A Day in Rohtak during the Summer Vacations Usha Bubna

Nanaji and Naniji – as I knew them Asha Maheshwari

Nanakchand: First batch St. Stephen’s College. Silver Medal in Mathematics.

He was an outstanding lawyer. He fought the Delhi Conspiracy case (1929-31). All the accused – freedom fighters – were acquitted. He cross-examined the ballistic expert from the UK so well that ultimately he said, “Mr. Jain, what do you want me to say?’ ‘These people are innocent, not guilty!’

He was a civil side lawyer, President of the Rohtak District Bar Association for more than 25 years. He lost his eyesight due to glaucoma, but continued to practice till the last day – 2.9.78

In the Swadeshi movement, on Gandhiji’s call, he gave up wearing all foreign clothes and adopted khadi.

In 1930, a District High School for girls was set up in Rohtak. They taught English. The Principal was an English woman. My mother (Bimla Devi) and a friend of hers joined that school immediately. They were the senior most – Class IX. The school was far away, so a tanga was arranged to take them and bring them back. It was considered unnecessary to indulge the girls in this type of education. My grandfather (Nanak Chand) always supported my mother and she was very keen on education.

Ugrasen married Sona Devi. They had two sons Sukh Sagar and Vijay Sagar

They had three children – Yoginder (Indu), Abha, Ranjan (later adopted by Kamla Devi). After Shyama’s death, Ramesh Chand remarried – Rajmala has one daughter, Mrignayani.

Ramesh Chand (1926-82) married Shyama

Keshabchand married Satya. They have three children, Atul, Sharad and Bakul.

Nirmal Devi (1923-1998) Bimla Devi (1917-98) Kamla Devi (1913 – 97)

Lala Hardwarimal had six children: Kedarnath, Rangilal, Sona Devi, Pratap Chand, Bishan Swaroop, Elaichi Devi.

Lala Hardwarimal’s rags to riches story is like a fairy tale. His father died before his birth. His mother had no means of livelihood. When he was 3 years old, she would buy some cowrie shells and made him sit by the roadside to sell them. In a day he earned 4-5 paise - to manage their living expenses. From this beginning, he rose to be the richest man in the district – had gold, jewellery shops in various areas of the town. All his sons had palatial houses. He was a respected citizen of the district. He started constructing a temple which was unfortunately completed by his youngest son Bishan Swaroop after his death.

My mother’s grandmother (Lala Hardwarimal’s wife) had become an invalid – she was confined to bed for the last twenty years of her life. He had lost his eyesight, but they lived with such dignity and peace that anybody who came in contact with them derived joy and serenity. My mother used to say that her grandmother was a very intelligent woman. My father’s first wife had died. My mother did not want to marry a widower.

She was unhappy and crying. Her nani told her mother – “Sona, ask Bimla why she is crying. Is she unhappy?” Her mother said, “No mother, she wants to study and does not want to get married. Nothing else!” So my mother’s views were never taken into consideration.

A Day in Rohtak during the Summer Vacations

Usha Bubna

In summer vacations, seven or eight of us would gather there. It was a big bungalow and enough space for all of us to enjoy. The day started early. In those days no one slept indoors. In the evening the terrace would be sprinkled with water and then the beds were spread. We all slept there under the open sky and the clear starry nights were so tranquil. In the morning as the sun came up, it became warm so we all woke up early. But even before that our grandparents were downstairs, ready to go to the temple. The morning visit to the temple started their day. They had their separate agenda there. My grandmother performed her puja. Nanaji read the shastras for people gathered there to listen to him.

Naniji came home, had her tea, and then the churning of curds was done. She did not eat ghee from the market, and homemade ghee required butter to be made. So there was fresh white butter and buttermilk along with parathas for breakfast. A very tempting alternative was to opt for alu kachoris. There was a halwai’s shop – Kedar halwai’s – just outside. So anyone who wanted to would just go out and buy hot alu kachoris from the shop for just two annas (about 12 paise). As one person got this, another one of us would be tempted and sometimes all of us had that lovely breakfast. The taste and flavour of it still lingers in my mind – the chemistry Nobel Prize on scents and fragrances. On the way to the court Nanaji sent all sorts of seasonal fruits - melons and mangoes were the main items.

