It was now April. The wheat had been harvested and, though the heat was turning cruel, yet along with it, a new phase had begun in the agricultural life of McCluskieganj . All boundaries had been dismantled after assiduously convincing people about its advantages. This was the result of Robin and Neelmani’s brainstorming sessions with the people in the villages around. They introduced the concept of collective farming. Almost fifty acres of arable land was brought under the scheme. Sadhu Oraon of Kwar Patar village could not envisage that such a thing was possible. Others thought that in a place where people fought over a few inches of land, such a scheme would not last too long. It was too good to be true, this concept of a land without boundaries. But the question that was relevant and that needed an answer was: How would the grain be divided?
It took Robin and Neelmani much effort to explain to the villagers that the division of grain would be calculated on the basis of average. The share of one’s produce would be proportional to the area of one’s land. Also, as much as the land, so much would be the investment both in terms of expense as well as labour. That seemed convincing enough. To this system, Robin introduced the concept of power from a windmill to draw groundwater.
Other schemes of development included dairy farming, fisheries, and above all at Kitty’s behest, an apiary for every house. She threw herself heart and soul, along with her son Babloo and Majeed’s son Gibrail, into bee-keeping. Robin personally went to Khalari to meet the manager of the Handloom Centre. The manager assured him that he would make available the boxes for bee-keeping, along with a queen bee for each box to every house in the village at subsidized rates. Now, as a result, neither the bees nor the people in McCluskieganj had any time to rest. They were on their toes all day.
Robin and Neelmani were planning and working on war footing to make McCluskieganj the hub of the ‘Goddess of Agriculture’. In fact, Robin invited experts in agricultural research from Ranchi and Patna and made them conduct workshops on the subject. Although agriculture had undergone a total revolution elsewhere, the methods of farming in McCluskieganj were still those from the Stone Age. The new stress was on organic farming, because in the long run the benefits of this would be manifold. Earthworms were nurtured and reared for vermicomposting.
And then came May. Once more the laburnums and gulmohars covered the village with their colours. Robin and Neelmani decided that McCluskieganj needed to be better lit. As a result, they started exploring avenues for solar lighting. Some solar lighting had been introduced as part of the foundation day scheme by Major William, but much more was required. Meanwhile Duti Bhagat, who dared not visit the village because of the draconian law set by Commander Hembrom of the MCC against him, had been meeting Canteen Majeed ever so often in Ranchi. He would tell him that he was still hot on the trail of Robin McGowan.