own grave mistakes. They didn’t realize that once they had treated the environment in their own selfish means. At that time they didn’t think about the environment. They didn’t know that the way we treat with something, it also treats in the same way. Tit for tat!
“One day, I will change my place into a land of ‘New Wonderland’.” I thought at that time. And right from that day, I started dreaming to change my land into ‘New Wonderland’.
I was only son of my parents. My father and my mother loved me very much. They wanted to keep me away from all these happenings in our place. So, I was sent in the boarding school in Dehradun. But my young mind was always dreaming about my place and my people. I was dreaming to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. And I started living in my dream every moment of my life. I promised to myself that one day I would fulfill my dream into reality and change my place into ‘New Wonderland’.
I went to my place during school holidays. And whenever I was in my place I started motivating young boys and girls of my age. I motivated them to go to school and to study hard so that when they grow up they would do something for our place.
I tried to show them my dream of ‘New Wonderland’. I also requested whoever elder folks of my place I met to do something for our place. They all seemed very excited and hopeful. But when I returned to my boarding school, their excitements and hopes were faded away and gone like the dust of winds.
After completion of my high school studies, I got admission in Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. I did mechanical engineering there. And then I completed my Mba in Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, the top most business institute in the country in management studies. After completion of Mba, I got the best job offers in foreign countries, yearly earning of million dollar handsome salary. But I turned down all these job offers. I didn’t choose any job, because my mind was still haunting with the same dream to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’.
I was very happy with my decision. My father and mother were fully supported me in my decision. They didn’t object anything.
“You can do whatever you like, beta,” my father said.
“Thank you very much, father,” I hugged my father.
“But, you’ve to do one thing,” my mother said.
“What?” I was little confused the way my mother said.
“Don’t worry, beta,” my father said with a slight smile.
“I want to see my daughter-in-law before you do anything,” my mother disclosed.
“If you’ve anyone, then you can tell us freely, without hesitation,” my father said.
“No, I have no one,” I said.
Then I recalled about my first crush with Sangeeta, my classmate in school days. She was very beautiful. She was very cute. She was the first girl I had ever dreamed to make my lifelong partner in my life. I always used to look her in our class and in the school. I liked her very much. Even I knew that she too liked me. But I had never approached to her and she too never tried. I just smiled and enjoyed. Nobody knew about our secret love.
We smiled with each other like we expressed our tender love whenever we met face to face in our class and in the school. We both never gathered dare to speak with each other. Just only once we spoke with each other on the last day of our school farewell.
She approached to me first. ”Sagar, all the very best for your future,” Sangeeta said.
“Same to you,” I said.
I didn’t expect that she would approach to me like that.
There were huge crowds of students and parents at that time. It was like a dream come true for me. For a moment I was lost. I was in the dreamland where we were two love birds, soaring in the open sky and expressed our feelings. And when I returned to my reality, she was gone. I wanted to call her back. But her friends took her away from me. I only stood there like a standing pole and watching her disappearing silhouette.
Sangeeta waved her hands with her sweet smile. I too waved her back.
After completion of our school we moved on in our different paths of life. And we had never got any contact with each other. Thereafter, I didn’t know anything about her. But still I remembered her beautiful and cute face and her sweet smile.
Still I recalled her sweet last words,” Sagar, all the very best for your future.” And her last waved.
I felt nostalgia for a moment.
“Sagar, where are you lost, beta,” my mother broke my old memories of school days.
“Oh, nothing mother.”
“So, we’re going to look a beautiful daughter-in-law for us,” my mother said.
“As you wish, mother,” I said.
“Look at our son,” my mother said, proudly. “I knew that our son has no affairs like other boys.”
“We’re proud of you, beta,” my father said.
Then my parents started looking a suitable girl for me. And I was busy in my dream to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’.
7
After couple of months my parents chose a girl for me. I was asked to accompany with them to see my future wife.
“Maa, if you’ve already chosen a girl for me,” I said. “It’s useless for me to go and see her again and again.”
Actually I was busy in making planning to fulfill my dream to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. I had somehow convinced some young men and old folks for my dream project. I had asked them to join with me. I, too, had promised them to look after their daily needs. It was like a kind of bribe I had promised to give them in return. Previously, when I approached to them for the same, they were not ready. They turned down my offer right away.
“Beta, at least, you should go and see her,” my father said. “If you don’t like her, then okay. We wouldn’t force you to marry her.”
“We didn’t give the final node,” my mother added. “Choice is yours, beta.”
I agreed.
The next day, I accompanied with my parents and our relatives to see my future wife. I had no mood to see anybody. Actually, I didn’t think about my marriage at that time. But I had to go. I respected my parent’s love and emotions.
On the way, I was not thinking about a girl whom I was going to see, but I was only thinking about my dream to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. I woke up with my dream. I lived with my dream. I slept with my dream. I couldn’t live without my dream. It was the mission of my life to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. Still I recalled what our school principal sir once said to us, “Dear students, if you want to fulfill your dreams into reality, then you’ve to live with your dreams and work harder and harder until and unless you turn your dreams into reality.”