After lunch Naniji would go to visit her brother’s family. They lived next door. On her return she started to spin her charkha – she did that daily for about two hours. I still have a bedspread woven of yarn she spun.

We played cards the whole afternoon. A cousin, Sudarshan, always carried a pack of cards in his pocket, ready to start a game as soon as sufficient numbers of people were ready to play.

Nanakchand Tauji Dilip Singh

Evening was a much-awaited time – because Tauji came. Babu Janak Prasad (universally known as Tauji) was a lawyer too. We all thought he was Nanaji’s brother, but he was a friend – such close friends rarely exist in today’s world. With him it was fun with jokes and stories, and also some leg pulling of Nanaji – that he won cases without having to argue them! To top it all were some interesting eatables.

The holidays went merrily – without TV, radio, parties or movies. The day just went in happy doing nothings – 6-7 children and an old couple – immense pleasure. We all felt sad going back and looked forward to the next holidays.

Nanaji and Naniji – as I knew them

Asha Maheshwari

My grandmother, Sona Devi, was engaged to be married when she was two years old – or may be only one. Unfortunately, the groom did not survive to be married. But he had a brother – Nanak Chand. He was a year younger to Naniji. She was engaged to him.

Naniji was all of twelve years when she was married. Nanaji-Naniji would have made a handsome couple. Both were good looking. Naniji must have looked older – as she did much later in life when I saw them. I wish we had pictures of their marriage, which took place just at the turn of the twentieth century.

Marriage did not come in the way of my grandfather’s education. He graduated from St Stephen’s College with mathematics honours. He stood first and was awarded a silver medal. I was told that before St Stephen’s college had shifted from Kasmiri Gate to its present location, Nanaji’s name was there in the honours list of the college. He went on to become a distinguished lawyer. Also, he had great facility in Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and English. Naniji was literate. She could read and write Hindi well; unusual for the times in which she lived.

I remember Nanaji and Naniji as they were in their sixties. They lived in Rohtak, a small town in what is now Haryana. They had six children – three sons and three daughters. My mother was the second daughter. I saw the marriage of their last son – my youngest Mama.

I am now approaching the age at which my grandparents were when I first saw them. My thoughts go back to their life together.

Naniji had no independent source of income. She was no match to Nanaji intellectually. She could not participate in his professional life or socially. But she was always important for Nanaji. Her voice was heard above every one else’s. The big gap in their formal education did not make for my grandfather vetoing her decisions. None of us ever heard him raise his voice at her.

Naniji was not modern in many ways. Even when I saw her, she always went out of the house with her head and face slightly covered, because her father-in-law would be sitting somewhere in the front portion of the house. She also did ghunghat from her sister-in-law’s husband – but from within the ghunghat she conversed with him. On one occasion she talked to him for quite sometime. Suddenly she realised that she had not covered her face. She burst into laughter! She had a sense of honour and always a smile on her face.

Naniji’s importance in the household was reflected in the structure of the house. More than half the house was her workplace. The main courtyard was surrounded on one side by the main kitchen where morning lunch was cooked and on the other side with the raised platform where the evening meals were cooked. Adjacent to this platform was the utensil cleaning area – where utensils were cleaned by the maid with dry ash. Next was the ‘dehleez’, where ‘chakki’ was kept for milling fresh atta.

On the two sides of a covered veranda were two big storerooms – one two store large quantities of groceries and the other for storing large quantities of sweets and savouries made for marriages. In between the storerooms was big covered veranda. I remember Naniji cutting vegetables or pealing fruits in this veranda. Naniji churned milk to get butter. Nanaji did not call out Naniji for doing his chores. He sewed his own buttons.

Naniji also had a big storeroom in which ‘sandooks’ were kept. One of the sandooks, Naniji always referred to as ‘Bimla ka sandook’. Bimla was my mother.

To this day it is not clear to me whether the contents of this sandook itself belonged to my mother!

None of my grandparent’s children lived with them – nor did they interfere with their lives in any way. They lived an independent life – not depending on their children for any of their needs. This lesson I learnt from them and also from my mother.

