The sympathetic economist in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to the fore on Thursday at an interaction he had with the families of the farmers who have committed suicide in the past couple of years in Andhra Pradesh.

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At a village in Kurnool district, the prime minister asked questions about these families' monthly expenses, their means of income and the number of earning members.

Time and again, the prime minister asked questions like: "What do you want now?" or "How did you manage after the death in your family?" or "How would you like to go about from here?"

The prime minister was assisted by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, who translated his questions into Telugu, the only language the poor villagers followed.

When Parvathamma, a mother of two, said she does not have money to send her children to school, Dr Singh said they will be put in a hostel and their needs will be taken care of.

"Ab aap ko kya chahiye?" [What do you want now?] was the question asked to the next person.

When Maheswaramma broke down as the prime minister began asking her questions, Dr Singh assured her that her younger son will go to school and the family would soon have a house to live in.

The prime minister asked Sivamma, whose husband committed suicide in 2002, how the  family was getting along and what their source of income was. When told their land has been leased out, he wanted to know how much was that yielding to.
 
"Ab is samay aap ko sab se jyada kis ke jaroorat hai? [What is your most urgent need now?]," he asked.

"A job for my son," Sivamma replied.
 
The economist, who ushered in the first generation of reforms, appeared moved by the plight of a boy and his sister. The boy, who suffered from a disability of vocal chords, and his elder sister Nagamani, an undergraduate, got special attention from the prime minister. He enquired about Nagamani's studies and her brother's treatment.

Most of the victims said they lost their crops due to hail storms, failure of monsoon and lack of power supply to draw
water from borewells.

All families, 51 in all, were given Rs 1.5 lakh each as compensation and the prime minister promised them Rs 50,000 more later.