Author: tkjoshi

Significant events were taking place in India and the world .Rise of Adolf Hitler, the uprising of soldiers and workers culminating into Russian Revolution and rise of Lenin,  Mohandas karamchand Gandhi return to India from South Africa and Repressive measures of British through the infamous Rawlett  Act .were in news.It was about that time my father returned to our village on retirement. Before that he had constructed i a decent three story house in Mala. The house was named “DAYANAND KUTIR”. It is eengraved on woodwork frame of the main door.

That  was where I  grew  from an infant to a child. During those nine years  I  got glimpses of the activities of Freedom Fighters who crisscrossed the village. A Govt  Resin depot at Chanoda ,a small roadside market in the valley, was set on fire by some firebrand activists  during the  1942 quit India Movement’. The hustle and bustle that followed was clearly visible from the ridge.  March of British Soldiers and the  Police to the spot, and the hell they let loose causing  suffering to  innocent villagers is unforgettable.Elders talked about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose,the Japanese march,Churchil’s speech and Hitler’s antics.

I have  saved  the memories of  those childhood  days as a treasure. From a ridge known as sinola ,with a natural rock platform,  we beheld the sprawling valley down below decked with green fields and the beautiful  River Kosi on edge . Across that and beyond the river was dusty Kachha motor road at the foothill of the mountain on opposite west.. The road ran from Almora to the terminus at Garoor skirting kausani on its way. Kausani is a pretty hill resort described as ‘switzer land of India’ by Mahatma Gandhi. He Wrote his commentary on Anashakti yog  while staying at Kausani. Walking on the jungle path it is just about  4kms from Mala.  Beautiful Snow capped peaks of Nandadevi adorned the panaroma . Memories of bright moonlit Valley with rustling sound of the river and occassional roar of a Tiger in the distant forest behind still thrill me.

I shall now continue with my story of Mala which I had left midway. The village is so ideally located that life remains vibrant in all seasons.  The year begins with Chaitra  which  generally coincides with March- April. It was spring with  winter left behind . Rabi crop ,mainly wheat becomes ready to be harvested by the end of April. From natural rock stadium at Sinola I enjoyed the attractive sight of Crop spread in wide valley below as a beautiful Golden Brown carpet . Stalks of wheat with ears full of grains swayed majestically with the breeze.

Summer was generally lazing off period except that nurseries of plants for paddy  were prepared for transplantation on the advent of monsoon.As it came, water in river Kosi increased. Temporary network of small canals called”gool”was dug up and connected with the river through a permanently existing broader channel on the bank of the river. Fields were fully irrigated and ploughed deep to make the surface pulpy for easy transplantation (Ropai in Hindi and Ropae in Kumaouni). Ropae used to be a grand event.  Women  in multicolored attires and vermilion on forehead did the planting, singing folksongs orchestrated by a Hurkia (man using a small handheld drum called Hurka) . Traditional special recipes made it a celebration.   As the monsoon advanced the river Kosi came in spate.  The earlier rustling sound of flowing water turned into a roar which echoed from mountains on east and west.

Came september-october with Fruits like Kakri(cucumber).Darim(pomengrates) , Akhorh(walnuts) and jaameers(a type of lemon in abundance . October- November saw  Dushera and Dipawali celebrations.  Seengal(made by dough-mix of grounded rice and suji and sweet dahi(curd) and then fried in pure ghee in the shape of jalebi albeit thicker) and  Raita ,a mix of grated cucumber  and Dahi flavoured with  Rai(Mustard with peculiar pungent taste)and coloured with turmeric were gourmet’sdelight

  Rabi crop was sown by early November and after that Ramlila used to be staged at nights at Chanoda. Men ,women and children thronged the venue from all surrounding villages. It was a big festival  thoroughly  enjoyable.

 December and January were months of relaxed activity. Men would sit in Aangan,basking in sun and smoking Hukkas and women went into the forest to lazily collect wood for fuel and grass for fodder. They indulged in gossip while children accompanying them collected pine cones. The seeds in the cones are tasty eatables. Special snack “Neembu sana”was enjoyed by all men,women and children wherever they were sitting in mellow sunshine. Neembu sana is tasty snack prepared as a mix of flakes of lemon fruit,  radish chips, curd, bhang ka namak and sugar. It was also the period when we witnessed snowfalls too. Memorable days.