My grandparents did not visit their children for a vacation. They went only on specific occasions for the minimum time required – be it a marriage or anything else. Nanaji sometimes went out of station for work – but he never overstayed – no matter how much his children wanted him to. Since he did not care to have a telephone installed at home, he always kept the date and time he had given Naniji. He said, “She will worry if I do not go.”

My grandfather was a scholar and a very erudite man. He took to spirituality in later part of his life. He had brought spirituality in his daily life. He believed in being totally independent for his happiness. He never blamed anyone else, not even his children, for anything. He made demands only from himself - not on others. I do not know what my Naniji’s philosophy in life was. But she never interfered with anyone or complained – just like Nanaji.

We used to visit our grandparents at least once in a year. The big house would be full with aunts & uncles, spoiling us and the many cousins to have fun with. But really special were the visits I made by myself.

I went alone once when I was nine years old. The ‘daslakshmi” religious festival was on. The house was full of people who had come to listen to the religious discourse Nanaji gave. All the ten days were spent in the religious discourse – from morning to evening.

In the evening my grandfather sat with some of his friends. There was discussion mostly about the religious discourse my grandfather gave. I also joined in! I never let my ignorance come in the way of holding strong views on matters about which my grandfather knew better! He always let me have my say without correcting me all the time. He even devised a method to get me to wake up early and involve me in the religious activity. He asked me to sing a bhajan, before the proceedings began. I accepted this suggestion and fulfilled the commitment.

Since the time I saw her, Naniji always wore white cotton sarees, with small border and a white blouse. I saw her in a white saree even for her son’s marriage. Her blouses were loose and long and had two pockets. She never wore silk, as it involved killing of the silk worm. Another thing about her saree which I remember is that she never pleated the saree. She just brought the two ends together and tucked them in. For going to the temple she wore a freshly washed saree each day. Once, I saw her wearing the saree before going to the temple. I rushed to put the pleats – but with a broad smile – she said, “ Let it be” – I was not supposed to touch her saree because I had not bathed. (This I was told later by my Masi.”

My grandmother was very religious – but not exactly as my grandfather was. Her religion had more to do with fasting and other rituals. I once asked Naniji, since Nanaji did not fast and followed simpler rules about meals; he should be less religious than her. Naniji replied, “No, he is a ‘gyani’ – much more knowledgeable than me. I do not come anywhere near him. He has no need of fasting!”

I also remember another conversation I had with my grandmother. This was about her food restrictions. She never ate potatoes. I said to her, “Naniji, you wouldn’t even know the taste of a potato.” She replied, “That is not true. I gave up eating potatoes only twenty years back.” To a nine year old that was as good as a lifetime!

During this visit one of my cousins came to Rohtak to give me company. She missed school for all those days. (Now such a thing is unthinkable.)

During the second visit the house was quiet. I had an opportunity to see how harmoniously my grandparents lived. They lived a disciplined life – but required no policing by each other. I never saw them arguing or showing impatience. Each activity followed the other in a fixed rhythm. They did not necessarily do things together. They both went to the temple in the morning – but not together. Each ate according to convenience. Even so they were with each other and for each other. Nanaji went to court at a fixed time without commotion. He returned from the court at the same time everyday. Naniji was never taken by surprise.

Every evening the day ended with Nanaji’s lifelong friend, ‘Tauji’ to every one. He had a deep sense of humour. I looked forward to his visits every evening. Sometimes we went for a walk up to the train station.

I like the way my grandparents lived their lives. They gave space to the other – but were still all the time tied together. They did not have to argue with each other. It is remarkable that there was so much harmony even though Nanaji was so much taller – in every way. What did Naniji have? I do not know.

Their marriage lasted for seventy four years. Naniji died before Nanaji – just as she had always wished. Four years later in September 1978, Nanaji from an out of town court appearance. The next morning he got ready, but he said he would not be able to go to the temple – his end had come. None of his children could reach in time to be with him when he breathed his last. He did not wait for any one – he lived ‘swadheen’ and died ‘swadheen’.

Nanaji and Naniji were very pleasant persons. I violated almost all rules of the household – I got up late, seldom went to the temple, bathed late, had my dinner after sunset and slept late. But Naniji was never impatient with me – she never tried to correct me – she just let me be. Only one thing she did tell me – she said, “Have more milk with your tea.” The place had a peace about it – one felt relaxed and happy.