fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

But for the three sons umbrellas hadbeen provided. Two junior officers of theirs,Sharma-ji and Verma-ji, had come alongin person to make arrangements for thesons' stay here : their father was father tothem too, wasn't he? So didn't they owehim a duty too...?The weather was treacherous, butSharmaji and Vermaji, in full consultationwith the priests had made specialarrangements for the sons' stay. The funeralrituals had to go off without hitch; thiswas a must. The departed one was thefather of a special and very high official,was he not?The ceremony was going on more orless on prescribed lines. Fingers ringed withdried, sacred grass, the sons were offeringto the departed soul the cooked funeralrice made into little balls by the priest,:he who was chanting the incantations inringing tones with a clear accent.'Name- Father's name'?'Gokulnath'.‘Gotra?’‘Madguley’.‘Now, then... repeat after me...’Up there in the dharmshala, thewomen were busy with the rituals offasting. After the ceremony there wouldbe milk, sago, fried potatoes, wheat cubes,halwa of wheat flour... to eat what youfancied. Arrangements for pure ghee, milkand so on had been made well in advance.Sharmaji and Vermaji were going abouttheir tasks with perfect dedication.fgndi •The sons had been on fast sincemorning, along with their wives anddaughters, as laid down in the rules. Thewives went nervous at the wilted faces oftheir husbands. Worthy son number onehad an acidity problem. And as for theother worthy sons, number two andnumber three — what did they eat, birdpecks at best — but the pecks had to behad in time. Otherwise, it meantproblems...‘Ye-e-ess... that’s right’ the priestsdrawled, ‘but on this day and occasion...’The children, cameras dangling downnecks, clicked away at whatever caught theirfancy. Children were, well, children, whatwere they to make of this world or that,of tradition, reverence for it, and so forth?Mahant jee had said in indulgent tones,looking at them,’ Children are images ofgod, all is forgiven them...’Full arrangements had been made inthe main ashram for the stay of the threesons with family. It had all the necessaryand not very necessary conveniences.Dunlop mattresses, twenty four hour watersupply, kosher food, and in addition,trimmed, green lawns: and from the roof,the view of mother Ganga far off, inunceasing flow.It was all carnival-like, in a way. Thefuneral food offerings, the rites, the callingout of the fathers’ names, the children’santics with cameras, the poses they struckfor clicking... Yes, the youngest girl didseem aloof, did seem away from it all,April-June 2013 :: 111