Bookish !

 I have read umpteen novels from my school days first in Hindi ,some surreptitiously ,some boldly with lofty names & afterwards in English .I liked reading fiction & if it was with historical overtones ,wah! wah! on what a bounty ,I was able to lay my hand. I always rejoiced ! In reading fiction , the historical backdrop offered were of many important cities but hardly of Patna ,where I have spent so many decades of my life .

I was knowing , Amitava Kumar is celebrity English fiction writer , but he belonged to Ara, Bihar was very pleasant surprise for me & shamelessly I concede , I developed a parochial interest also as eminent English, Indian fiction writers belonged to eastern India or southern India & Biharees are supposed to be weak in English creative writing .The iconic fiction writers in Hindi of Bihar , their pantheon is endless . 

Amitava Kumar in a book festival

His book ' A Matter of Rats' caught my attention immensely & I thought , what a title he has chosen to write over , but rats are part & parcel of our life & what a hatred for this specie ,we harbor ,dead or alive . Though , I very much enjoyed a whole treatise of poem over it spawning a  famous cliche ' The Pied Piper of Hamelin'

                  In the year 1960 , in the poetry selection of my mother's B.A. curriculum , there were many poems of eminent English poets but whenever I got a a chance, I searched the longish poem by Robert Browning 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' & enjoyed it . 

                Rats! they fought the dogs & killed the cats ,

                And bit the babies in the cradles,

                And ate cheeses out of the vats ,

                And licked the soup  from the cook's own ladles,

                Split open the kegs of salted sprats ,

                Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,

                And even spoiled the women chats,

                By drowning their speaking ,

                With shrieking their squeaking,

                In fifty different sharps & flats  

The whole lengthy poem had many hues but act of perfidy of  Mayor of Hamelin was unusually enjoying .

The short biography of Patna starting from the great king Ajatsharu , & of emperor Ashoka , the land of Chanakya , the Indian Machiavelli ,more or less every body knows & supported by olden relics kept in the precinct of Kumrahar , which is more enjoying for Patnaites on 1st January as picnic spot along with Botanical garden of Patna , otherwise nothing more . In my school days , teachers taught me , there were numerous 'Buddhist Bihars' located in Magadh reason ,so it is known as Bihar . Nalanda & Vaishali were prime location of Buddhist India , but when Islam came to India , in the medieval period , its history was somnolent ,not at all convoluted historiography of other cities of India ,such as Lucknow , Calcutta , Delhi or Surat haves,where my Alma-mater always beckons me . 

But I am just enamored by the author , by his treatment to rats giving me an unusual dimension to  thought process .When 'Mushars' lowest caste on social ladder in Bihar catch rats & uses it as their staple food ,full of protein , why the rats as delicacy is not served in any chic restaurant of Patna . The Mushar caste can boast of an Ex Chief Minister of Bihar & at present he is one of the players of ensuing Bihar election!

       In the year 1959 , prior to Indo-Chinese war Pt Nehru was state guest of China , escorted by Chinese prime minister ,  Chu-en- Lai to various cities & in the menu  of state banquets thrown , it is well recorded,  birds intact with beaks & claws, the puppies as a whole ,well cooked by Chinese chefs were put as Chinese culinary preparations on the table making Pt Nehru & his delegation aghast with surprises . During opium war, one British medic cautioned British army , be careful of the delicacy of fried & well garnished  earthworms , which Chinese people enjoy it immensely. The wet market of the city Wuhan ,trading in Pangolin , crabs & bats are responsible of let loosing Covid-19 virus stains turning it into pandemic, then why so much abhorrence for poor rats, which is staple food for a caste specific Mushars .

It is hilarious ,at the same time thoughtful of a senior bureaucrat of Patna secretariate rattling statistics of Mushar caste & thinking of pushing rats as a protein rich food , who hoards 12 to 15 Kg of food grains in its hole dotted in crop growing field for tending its young ones . The author interviewing a Mushar says, it tastes as chicken & very testy when roasted making incisors & removing entrails ,cooked as a meat . The author saga of pursuance of rats story , its catching by Mushars in the field ,weaves a gripping story indeed .

As I was also very much interested , knowing Patna , as I live here so it is my Patna also . One story of medieval period of Patna is hilarious & tantalizing Aliwardi Khan , the Nawab of Bengal died in 1756 & was succeeded by Sirajudoulla of battle of Pallasy fame . Sirajuddoula's father  was Zain-ud-din ,governor of Patna & happened to be son-in-law of Aliwardi khan . He was his nephew also ,son of Haji Ahmed. One Afgan mercenary Mustafa Khan with his followers were used to quell the menace of Maratha freebooters ,coming in waves after waves asking 'Sadeshmukhi & Chauth'.His name was Mustafa Khan & after quelling Maratha forces by treachery & massacring them, asked from Aliwardi Khan the governorship of Patna as his reward, removing Zain-ud-din. But he didn't agree for it & in ensuing battle Mustafa Khan was killed & Zain-ud-din made a peace with his followers. During the peace-talk congregation , one Afgan jumped over Zain-ud-din, beheaded him, cutting him to pieces & started looting his premises.

Now the real story emerges . Zain-ud-din's father 70 year old , first parted his saving of 6 million rupees but pathans were asking for  more .Old  haji Ahmed was scourged  publicly , painted his face black & white  , mounted him on ass ,tied his hand behind ,paraded him in in the streets of Bankipur to Sabji Bagh,physically torturing him . His sufferings only ended , when his daughter -in-law sent a poisonous sherbat to free him from humiliation & his life .

In the book , the iconic personalities of Bihar , Mr Ravis Kumar , anchor of NDTV, about whom he tells , there is music in his reporting comparable to the descriptions given by famous Hindi author Fanishwarnath Renu & I totally agree with him I was not knowing Sankarshan Thakur is son of famous columnist Janardan Thakur , who always penned incisive columns & I made a habit of reading in by gone days as nowadays I read the columns of Rajdeep Sardesai & Barkha Dutt . He interviewed Anand Kumar of super-30 fame & narrated his story of grit & determination. He also interviewed Subodh Gupa , & his artistic pursuits . His one creation of gluing steel utensils ,& giving it a artistic shape is adorning vantage point of Eco park in Patna , where morning walkers take stroll in various postures . 

Story of Raghv & Leela is necessary to give a structural flavor to a novel , but his story of Gulzarbagh Government press  carries much of historical importance .The premises of Gulzarbagh press was factory campus for opium production. Patna & Gazipur were opium production establishment . The writer never has mentioned Magadh & Awadh were the regions which triggered the emigration of indentures from 1833 to 1907 as it was necessary for them to harvest poppy in some area of their land holding.  From the depots of Calcutta. Maximum indentures were emigrated of Biharee root & now their descendants are making names for them in Mauritius ,South Africa & various archipelago of the world as Indian diaspora.

Patna opium factory & their transporting in river Ganges to Calcutta

As a Biharee I can only take pride of their tolerant rebellion. In any era , they are ready to take physical & emotional challenge by the scruff of neck & never think to end their life . I just asked my car driver , who is marginal farmer also ' have you heard of any suicide case of farmers due to crop failure , & he  said the the suicidal story of farmers is unheard in Bihar & U.P.' During the era of indentures emigration , they adopted foreign lands crossing the sea but never resorted to suicides . During this pandemic ,the immigrant labors , preferred to walk on foot from Delhi , Chennai or Bangluru  coming to  Bihar showing their gumption & courage & I salute them !