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The beneficiaries of the project, who used to beg on the streets of Gangte village, about 12km from Birbhum’s Suri, will now have earnings from selling the produce of the farm.
As day breaks in the village, the men and women can be seen ploughing the land, sowing seeds and adding water to grow pumpkin, gourd, eggplant, ladies finger, spinach and other vegetables on the piece of land that the three friends have bought to start the farm.
Having grown up in the village, basic farming is not new to the group.
They began work in April and have already started getting the yield, with which they now cook their own meals.
In 1927, Oscar Hammerstein II had penned Ol’ Man River. Set to tune by Jerome Kern and sung by Paul Robeson, the song became a milestone. Later, it inspired Bhupen Hazarika to write a song on another mighty river.
“
Bistirno du parer, ashonkho manusher hahakar shuneo, nishobde nirobe O Ganga tumi, Ganga boicho keno (On your sprawling banks you hear the cries of countless people, still O Ganga, why do you flow),” Hazarika wrote.
The song, which spoke about the pains, thoughts, lives and aspirations of people dwelling on the banks of the Ganga, still resonate in Malda and Murshidabad located on the left and right banks of the river.