Feb-March ,the advent of spring. Pinkish flowers appeared on trees of peaches,  Naspati, lemon and jambeer . Scarlet conical bulb shaped flowers gave pomengrate trees an attractive look.  Holi celebrations started at Mallika devi Temple on first day of week long festival. All men ,old and young congregated in the temple campus and applied Abir and Gulal on each other.   Chorus of Holi songs with symphony of Dholak,Harmonium and flute filled the air. On second and third day Holiyars(Holi singing groups young and old men of the village)went to every house of each mohalla of the village. Mala is a big village divided into two groups of mohallas.One is Mallakhola and the other Tallakhola. Mallakhola is on the top part of the ridge while Tallakhola is towards the base. Each group has a number of Mohallas. Our house was visited on the second day. It was also a special occasion for us as it is birthday  of my younger brother Harish according to Hindu calendar. The visitors were served sweets,namkins and sherbet. On thethe fourth day whole village would congregate at at Chandreshwar, temple of lord Shiva sited at across river kosi at its western bank.  Holi here too was celebrated in the same manner as that at Mallika Devi campus on the first day. Fifth day was Holika dahan on a small plateau,Dhunkiya, in Mallakhola. Sixth day, chharari, Holiyars assembled at Dhunkiya and marched in procession on the village path from Mallakhola to Tallakhola. They were drenched in colour with faces smeared with Abir and Gulal.I shall never forget the sight of one Bhawani dutt joshi of Tallakhola popularily called Bhavka who would march with colour smeared all over his completely naked body.

I  also witnessed  an ingenious method of transporting timber by Forest contractors .Once the monsoon was over they would move stones and boulders from the riverbed towards banks making a free flowing channel in the middle . Logs were put to float on the channel towards destination.It was amusing to  see monkeys and cats at times take a ride on the floating logs .

I left the village when I was nine year old to join Government Intermediate College at Almora. Soon after the parents and the family also moved to Almora.I shall end this narration with a mention of  a weird incident. Even after shifting to Almora we visited Mala during Dusshera every year.  Last visit by my father was in Dusshera of 1947.  One day he took me to Chanoda with him.  We could not leave Chanoda before nightfall. There were some other villagers too with us. we  crossed the river and  walked on padetrian path among the fields,  There was eerie silence except the feeble rustling sound of water flowing in the river behind us. I heard a queer voice coming from behind as if someone was shouting from a boulder in the middle of riverbed. It said”Liladhar ab wapas ye ja( Liladhar come back now)”.I thought others also heard it. I firmly gripped father’s hand and asked who is calling. He said”  no one”   and asked what was it ?.  I felt that he and others were feigning ignorance. The voice echoed in my ears for too long that night before I fell asleep. The voice has remained a mystery to me. All I know is that in the Dusshera of 1948 we visited Mala without our father. He was no more.

 

 

 

 

12.00

 

It was that house,those fields and those beautiful surroundings where I grew up as a child..

 The house was built by my father in 1933 before I was born. It is a 3 story structure in the heart of the village with more than a dozen rooms.It has a decent courtyard and trees of Naspati,Darim,anar and Aroo around it. The courtyard brings flashbacks to the marriage of my two elder sisters.

  I daily watched my father in his pooja chanting mantras in chaste Sanskrit.

The fields remind me of scenes of Ropai(transplantation of Paddy plants)done with lilting music and songs. In an interval between  Kharif and Ravi crops the empty fields provided vast open space for kite flying with bracing breeze and mild gale.

The temple of village deity Mallika devi was venue Dashera pooja and beginning of Holi celebrations. In the campus is the  village school wherefrom I passed the Upper Primary Exam-Darja4 as it used be said then.

River Kosi had no bridge then . We used to cross it knee deep or thighdeep  with our underpants on and our shoes, knickers etc in bag on the back.It was thrilling.During Monsoon Kosi in full spate flowed down roaring ferociously.

The spectrum is full of sweet memories and description wil be endless. The space here would not permit that. It was a paradise.

Alas I had to leave all that just as a 9 year old to move to Almora to join as a student of Government Intermediate College, then considered to be prestigious. That was the beginning of the rest of the mundane life.

Mera gaon Mala has the distinction of producing more than a dozen premier All India Service Officers-IAS&IPS. Boys from the village are working as Engineers,doctors & scientists even abroad. Daughters of the village have not lagged behind.They have earned distinctions in the field of medicine,Engineering and Education:

JAI TO DEVI MALLIKA RULING DEITY OF MERA GAON.

 

 

 

Feb 13

February 13 is a date which has a special imprint in the mind and memory of Tejgiri. It was the year1952 on that date Basant Panchami was celebrated  in Almora, a small  Hill station .  Tejgiri was then a student of Government Intermediate college in Almora. He was in the final year of Intermediate Science in Biology Group.It was a holiday . The sky was azure. Sunshine was mellow .Mustard plants had full blossom of beautiful yellow flowers and cool breeze was invigorating . Fruit trees of pomengranate, peaches and Plums were just about to sprout pinkish white flowers on their nude branches..The Magic in  the atmosphere was captivating.

