Bhusawal
I don’t remember the exact year but that summer I happened to
be in Bhusawal a town in Khandesh . I went there for 2 consequtive summer vacations during my school days. This
was the place where my Phoophi ie Atya in marathi stayed..That is my fathers
only sister.She was very vary fair and had moles like the Europeans .She had a great sense of
humor but would get melancholic at time may be due to
the fact that she was very sensitive towards her brothers
and missed their company being married off at a very young age. Her husband my
phoopha was a very robust man ,with a heavily built chest and very sharp nose and
intense eyes.They stayed at the Mandpes Bunglow in Vakil Ali ie the Lawyers
lane. I remember the Mandpes as very
rich and owned many rooms and had my uncle as their tenant. They had beautiful
daughters and I would get a glimpse very occasionally .In fact my own cousin
sisters were beautiful too but the Mandpe girls were smart s well. The entire
lane was quiet and there never used to be much traffic it was towards the Tapti
river occasionally on a quiet winter night we could hear the roaring waters of
Tapi as it was also known river.
Tapi
The road to Tapi was around two kilometers lined by rich
trees which were thick and with gigantic foliages .They were mahogany,deodars
and peepul and may be the Vat trees. In one cul de sac on the left but just as the road
commenced there were rich lavender
boughs where fragrance used too spread
around the bushes. I admired that spot intensly being a city bred lad far from
such rustic delights.Even at that age I would sense a keen desire of love deep
within me ,such was the enchanting effects of natural fragrance . The water in
tapi used to dry up in summer and only a small stream used be running which
with every passing year became narrower I guess. But the ghat was deep and
rocky and very scenic. A small crematorium was perched at one end and that
would really scare us school children..
Walking to Tapi was fun as there was hardly any traffic and
many people walked up to the river in evenings enjoying the shade and the joy
of walking without being interrupted by vehicles which were few and there were
more bullock carts and cycle rickshaws than autos. We sang and danced on way
while running helter skelter without a reprimand. My phoopha was a man of taste,he
wore Dhotar ie Dhoti and white shirt and hard black Gandhi topi or cap .He was
a clerk in Railways and Bhusawal was a great junction on the may be GIP .
Railway Yard
I had two cousin sisters but no cousin brother , so phoopha had a dark lad whom he loved and
cared as his son .He was Bandya Puntambekar.He was not very bright but did all
work at home although he stayed two lanes away. My uncle had given him a job in
the railways and had obliged him. His job was to shunt the engines in the
railway yard. I enjoyed his company as he was a very jovial person and loved us
as children. And another reason for
liking Bandya is because he took me one fine day to his Railway yard .We
mounted onto the gigantic engine .He was executing a job while I was
experiencing a unique event in my life. The engine was huge and Bandya was
dressed in Boiler suit. There were a few indicator instrument on the panel .It was a coal engine
the heat was intense ,unbearable but enthusing. He had a spade like that of the
miners and on the back side was a mini coal depot inside the engine .He would
open the hood , the chute as I would get
a glimpse of the terrible golden fire
that raged inside the engine .With a swift move bandya would haul a spade full
of coal and with a quick swift movement
pelt all the coal inside the engine.Occassionally he would pull the rope of the
whistle as deadly steam rushed out making terrible shrill sound. He would take
the engine up and down till it came on the right track from the yard. This was
called shunting but it was stunning .
This got etched on my memory as a exciting experience, which I narrated to by
other friends and earned adventure credits for that. At the end of around an
hour and half we climbed down all steeped in charcoal like the chimney sweep of
Sir Walter Scott as I later appreciated through in my English text looking all
victorious as if a great mutiny
was won by me in the railway yard that day!!Bandya thanks a lot for the favors.
