Dr. Jai Narayan Vyas
The echoes of the days gone by were barely stopped. Diwali festivities started there with tigers. We were taught a rhyme in primary schools: 'On the days of Diwali, the house lights up, the firecrackers explode, the child is very happy.' Vaghbaras are also called Podabaras. It is as if Diwali has started since then. On the 13th of Dhanteras, Lakshmi Pujan or Chopda Pujan, the heads of Kali Chaudas are used to make noise and on the day of Diwali, boys go out with merayas, go from house to house and sing: 'Today is Diwali, tomorrow is Diwali; The village boys ate it. Mermer Raja..' then adds… 'ghee purave him sheep boy, oil purave him leave thirteen.' After this force, the Merayan should be placed in a fixed place outside the village. It is also said that Shri Krishna's Gopalse's cows were lost, he went out to find them on the night of Amas with these torches. Once upon a time in Diwali from Sumwali to Ghooghra, Bundi or Mothiya Ladu, Sev, Ngumtia, Mathia, Cholaphali, Farsi Puri – everything was made according to the skill. Children should inaugurate it, but on the first day of the year, those who come to meet them should make their mouths salty with the dishes made in this house. A year sitting in a village is called Zayani. It is the custom of the native peasants and laborers to meet each other at night, but the boys leave with small bags. Go from house to house saying 'Jai Shrikrishna' and stand there. On behalf of the householder, someone puts five patasas in their bag and goes ahead. On that day, 'Sa2patrika (good)' is read in the village. How is the coming year? One such Diwali. Poor people and rich people have different Diwali. Let the poor rejoice in what he has, and let the rich flaunt his abundant storehouses. Diwali is for both, but sometimes the joy of the children in the hut of the poor, bursting cloves or burning two or four constellations, is many times more than that of these rich children, whose liquor is mostly burst by the servants. On one such Diwali, there was a huge firework display in Sharatchand Seth's grand bungalow. It was like a rocket exploded horizontally. A middle-aged sister lived in a hut not far from Seth's bungalow. The first horizontal burst rocket landed right on the hut. The dry grass roof started burning like a raging Lakshagriha. The poor sister watched helplessly as everything, from the mats of the womb to the little stored grain, was burnt before her eyes. Seth also saw it. It occurred to Seth that if this woman complains, the printing press will do the same. Municipal Commissioner Saheb was there for him. There was also good friendship. Seth immediately called the fire brigade and reported the incident. Commissioner sir was also supposed to come there today. Soon the fire brigade arrived with sirens but the hut was burnt to ashes. The Commissioner's car came there, he asked, 'What happened?' The fire brigade man spoke about the fire in the hut. Commissioner himself was also an emotional person. Once he also saw poverty. He called this poor family. The sister and her two children appeared in fear. As the light fell on the sister's face and the face was clearly visible, suddenly the words fell from the mouth of the commissioner, 'Hey! Radha Behan you?' The sister's answer was: 'Yes sir, we are lying here after building this hut.' Seth also reached there. The past came back to the Commissioner's memory. In the primary school where she studied, Radhabeh used to clean and water. An ate man of Sharatchand Seth era. He felt that the commissioner and this sister knew each other so he said, 'Sir! We will build a nice house by tomorrow evening.' The Commissioner's reply was, 'Well Seth, I will leave now. I have to reach somewhere else. I will come back tomorrow night, even for tea.. Drink many times in your bungalow. Tomorrow we will both drink tea there to Radhabehan.' Then Radhabehan looked at her and said, 'Radhabehan, would you like to drink tea?' Radhabhen was wiping Harakh's tears with the end of the saddle. The commissioner saluted him as he left. …and the Commissioner's car turned back. Leaving, Seth said, 'All your things will come. Don't worry.' One box was given to these two boys out of several boxes of sweetmeats ready to be distributed at home. A high-ranking officer was touched by his childhood memories and the same sentiments and courtesies he had with a water-stained woman. Who says, in man, Ram is dead. Such examples revive our faith, don't they?.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
