All the villagers gathered in the center of the village.
Then I spoke to everyone and said,
"Villagers, I have thought of something.
With this idea, no one in our village will go hungry, and no one will need to leave the village to go elsewhere.
Even in this difficult time, we can feed ourselves and our children, earn money, and also help others."
From the crowd, a voice was heard,
"Pradhan Ji, but how will this be possible?"
Then I said,
"Villagers, as you all know, our village has been affected by floods. All the fields are filled with water from the river.
So I thought that all of us should go there. Whoever finds a suitable place can go and catch fish.
This will serve two purposes: you can cook and eat the fish, and you can also sell some of it to others."
"This is what I have thought," I said.
"Now tell me, do you like this idea or not?
If you have any other solution, please share it, because I have no other option.
If anyone has a better idea, they may speak."
At that moment, an elderly man stood up from the crowd and said,
"Son, you are right. I am with you."
Then I said,
"If anyone has any problem, speak now.
Otherwise, from tomorrow, I will go with some of the village youths to catch fish.
Until this problem of the village is solved, we will have to continue this work."
"And one more thing," I added.
"Those who cannot catch fish can do another job.
They can build wooden boats so that if anyone needs to travel, they can cross the river safely."
Some villagers agreed to this work as well.
Then I said,
"So from tomorrow, everyone should start their assigned work."
---
The next day, all the villagers gathered again. Each person went to do the work assigned to them.
Four or five people went to build wooden boats, and the rest came with me to catch fish.
On the very first day, we caught a lot of fish.
However, the fish were not very big—most of them were small.
By evening, almost everyone had about five kilograms of fish.
All the villagers returned home in the evening with their catch.
Seeing so much fish, the village women were shocked.
They said that such a large quantity of fish in one day meant the river now had plenty of fish.
Thinking that after many days everyone would be able to eat a full meal, I felt very happy.
The villagers brought the fish to the center of the village, and the women began cooking it.
That night, everyone in the village ate a full meal.
Meanwhile, the wooden boats were half completed.
The people building them said the boats would be ready in two days.
---
The next day, we went again to catch fish, but this time we found fewer fish.
Some people caught only one fish.
Even after fishing until evening, the total catch was very small.
When we returned home, the villagers understood by looking at the fish that the catch was poor that day.
Still, the amount was enough to fill everyone's stomach.
Compared to the first day, the catch was much smaller, but it was sufficient.
The village elders said,
"Pradhan Ji, take people to different places to catch fish.
If everyone fishes at the same spot, how will there be enough fish for all?"
I replied,
"You are right, Baba. We will do as you say."
By then, it was very late, and everyone went to their homes to sleep.
---
That night, very heavy rain began to fall, and half of the village was submerged.
Everyone waited for the rain to stop and for morning to arrive.
By morning, the rain had stopped, but the nearby villages on lower land were completely flooded.
Many people drowned and died. Only those who knew how to swim survived.
Our village was on slightly higher ground, so it was not completely submerged.
However, all the villages below us were flooded, and the people there were trapped in great difficulty.
We told the villagers who were building the boats to speed up their work so that we could help others.
That day, we did not go fishing. Instead, we helped complete the boats as quickly as possible.
By evening, four boats were ready.
Before nightfall, everyone reached the riverbank, where we saw a huge fish struggling near the shore.
Everyone caught the fish together and brought it to the village.
At that moment, it felt as if God Himself was helping us.
That day, we did not have to work hard to catch fish—the fish came to us on its own.
"O God, thank you," I said.
"You have shown us great kindness."
After bringing the fish to the village, everyone began preparing it.
Because the fish was very large, the women could not handle it alone, so the elder men of the village stepped forward to help.
They said,
"Today, we men will cook and serve food to the entire village.
You all tell us how the food tastes."
Then everyone began cooking together.
Within an hour, food for the entire village was ready, and everyone sat together and ate the meal.
Everyone lay down and slept peacefully.
But I could not fall asleep. I kept thinking that if it rained again, it would create a very serious problem.
Before that happened, we would need to find another safe place so that the villagers could survive.
While thinking about all this, I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up in the morning, I saw that the villagers were already prepared to help others.
I quickly washed my hands and went out.
We sat in the boats and went far away, but we could not see anyone.
Looking around, it felt as if everything had been washed away, as if the river had taken a terrifying form and swallowed everything.
After reaching there, all we could see was water everywhere.
We searched for people until afternoon, but when we found no one, we returned.
While rowing the boats, we became so tired that we felt extremely hungry.
But there was no ration left in our homes. We were completely dependent on the fish from the river.
On our way back, we caught a few fish. It was not enough to fully satisfy our hunger, but it was enough to get by.