Ye mahalon ye takhton ye tajon ki duniya
Ye insan ke dushman samajon ki duniya
Ye daulat ke bhuke rawazon ki duniya
Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hain?
I have been humming this song for the last one week. No. I am not depressed. No one has cheated me.
I just imagined my great-grandfather coming alive and every time I imagine, this song comes to my mind.
My great-grandfather who was a scholar and an accomplished musician, died several decades before I was born.
While my mother discusses all her relatives; close and distant, live and dead, my dad hardly spoke about any of his relatives. He didn’t like visiting the painful past. From what little he had discussed, we have learnt that after my great-grandfather was widowed, he had issues with his son and daughter-in-law and they sent him out of the house he had built. He had some three or four daughters including my grandmother. But those days, people believed that living with a married daughter’s family was sinful and avoided it completely. The daughters too were not empowered to invite their old father home. All the sons-in-law were struggling to make ends meet, fighting unemployment, successive crop failure and inflation. My great-grandfather was a non-conformist and his unorthodox lifestyle wasn’t approved by his relatives including my grandfather. So, he moved to another town and lived all by himself.
My dad, his brother and a cousin visited their grandfather during vacations. My dad said that his grandfather had a great sense of humour and was very passionate. He taught music and dance for a living during the fag end of his life. He cooked his own meal with occasional support from his students’ families. During one of the vacations, he gave his grandsons money to buy tickets for a film show. The teens happily left and returned home late night after the show. The door was not bolted from inside and their grandfather was found dead inside the house. That night after a meal, my great-grandfather died happily in his sleep. He lived life on his own terms and led an independent life till the last day of his life.
The next morning, my dad and his cousin travelled to the town where their uncle (great-grandfather’s son) lived to pass on the information. Their uncle reluctantly attended the funeral and performed last rites, but had not intimated any of his siblings or relatives about the post funeral ceremonies. (Invitations are not extended for death ceremonies and only intimation is sent) My dad wasn’t sure if those ceremonies were performed or not. He discussed this information twice or thrice with me very briefly and with sadness.
Over a period of time, the entire clan migrated in a phased manner to different parts, looking for greener pastures, away from familiar surroundings, poverty and complex relationships.
Coming to the present scene, why am I suddenly thinking of this great-grandfather who died long ago? Because, he is in news.
I just imagined, how my great-grandfather would have reacted, if he had come to know that his descendants are excited about his popularity now and even before I realize, I start singing this song from Pyasa.
P.S. I am not revealing my great-grandfather’s name and why he is suddenly popular, as my dad never liked dropping names.
Ye insan ke dushman samajon ki duniya
Ye daulat ke bhuke rawazon ki duniya
Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hain?
I have been humming this song for the last one week. No. I am not depressed. No one has cheated me.
I just imagined my great-grandfather coming alive and every time I imagine, this song comes to my mind.
My great-grandfather who was a scholar and an accomplished musician, died several decades before I was born.
While my mother discusses all her relatives; close and distant, live and dead, my dad hardly spoke about any of his relatives. He didn’t like visiting the painful past. From what little he had discussed, we have learnt that after my great-grandfather was widowed, he had issues with his son and daughter-in-law and they sent him out of the house he had built. He had some three or four daughters including my grandmother. But those days, people believed that living with a married daughter’s family was sinful and avoided it completely. The daughters too were not empowered to invite their old father home. All the sons-in-law were struggling to make ends meet, fighting unemployment, successive crop failure and inflation. My great-grandfather was a non-conformist and his unorthodox lifestyle wasn’t approved by his relatives including my grandfather. So, he moved to another town and lived all by himself.
My dad, his brother and a cousin visited their grandfather during vacations. My dad said that his grandfather had a great sense of humour and was very passionate. He taught music and dance for a living during the fag end of his life. He cooked his own meal with occasional support from his students’ families. During one of the vacations, he gave his grandsons money to buy tickets for a film show. The teens happily left and returned home late night after the show. The door was not bolted from inside and their grandfather was found dead inside the house. That night after a meal, my great-grandfather died happily in his sleep. He lived life on his own terms and led an independent life till the last day of his life.
The next morning, my dad and his cousin travelled to the town where their uncle (great-grandfather’s son) lived to pass on the information. Their uncle reluctantly attended the funeral and performed last rites, but had not intimated any of his siblings or relatives about the post funeral ceremonies. (Invitations are not extended for death ceremonies and only intimation is sent) My dad wasn’t sure if those ceremonies were performed or not. He discussed this information twice or thrice with me very briefly and with sadness.
Over a period of time, the entire clan migrated in a phased manner to different parts, looking for greener pastures, away from familiar surroundings, poverty and complex relationships.
Coming to the present scene, why am I suddenly thinking of this great-grandfather who died long ago? Because, he is in news.
I just imagined, how my great-grandfather would have reacted, if he had come to know that his descendants are excited about his popularity now and even before I realize, I start singing this song from Pyasa.
P.S. I am not revealing my great-grandfather’s name and why he is suddenly popular, as my dad never liked dropping names.
