All along the flooded banks of the river, village farmers measured the waters and watched, waiting for their retreat.

My comfortable room, decorated with Indonesian fabrics and local hardwoods, had a balcony that looked out over the small plot of a village farmer.

The money will help poor village farmers, agricultural associations and self-help projects in applying better techniques to get the most produce from the land.

The village farmers no longer had to use scythes or sickles to bring the crops in, working from dawn until dusk.

Over 500 acres of farm land was bought from Gavali village farmers by one person.

But the activist left is unlikely to get what it wants: an Arcadia of prosperous village farmers living in harmony with the land.

Every Monday there is big cattle fair(angadi)in which village farmers come to purchase and sell cattle.

Unlike the village farmers, the few educated people - an engineer, a veterinarian - had been chased away by the Taliban, he said.

His humble origins as a village farmer inspired support among rural voters, who made up over four-fifths of the population.

The village farmers have made their own image on the basis of their hard work.