fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
fहndi - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya 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
gazing at the swiveling waves of theGanga...But...The priests were in competition: ‘Here,come this side here... So, from which statedo you come? From that far! Glory! glory!To be free of your obligations to your forefathers,isn’t a Benaras Yatra the only way?The rites of death for the dead performedon the banks of the Ganga! For cleansingthe thousand sons of the Raja Sagar, didn'tthe river Bhageerathi, who is Ganga indisguise come down to the earth from theheavens and since then been mother tous earthlings...?'The destroyer of fear, Ganga, buryingin her breast the tears of the afflicted, thedirt of minds and bodies, the ashes of thedead, the food offerings to the dead—Ganga, flowing without easing, looked likea waned great-great-great grandparent,waned with life-long washing of the soiledclothes of generations of children.From around and about sharpfragments of voices landed, leaping,landing, leaping again...'Caste?' 'Brahman...''You have to be, of course, but whatkind? Orthodox? Kanyakubj, Shiv-bound,Vishnu-bound... what? And name andaddress?''Look at this. Here's the name of yourancestor, your great-great-great grandfather.Everything is written down in these ledgers.Vaikunthnath was his name, yes? And hereon this page, your great grandfather'sname...Neelkanth...and here your father'sname, Shree Gokulnath, see it well. Andyou will write down your signature here.The family trees of everyone we have herepreserved in these ledgers. Priests of longtradition we are, no fly by night sorts weare...'Ledgers gone yellow with age, wornout and fragile-looking-swelling with pridethe priest wrapped them up in red cloth.Rare, unattainable keys of family historieshe had in the ledgers.Dakshina -(fees)! Son! What is this? Doyou have the least inkling of the kind offather you are son to? At the funeral feastof his father Neelkanth he fed the wholepopulace of sadhus, sanyasis and priests ofHaridwar city with halwa, poorie andvegetables unlimited. Fed them and fedthem. So satisfying that food was, ahaa,you couldn't think of food for the nexttwo days. And topping it all, the fees hegave us! Not a paisa less than the amountfixed!Receiving the fees, gnarled bony handupon brow, he scanned the notes with hiscataract- afflicted eyes and sighed deep. Thebreeding that the father had had, devotionunlimited — may he live and live inheaven : may he make rivers of charity toflow without end : may his soul rest inpeace.The sons had made advancepreparations for halwa, poorie andvegetables for two hundred guests. Theytoo wanted nothing missed out in theobservances. They had a stake too in the112 :: April-June 2013fgndi •
- Page 59 and 60: literature in general and Hindi lit
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- Page 79 and 80: 2. TEA WITH DONNEGood Morning, dear
- Page 81 and 82: 4. HI, KRISHNA!Hi, Krishna!What’r
- Page 83 and 84: Malbe Ka MalikMohan RakeshJai Ratan
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- Page 95 and 96: In continuous rhythmic movements, h
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- Page 101 and 102: stretching road ahead."And how much
- Page 103 and 104: the car."Tell me what do you want?"
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- Page 129 and 130: Ramrath and Bhagirathi's fate gave
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- Page 139 and 140: 13th paragraph, Arundhati used the
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- Page 149 and 150: are the opulence of royalty, strugg
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- Page 159: 25. Ms. Kanan Jhingan, 48, Swastik
gazing at the swiveling waves of theGanga...But...The priests were in competition: ‘Here,come this side here... So, from which statedo you come? From that far! Glory! glory!To be free of your obligations to your forefathers,isn’t a Benaras Yatra the only way?The rites of death for the dead performedon the banks of the Ganga! For cleansingthe thousand sons of the Raja Sagar, didn'tthe river Bhageerathi, who is Ganga indisguise come down to the earth from theheavens and since then been mother tous earthlings...?'The destroyer of fear, Ganga, buryingin her breast the tears of the afflicted, thedirt of minds and bodies, the ashes of thedead, the food offerings to the dead—Ganga, flowing without easing, looked likea waned great-great-great grandparent,waned with life-long washing of the soiledclothes of generations of children.From around and about sharpfragments of voices landed, leaping,landing, leaping again...'Caste?' 'Brahman...''You have to be, of course, but whatkind? Orthodox? Kanyakubj, Shiv-bound,Vishnu-bound... what? And name andaddress?''Look at this. Here's the name of yourancestor, your great-great-great grandfather.Everything is written down in these ledgers.Vaikunthnath was his name, yes? And hereon this page, your great grandfather'sname...Neelkanth...and here your father'sname, Shree Gokulnath, see it well. Andyou will write down your signature here.The family trees of everyone we have herepreserved in these ledgers. Priests of longtradition we are, no fly by night sorts weare...'Ledgers gone yellow with age, wornout and fragile-looking-swelling with pridethe priest wrapped them up in red cloth.Rare, unattainable keys of family historieshe had in the ledgers.Dakshina -(fees)! Son! What is this? Doyou have the least inkling of the kind offather you are son to? At the funeral feastof his father Neelkanth he fed the wholepopulace of sadhus, sanyasis and priests ofHaridwar city with halwa, poorie andvegetables unlimited. Fed them and fedthem. So satisfying that food was, ahaa,you couldn't think of food for the nexttwo days. And topping it all, the fees hegave us! Not a paisa less than the amountfixed!Receiving the fees, gnarled bony handupon brow, he scanned the notes with hiscataract- afflicted eyes and sighed deep. Thebreeding that the father had had, devotionunlimited — may he live and live inheaven : may he make rivers of charity toflow without end : may his soul rest inpeace.The sons had made advancepreparations for halwa, poorie andvegetables for two hundred guests. Theytoo wanted nothing missed out in theobservances. They had a stake too in the112 :: April-June 2013fgndi •
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