8
When we reached in the house of my future wife, I didn’t know anything. Actually, I was lost in my dream. Then, I was asked to sit along with my future wife.
“Beta, you sit and talk with each other,” my future mother-in-law said.
I couldn’t say anything. I just passed a gentle smile.
I didn’t know how could I see a girl and chose as my future wife.
We were allowed to sit alone. I couldn’t see her face. Actually, I was facing any girl for the first time. I was feeling nervous and shy. I didn’t find any suitable word to initiate the first conversation with her. I decided to see her face and to speak something and break the silence between us.
As I looked at her; she too looked at me at the same time. Our eyes met for the first time. We passed our bashful smiles to each other.
“Hi!” I began.
“Hi!” she replied.
“I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“I’ve seen you somewhere.”
We both smiled and laughed.
“If I’m not wrong, you…….” I couldn’t complete my words.
“Sagar, you!”
“Sangeeta, you!”
We both burst with laughing.
She was the same girl, my first crush, Sangeeta.
Then what, we both talked a lot of stuffs together; shared our school days memories and whereabouts after school. How many hours we had been spending together we had no idea. We had forgotten everything.
Our parents were dumbfounded. They were waiting for us to complete our conversations. They didn’t expect that anything happened like that.
9
After one month, we got married. It was our crush cum arranged marriage. I was happy that I found my first crush as my lifelong partner. I felt very lucky. My dream was fulfilled.
But still I had to do a lot of work to fulfill my dream to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. I told Sangeeta about my dream.
“I’ll always with you, Sagar,” Sangeeta said. She was ready to support me. She was happily joined with me.
“Thanks!” I was very glad that my wife was with me. She was my great inspiration.
My parents suggested me to go for a honeymoon in some beautiful place after marriage.
“No father, no mother, I can’t go anywhere,” I turned down. “I’ve to do a lot of works.”
“Beta, try to think about Sangeeta,” my mother said.
The next day, I asked Sangeeta, “Do you wish to go for our honeymoon.”
“It’s up to you,” Sangeeta said. She left her decision on me.
I had seen a sight of wish on her face. But she didn’t express anything. I knew that every newly wedded bride wish to go for honeymoon in some exotic place to spend the first few days of her married life.
Finally I decided to fulfill her wish.
I took Sangeeta in our old home place in Dehradun for our honeymoon. She was very happy and excited. We went in our old school and brought alive our first crush and our old sweet memories. We spent three days there, and then we flew to Switzerland.
After fifteen days spending honeymoon abroad, we returned home. But wherever I went and wherever I stayed I kept my dream alive with me.
Then I was fully prepared to fulfill my dream into reality. I decided to research thoroughly about my place. I tried to find out the root cause of poor condition of our people. Why they tried to leave this place and wanted to settle in some other places. After thorough research and examination I had found that maximum people of my place failed to fulfill back and belly of their children and families. That was the main reason, they wanted to leave. There were only fifty odd families were living in our place. Once there were more than two hundred families living happily and prosperously in our place.
There were no more occupations on their hands. The lands which were once grow with golden crops, now hungry for rains and manures. The wells were dried up. The ponds were dried up. There was no water in the river. There was no water in the canals. There were no grasses, no plants and no trees. There was complete spreading of drought everywhere. People were dying. Animals and birds were dying. There was nothing left in the hands of people.
Once, our place was flooded with cattle and other domestic animals. There were floods of cow milks, goat milks and buffalo milks. Milk and milk products were exported in different parts from our place. But, now there were no sights of cows, goats and buffaloes. And there was no sight of milk. It was too difficult to get a cup of tea with milk. Nothing was left in my place. Everything was remained like old anecdotes.
There was no helped and no fund from the government. No government officials ever arrived in our place. And the politicians were showing their special appearances during election time in order to ask for votes. All were busy in making their chairs and positions intact.
I researched again and again, and tried to find out the solution. It is well said that if you try on anything again and again, you’ll get your success at the end. With that old saying, I decided to affirm my mission to change my place into ‘New Wonderland’. I kept motivating myself and my people. I took full responsibility to encourage the people of my place to come forward and support me in my dream project and work for the development of our place.
I called a meeting in our place to solve the problem of drought and to give the insights of my dream project. Sangeeta and I went in every house to call and requested them to attain in the meeting. But in the meeting only thirty people gathered including our family members, my mother, my father, my wife and I.
But I was happy that at least these thirty odd people showed interest on my dream project. I gave the name of my dream project, ‘New Wonderland’.
Then, gradually, all the people of my place showed keen interest on my dream project, ‘New Wonderland’. But before that many of them started scandalous gossips that there must be something fishy in his mind. He wanted to exploit us for his own benefit. He was trying to make huge profit after completion of this project. And we wouldn’t get anything. Not a single penny. So don’t support him.
It was a huge challenge for me to convince them and bring them in my confidence.
I told them all my plans and strategy. I clarified their doubts and questions. I told them all the benefits of my dream project. It took many days to convince them. Then slowly and slowly, day by day, they started understanding everything. And finally, they were ready to support me. They gave me their assurance.
