In 1955 Papa got transferred from Jhanjharpur to Siwan which was a natural process ,when you do a government service . As I remember , he was never allowed to remain more then 3 years on any station . On every new station ,mother fixed in new arrangement of living room ,bedroom kitchen , store room . Perhaps it was official hazard ! The only facility government officers availed those days were of peons & there was no dearth of it . There was hoard of it, all amenable having different body languages !
From Mahua in 1953 ,Papa got his transfer to Jhanjhapur & household luggage came by goods train making its waiting time very painful to us ,but from Jhanjharpur to all the onward transferred stations , we preferred truck to ferry household luggage.
When I came to Siwan I always remembered muram road with well spaced amaltash tree in front of our compound & during its bloom time ,that too in the evening when sun was setting with orange glow, showering of golden petals on muram road was heavenly to watch. The whole road littered with amaltash flower petals with background of a Shiva temple imprinted as picture post card on my memory plate .
In Siwan ,the house we got to live was of haphazard old construction which gave importance to number of rooms only , devoid of any circulation ,planning & airiness. The only room we got was on upstairs ,which had ' barsati' known as balcony. Whatever the open view of surroundings we got , it was from this balcony.Our house owner was Badri Sau who was great jeweller of Siwan town who was skewly on opposite side of our house . Lakhan Sau , who was distant cousin of Badri Sau was nearer to us & Kapil Sau was just in front of our house . All the jewellers , big & small had different way of living which as a keen observant like me observed them & made a pastime of my ample time .
Siwan had no electric supply in 1956 . The electric pole were just in the process of erection . The street light was lit by kerosene lamps only . In the evening , in twilight just a man with measured step in black uniform came . brought down the kerosene lamp from wooden pole, cleaned the glasses of kerosene lantern , filled it with kerosene , lit it & hanged it from wooden pole to give light for the whole night . He always remained engrossed in his duty with a phlegmatic face . It was piquant & peculiar act for me but I waited to see his this act which is unforgettable for me . Everybody has his Malgudi days !
The road formed a cul-de-sac before a massive two story nariah tiled house which was of some Muslim zamindar . The muslim zamindar , some Khan Bahadur had died & the massive building was of his descendants were living in that house . Its compound dotted with Eucalyptus trees .They were all matured so their trunk was off white In the backdrop of dark clouds ,their off white trunks gleamed like picture post card with massive nariah tiled house adding completeness to whole spectacle . Fantasy has no grammar , so I always thought if green bangles are put in Eucalyptus off white trunks, how it will look
गोरे- गोरे कलाइयों में हरी -हरी चूरियां !
One film song I never forget . There was a major function in Badri Sau's house & a popular Hindi film song was blaring from loud speaker making jokes everywhere .
देखो -देखो चाँद निकला पीछे खजूर के ,
बदरी का हूर नाचे आगे हूजूर के I
Continued ....
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Interesting memoirs. I spent my entire childhood in city of Lucknow. Though a state capital, it was as primitive as town of Siwan, in many ways. The kerosene lamp lighted roads were as much in Lucknow, as in Siwan The man who came to light the lamp in evening was rumored to be stealing kerosene for his household needs(I always wondered, who extinguished the lamp in morning). And about हूर , whenever a not so attractive person got a better looking bride, the one liner was लंगूर को मिल गयी हूर
ReplyDeleteI feel & liked immensely your comment on a person lighting the street in the evening . You have the same feeling as I have ,because it is rare to remember of a incognito person in black attire lighting the kerosene lamp on the road , that not one but series of lamps on a road. Sometimes I think Britishers were better administrators whose footprint of administration is also remarkable .
ReplyDeleteNow stealing of kerosene for lowly staff is their birth right. In my childhood whenever I went to small abattoir of a street corner butcher , I saw the stamping of a municipal corporation staff, whether it is proper mutton or not & I marveled over it !