Kawi Niwas was then the abode of Tejgiri and his family. It was an archaic house which had a small statue of peacock atop the slated roof,a wooded balcony.a small courtyard with an adjunct platform made of stones. The platform was a place for basking in sun and gossiping. It had commanding view of the Motor road below and  small fields terracing down to valley and across that the Mountain range rising up to the horizon .

Tejgiri sat on the platform enthused by the breeze and scent of flowers.He started to survey the panaroma in front of him. The wide mountain range with snow capped magnificient Nandadevi peak on the northern end, curved towards the west and then to the south. Midway to west were the hilltops wearing caps of lush green pine trees.On the invisible slope on the other side the serene town Ranikhet is sited. Moving his eyes to south Tejgiri had Shyahi devi mountain top in view with the temple shining in bright sunshine. Further south was the nose shaped hilltop on the other side of which lay the Nainital – the town of tourists’ dream. Tejgiri fixed his gaze on Shyahi devi and small town Shitalakhet a little below . He was now recalling the memory of his visit to Shitalakhet in autumn of 1951.He reminisced.

Tejgiri had joined PEC(Provincial Education Core-a forerunner of NCC). As a PEC cadet he donned the Khaki for the first time.The uniform supplied to him was loose on his lean frame. He had hoses on the legs with boots and anklets. The shirt and jersey hanged loosely from his thin shoulders .The Knicker was exposing his bamboo thighs. The outfit was somehow tied on his body with a khaki belt.  The only article that fitted him was the Forage cap on the head. Donned with the uniform on the first day Tejgiri was a picture of cartoonist’s delight.When he was back at home in his new attire his mother gave him a doting look while his sisters and younger brother wore a mischievous smile on their lips and a bemused look on the faces as if a Cassius stood before them. The Mother did some refitting of the shirt .Jersy remained as it was. Tejgiri continued in PEC with make do of his attire.

 A 15 day PEC camp in rural area was to be organised. That was scheduled for October 1951 and Shitalakhet was selected as the venue. District Organiser,a retired Major from the Indian Army called an assembly of PEC cadets of GIC Almora for briefing. At the outset he inspected the get up of each cadet in uniform. He told Tejgiri”Your thighs are looking ugly under your shorts” “Yes Sir”replied Tejgiri adding”I cant change my thighs nor the shorts.Will you kindly supply me khaki Trousers to hide my thighs” The DO glared at Tejgiri and said”

No.Carry on with whatever it is”” OK  Sir” responded Tejgiri. Two days later the contingent started for Shitalakhet on foot. It trekked down from Bright end corner – a famous spot of Almora- down to river Kosi in the foothills and then climbed up to Shiltalakhet. A trek of about 16 Kilometres was completed by cadets with haversacks on the back.Soon after the DO also arrived with paraphernalia. Cadets pegged tents for the camp before Nightfall.  Thereafter the cadets were asked to assemble for DO’s address. He explained the object and subject of the camp,details of how to go about that and  exhorted the cadets to give their best. He then distributed specific miscellaneous duties in addition to Morning Parade and Evening Games. Tejgiri was appointed Police officer of the camp. His duties entailed maintenance of security and discipline in the camp area. Cadets wishing to visit places out of the camp area were required to take prior permission of the Camp Police Officer who had explain to the DO each permission granted by him. This was to be done at daily Admin meeting at 11 a.m. On conclusion of the camp he was awarded a prize for excellent performance of his duties.

Tejgiri returned from the camp with happy memories. Little did he, however, know that destiny has carved out a career in Police later in life for him.

 Magic in the atmosphere and sweet memories took Tejgiri over like a heady wine. He had a strange feeling of delight and pleasure inside .He found his lean frame springing and his walk nimble. He moved out and went on a stroll on the pavemented bazar of Almora-from Lalabazar on one end to Paltanbazar on the other. Thence he entered the Cantonment area wherefrom he surveyed the Mountain Range on the East. He Spotted shining tiled roofs of Indian Veterenary Institute of Mukteshwar atop the mountain . Rolling his eyes down his gaze stopped at majestically flowing Suyal river in the valley with music of rustling water reaching his ears. He returned to home late in the evening ,took his meals and rested on his bed musing over the incessant bliss he got throughout the day. His chain of thoughts and silence of the night was broken by loud noise of the gong  Almora Jail announcing 11p.m. Soon he was asleep.

Strangely memories of that 13th Feb come back to Tejgiri on every 13th Feb. He had had a successful long career in Police earning decorarions. 62 years later on this 13th Feb he stood on the rooftop of his residence at Lucknow surveying the surroundings. High rise building all around ,overcast sky and strong gale heralding surprise rain were in utter contrast to what he enjoyed on that 13th Feb in his teens.  

Very Happy to join VIVALDI. It is a long time I have been searching for a site like this I hope it would be enjoyable.