These awesome caves were there for centuries till a British
Army officer discovered them.somewhere in the 1819 by Major John Smith On my
first visit to Bhusawal around 10-12 people from our and cousins family got
together and planned a trip to ajantha Caves.We boarded an ST bus with all
provisions and got down after a 8 hours Journey to Ajantha Caves.This was about
45 years back and there were very selected crowds at the caves.I remember we
were perched on a hill opposite the caves quite likely from where they were
discovered.This hill is in Taluka Sillod and a river named Vaghur flows
inbetween the two hills the one opposite is called pimpaldari .The moment we
landed we searched for the right spot and the ladies got down to their
job.Water was collected from the springs and fresh vegetables were cooked on
firewood.That was fun.No ready made snacks or cold drinks.Then we went down to
admire the caves ,one by one they opened up their rich cultural heritage as
children we just went on wondering how they were dug up without caving in.The human
forms were attractive and stylish .The inscriptions added enigma to it.The
sculptures of Buddha and the cave paintings were astoundly proportionate I had admired .There were
foreigners as usual but we were carried away with these ancient and beautiful
carvings.We thought that we were priviledged lot.To be able to witness a world
heritage site in those humble days fired our imaginations and gave impetus to
our mundane life .Yes now we had some thing to tell to others.Something that
filled us with pride about the history,the sculpture,The Buddha and the Trimurti,I
visited Ajantha again for 2nd time but every time I felt myself to
be a part of that rich monumental masterpieces.There are many caves all along
the cut and chiseled rock mountain sourrounded by dense vegetations,Ajantha
with some of the exclusive pieces such as the laughing Buddha ,the
PadmaPani,The sleeping Buddha and the Ling of Shiva and the Chaitya and arches
,the frescoes all had deep impact on my childish mind. In retrospect I feel
that true educaton is done outside the class room like they told us in the
books about Shantiniketan.We were extremely tired fro the excursion and
traveled in the Bus throughout the night to reach Bhusawal in the wee little
hours next day feeling great and accomplished.My respect for Buddism had
doubled and so for my parents and my Phoophi and Phoopha.
Manna Dey
It so happened that in those days during the vacations a
open air concert was held on somewhere in the outskirts of Bhusawal.So my cousin sisters and my own
sister decided to attend it with help of Bandya.We all travelled on foot across
the bye lanes and then cross country till ve came at the site,there were
lighting arrangements ,mike system and a podium set up for the event.We had
taken some sheet mats with us and snacks and food stuff.At around 9 pm the mike
came alive and the voice came loud and clear .It was a familiar voice and then
I was told after much asking that it was manna Dey alive..Now as a school boy
this all seemed to me a very enjoyable happening, for as we walked to the site
I had spotted all those thousands of stars on a clear night in a far away
place.This star studded sky an enigma got the better of me and the songs
entertained and delighted.Manna da was at his best although not as popular as
Rafi he sang songs that were great hits like Sur na saje,Aiye meri johara
zabi,pooch na kaise maine and laga Chunari me daag which was the crowining
glory.Manna at that time was 15 years into his professional career which started in 1942 .He turned 90
years last year on May 1st.Manna had a rich classical repertoire but
also was adept at romantic ones like pyar hua ekrar hua ,Aja sanam,masti bhara
hai sama .he sang one after other enthralling tahe audience which were in all
age groups and all communities.I was a witness to this unique experiment many
many years ago in entertainment and national integration during the pre
television era.Aman ali Khan and abdur Rehman Khan were his gurus and Manna was
very versatile artist who could render rustic songs like those of Kishor da and
classical of bhimsen joshi .I now believe that these experience go a long way
in consolidating your interests in art ,poetry and music and in making you a
appreciator or in Indian cultural context the Rasik or one who can develop the
exotic rasa or essences inside his systems.Naushad had to take back his
impression of mannada as a dry and drab singer when he rendered the song
poochon na kaise maine.We returned some where near midnight back walking
through fields with a very heavy eyelids hitting the bed and entering into the
realm of sleep after a dream that was lived that night.
Charity
Charity they say begins at home I never knew what this
meant,but judge this .At that time we were staying at parel tank road in ambekar Nagar a typically marathi
colony of around 12 buildings.We stayed in building C on 3rd floor
in flat no 15 .In flat no 16 was a young man ,his name was Tatya
kalokhe.Now Tatya was his petname actual
name was suryakant.he was tall fair and lanky just like his father,he was an
ikon of youth especially because he had two feathers in his cap one he was a
sailor on a ship in merchant navy and was seeing the world and second he had a
Honda bike in those days.Tatya was a goan and they spoke typical and neat
Konkani at home .Had just returned from a voyage from Europe and had brought
with him a huge stock of pencils and blotting paper both these were actually
advertisements and campaign for some soups in Europe.Tatya downloaded all that
stuff to me .He was also admired as he had got for him a tape recorder unknown
in those days and had experimented with it. He asked me to sing a song .Now I
distinctly remember that I could not do off hand, so he convinced me a school boy
to prepare on for the tape. So I took it seriously and rehearsed ‘Pearly Shells
‘again and again. Imagine the height of my excitement when I recited it
flawlessly into the contraption and could hear that when it played back at us.
