My good friend Hemant Tiwari, a senior journalist, a well-versed communicator and a convincing debater on many TV channels, has written a brief but a very touching post on his Facebook about his recent a whirlwind visit to his Nanihal (maternal home), near Singramau in Jaunpur district. His Nanihal is situated on the banks of river Gomti, so is my own Nanihal, which incidentally is also situated on the banks of river Gomti in Pratapgarh district. Most of us have been inculcated with faith that all perennial rivers are pious and they are like the Ganges and that is the reason that they are revered and worshipped. A famous pilgrimage ‘Dhopap’ is also situated on the banks of Gomti and when I visited this place in my childhood on my way to Nanihal, I was told that 'whosoever has bathed even once in Dhopap his/her all sins are washed away'. As they say that ‘faith can move mountains’, people throng to wash their sins in the sacred river of Gomati at Dhopap. It is an altogether different matter that it has become a highly contaminated river at Lucknow because of the callousness of the people and the administration.
However, what I wanted to say is that only three-paragraph word-sketch by Hemant Tiwari has been so powerful that it has made many like us to be nostalgic about our childhood. I would like to associate with him on the issue of rice-eating (bhaat as we say colloquially). One of my two sisters was married to an area, which is known for rice production and the eldest sister was married to a place which was situated on the riverbank, where rice was considered to be a luxury. My both sisters were eldest among all our siblings. Things have now completely changed as the rice and the wheat is produced in equal measures, thanks to the new varieties of wheat, paddy and the new technology.
Increased production of wheat and paddy has, however, driven away the coarse grains like Sanwa, Kodon and Bajra (all are roughly translated as millets of different types). My mother herself preferred to eat Bhaat of Makka (maize or corn) to rice. I also love to eat these coarse grains in many ways. The crops of these grains have fast disappeared because their yield is much less than those of wheat and paddy. Now, these are sown in a very limited area as they are necessary for certain purposes. Even barley is not sown in our area because of the low yield and lesser remuneration.
Hemant is bang on the head in his description of the scene of Bidai from Nanihal. Every Bhanja, Bhanji, Nati or Natin was entitled to get something from Nani or Mami. It could be from a few Annas to a few rupees some four or five decades ago but they were no less than treasures. A Bhanja or Nati was invariably excused for his mischiefs in Nanihal because nobody could punish him. It was generally believed that 'anybody who beats or slaps his Nati or Bhanja will suffer at the old age as his hands will tremble or shiver. This was one of the reasons that boys were not allowed to live for longer periods in Nanihal because chances of their being undisciplined were more as compared to their father’s house.
This is equally true that most boys used to learn many good lessons from their Nana, Nani, Mama and Mami. These lessons helped to grow in life. Guardians in Nanihal were more concerned about the future and well being of their wards. I have seen umpteen number of people who have done much better in their lives as they lived for more time in their Nanihals.
Technology and the mode of communication and transportation has completely changed life everywhere, be it rural or urban areas. The intensity of relations has also vanished. However, it is always soothing and sweet to remember the old memories. I have requested Hemant to write a regional (aanchlik) novelette on this theme. It may not be very relevant for today, but that will certainly help others to revive the memories and the new generation can learn a lot about the situation that was prevailing some half a century ago particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
No comments:
Post a Comment