the others avoided coming, citing one reason or the other. However, Joshi managed to keep his mind free from any bitterness. He wrote, ‘What have I really done to earn their trust? Their lack of enthusiasm is quite understandable. As work progresses their confidence will grow. I kept convincing myself by such arguments. I was sustaining my own faith just like the missionaries of the eighteenth century!’ The land was on mountain slope and therefore it was necessary to build proper bunds separating different plots and for preventing water from rolling off. None of these eleven farmers had money for that. Again Joshi met the government officials. By now they all had heard about his selfless initiative. They had also heard about his past in the United Nations Organization and were inspired to play their part. They said, ‘We shall supply all the material under some government scheme. You will not have to worry about that. But we have one condition. The manual labour must be contributed by these farmers.’ What they said was quite generous and fair. Joshi readily agreed. He returned to Davadi and gathered all eleven members. Putting across his proposal, he said, ‘For three full days we all shall go and stay on the land. We shall not leave till the work of building bunds is completed. Let at least two persons from each household come. That way we would cross our initial hurdle. Moreover, as a special incentive, those who are present will also be paid their daily wage at the prevailing rate. But those who don’t turn up will have to pay a penalty.’ It was a typical “carrot and stick” principle and everyone agreed. On the scheduled day, Joshi left his Pune home very early in the morning and reached Davadi village. Not a soul was present! After sending messages and waiting for couple of hours, nine persons from four families gathered. Joshi put them all in his 84
Q
Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