Now I took all that consignment of Pencils, erasers and blotting papers to
Bhusawal as it was a gift I could not part with at any cost. My cousin sister
when she discovered that I had this booty with me demanded a share and when I
refused we were at fisticuffs. Later I was convinced that as an elder I was
expected to part with some so I did although reluctantly. Even then I had a
handsome stock. Now the lane on which we stayed opened up on the main street it
was only a furlong away from our house. There was a talkies called Vasant
Talkies and opposite this was a open land on which perched around 3 roofed
structures in which was housed the public school. I discovered this when I
ventured to survey what was around the house. They had not started with the
vacations. I would peep inside the class room to understand what they were
being taught out of curiosity. In the recess they clambered all on the ground
running helter skelter. Some came up to me and asked me who I was as I looked a
bit different from the city. They were simple unkempt and walked bare foot. I
showed them the pencils and they looked at me admiringly. Now I felt rich and privileged
.What was I going to do with all the pencils I thought as I had ample of them
at home too. So I gifted them one pencil to each and as many I had .Somewhere I
felt that they be supported with the pencils, in their studies. Others were
given the erasers. On my return I was severely reprimanded for the uncalled for
generosity. I agreed more when I had no pencils left for me.
Vasant Talkies
It was a movie theatre situated from a stone’s throw from
our house. It showed black and white movies .the ticket used to be 4 annas.I
think I saw one or two movies there perhaps with my sisters, but do not
recollect the details. The publicity of those movies used to be done with the
help of a handcart on which posters used to be displayed and hand bills about
the timings and ticket denominations with details of star cast used to be distributed.
I would collect many hand bills as against my cousin sister and then tease her
till she cried and made a big hullabaloo. Then I was reprimanded and made to
part with some of the handbills.
Bharit Party
This was a winter feature in this region.One fine morning we
would take a transport and arrive on the fields of some known farmer.There stoves
would be lighted and fresh Bharit made with Bhakries of Jowar which were thick
roasted Chappatis of Jowar or Bajra.Bharit is a spicy vegetable dish created
out of one or two large brinjals which were roasted on cinders and then mashed
and cooked in oil ,onions ,fresh chillies and coriander.This was eaten with
chilli chutney and hot Bhakaris.The aroma of the cusine would fill the fresh
air.Then after having a sumptuous meal
we would return back not without consuming cold water from the nearby stream of
well.
Another attraction was Hurda Party where we would go to the
fields and eat fresh green corn from the maize plants swerving in the strong
breeze as we would watch the scare crows
with awe while the farming
community went about with their work in the fields.
Bhusawal thus brought
cheer and real value to my life at a very young age shaping my tastes and likes
and desires. I owe a lot to my parents who sent me there to enjoy the change
far from the city to experience at their cost.And my uncle and aunt and my
cousin sisters who enriched my life in that
remote godly place.Bhusawal.
Tail Piece : An interesting news appeared in a Marathi
Newspaper on 19-07-2010 –Today is Tapi Prakat Din ie the auspicious day on
which River Tapi appeared on earth. Humble celebrations were done at Kukar
munda in Taluka Nizar ,Jillha Tapi.More than 2000 Gujars and Adivasis from Maharashtra from Nandurbar,Dhule and
Jalgaon and Gujrat congregrated on the
banks of the river and did Pooja and thanksgiving .The ceremony was conducted
by Maharaj Anupgiri in the Temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev.Talking about Tapi His
Highness said that Tapi flows gently and quenches our thirst .It is a river
born from the Sun and helps to enrich soil resulting in the granaries remaining
full and imparting wealth to those farmers who live on its banks.Narad Muni has
said at one place that Tapi appeared on Suddha Ashad Navmi and there is a
hymn that Tapi appeared when there were
no civilizations and the human world.The greatness of Tapi was such that to be
blessed you have to bathe in Ganges,drink from Yamuna ,behold Rewa but as for
Tapi just think about it and you would be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment