Manikpur (Barh), May 28: This is the story of an old man and the pond.

It took Kamleshwari Singh all of seven years to dig a pond in his village, 80 km from Patna. He used a trowel to dig , too weak and too old to use a spade. People dismissed him as "demented" and children laughed and called him talabi baba.

But now that the 62-year-old man has actually, and single-handedly, dug the pond, people are streaming into the village to take a look at his handiwork. An impressed sub-divisional magistrate of Barh, Vandana Preyasi, told The Telegraph: "We will soon felicitate him and recommend his name for a state government award."

Public health and engineering minister Prem Kumar said: "I will write to the Patna district magistrate to extend all possible help."

The exploit is being compared with Dasrath Manjhi's feat in Gaya, where he, again single-handedly, had cut through a hill, in the eighties, a road that freed villagers from going round the hill.

Seven years ago, unknown assailants had gunned down Singh's 26-year-old son Siyaram. That was the beginning. Several false cases, claims the old man, were lodged against him, forcing him to sell much of his agricultural land. While the second son went off in search of work to Punjab, the old man was saddled with the two widows and their children left behind by the deceased son.

It was then that the crestfallen Singh woke up one midnight and resolved to "do something". He went to his plot near the house and started digging with the help of a spade. His hands gave up after an hour. But Singh did not. He took up a trowel, a khurpi, used by gardeners, and found himself comfortable with it. Since then, for the last seven years he has been digging virtually non-stop, with breaks for food, sleep etc.

The younger son, Jairam, on a short visit home, proudly declares that his father never fell ill during this time, attributing it to some divine intervention. The old man himself mumbled that he did not expect anything out of his toil. But he feels a sense of satisfaction and exclaimed, "Aaj atma juda gele, beta (My soul is today at peace)."

The 60x60 pond with a depth of 25 ft is "almost ready" though the scorching summer sun has forced the water level to recede to less than five feet. The rain will hopefully recharge the pond and provide a perennial source of irrigation to the village, which is barely 12 km away from the river but does not have even a single irrigation canal to irrigate its land.

The pond, with some 40 trees bearing mangoes, jackfruit, black berries and even teak, has become the favourite haunt of villagers, who are now eager to lend a helping hand. But Singh would have none of it. But enthusiastic villagers cannot be stopped from dispensing free advice.

Watching the old man at work with the trowel, Ramratan Singh says a borewell dug inside the pond will help reduce the villagers' dependence on a "good monsoon".

(Courtesy The Telegraph)