I told them that our most important thing was to find out the source of water. I told them that we couldn’t relay only on Monsoon showers. Once we find out the source of water, we would solve all our problems. I asked them not to use water unnecessarily. I asked them to stop the wastage of water. I asked them to recycle the used water into different ways. I asked them to make a kitchen garden so that the used water would flow down there and irrigate the planted vegetables.
I told them about water harvesting methods. I taught them how to make the useful means of water harvesting. I asked them to build a water tank and connected the roof of the house with a pipe, so that whatever rain water would fall, it would be stored in the water tank directly.
In every place I asked the people to dig wells and small ponds so that when the rain comes down, the wells and small ponds would store some water. They all did the way I asked them to do. Then we waited for the rainy season.
In the mean time, I made more research on soil. I tried to find out which crop would be best suited for the soil having less water. I went to contact with the agriculture scientists in New Delhi and Mumbai. The agriculture scientists were suggested me to test the soil of our place.
I hired one of the soil experts from the Soil Testing Institute to test the soil of our place. He examined the soil of our place thoroughly. Then he concluded that there was no chance. The health of the soil of our place was already damaged. He informed me that due to continuous dryness; the soil of our place had lost its natural adaptability of manure and moisture. It was impossible to improve its condition.
But I was not got dishearten. I decided to prove the soil expert wrong with my hard work and determination. I had full faith. I had to fulfill my dream into reality.
I did more research on soil and how to improve its condition. I recalled the lesson in our school science book that we can make natural manures in our own houses. For that we should use our household garbage. My mind hit like the million dollar idea.
I started that experiment in my own house. It is like charity begins at home. I asked my men to dig a big tank. Then I asked them to collect all the garbage of each household of our place. My men did as I asked them to do. I went to collect earthworms for my experiment in agriculture department. But they had none. I had visited many places to collect earthworm. It was like finding the Treasure Island. After visiting many places, at last, I got ten earthworms for my experiment. When I got those ten earthworms, I felt like I got ten million dollars buck for my life.
I said to myself, “I will change my place with these ten earthworms.”
I put all the ten earthworms inside the tank of garbage and sprinkle some water in it and cover with a big tin lid. It was like a Goose is hatching golden eggs for me.
After two weeks, when I opened the lid of the tank, I was jumped with joy. All the garbage was turned into black natural manures. It was the first achievement of my life. And I, too, had seen, there were many tiny offspring of earthworms. It was more delightful moment for me.
I called the people of my dream project. They too delighted to see the first success. I asked them to dig more tanks in our place and asked them to follow the same method. I personally monitored everything.
After one month every household started making natural manure in their respective houses.
Then I started a community crop field for all where everybody could contribute their own work. I kept on researching again and again on crops, soil and water of our place.
Sangeeta suggested me to start with vegetables and flowers rather than growing crops. Because crops require a lot water. I called for a meeting to take the final node. The people of my place were ready to follow whatever I suggest them.
I asked them to plough in our community field. They did as I asked them to do. After a month our community field was ready to grow vegetables and flowers with our own natural manures. But there was one hurdle; we need water to sprinkle in the vegetables and flowers.
I took few days to research once again to solve the problem of water. There was no hope of rain at that moment of time. Wells, ponds and canals were already dug out, but there were no sight of water. Even I tried to apply different methods to get water. So I hired a man and asked him to install boring pipes inside the earth. But nothing worked. The water table of our land was completely dried up. We had no other alternative rather than waiting for the rain god to come down and bless us with the shower of rain in our land.
I took some people of my dream project along with me to look any source of water some distant from our place. Before that my father and one of the elderly men told me, that there was once the Dry River existed near our place. The Dry River was actually not a dry river. It is a Perennial River. People named it Dry River because sometimes it dried up even in rainy season and it re-appeared in dry season. It was a big mystery. Nobody ever solved its mystery. It was now extinct. There was no trash of Dry River. It was believed that the place of Dry River was now cursed. And nobody went there.
I went to search the Dry River with my men, but there were no trashes of anything. The whole day I was looking to get any trashes of Dry River alone with my men. But there was only dry sand and nothing else. I looked everything if I would find any clue. But I didn’t find anything. I only saw two standing rocky hills in-between the Dry River.
10
We returned home before the sunset. The people of my dream project were looked very worried and dejected.
When I saw their crestfallen faces, I motivated them, “Don’t worry, guys. I’ll find some other solution very soon.” I assured them.
“Don’t lose your hearts and hopes. You’ll see, one day, we would achieve our goal.” I encouraged them. “Just keep your patience and work with me.”
“Do you believe me or not?”
“Yes, we believe you, Sagar Babu…..But…if…”
“What But? What If?” I cut short.
There was complete silence.
“Never bring ‘But’ and ‘If’ in your mind when you’re doing something in your life. These two words sprout the seeds of doubt in your mind. And when your mind will fill with doubts, you’ll never do anything in your life. These two words are the words of weak hearts and cowards. Erase ‘But’ and ‘If’ from your mind.”
“Okay, Sagar Babu.”
“Yes, that’s the spirit!”
Continue…..
