Three short stories from Haryana, maybe an insight somewhere !!

 Three short stories from Haryana, maybe an insight somewhere !!

Dinesh K Kapila

Haryana, the normal perception is that religion or spirituality or being urbane is normally miles away from its residents. Let us see if this theory holds, as I heard these stories, or what I understood of the stories, I am sharing.

Now to the first story. A person from Haryana, deep in the hinterland, saw videos about people meditating and said to his friends, just why are we sitting quietly, see all these guys sitting in Benaras and Badrinath and other religious places who have managed to evolve into higher souls. Why the hell should I be left? I am also going to pray, so he decided he was not only going to pray but attain a higher level of consciousness. He decided he was going to go to the nearest hill and climb on top of the highest point in the open and then only he would start to meditate. The second he he started to climb he thought once he reached the peak he would smoke a bidi before he would start meditating. He would have a leisurely smoke and then only would start a non stop process of meditation, well he reached the steep hill and climbed up the high high peak and all along he was mentally thinking how he would pray and meditate and what divine favour he would request for. He thought of achieving inner satisfaction, becoming a different person and evolving into a higher level of spirituality. He reached the peak, found a place to mediate, reached into his pocket and found he had the packet of bidis but no matchbox. He was so very angry with himself, rather burnt up, here he had come up twelve hours of hard hiking through tough terrain, there was not a soul in sight and well, there was no way he was going to go down the steep terrain for a matchbox. Angry with himself, he to started to meditate with high intensity, so he goes into meditation, deep meditation and the elements are all around them and he is not even aware. One year later God decides this guy is really too much devoted. To test him, he comes around, watches him closely and tries to distract him, not a muscle twitched, the trance was real. So God finally wakes him up gently and says ‘well my devoted man from Haryana. How are you? What do you seek? I’m here. What do you want in life? What do you want to be our man from Haryana’. Our man reaches into his pockets, checks again and says Bhagwanji. Could you just lend me a matchbox? Now you look for the lesson. It is there.

The second story again, a typical Haryana guy, well, he too wants to meditate. He has a loyal sidekick who says I will sit with you as you meditate and protect you from any distraction or wild animals. So they go to a thick jungle and deep inside it build a small basic hut and as decided, the would be sage would pray and the sidekick would look after him, so the guy starts to pray and meditate and the sidekick also joins in time to time as he had nothing else to do. A small amount of food and nuts and fruits were kept in the hut, a rat would come and nibble away and run on being shooed but would return in no time. Both got fed up of the rat. It was a major barrier to meditating also. One day, both the guys, the guy actually meditating and the sidekick, both from Haryana, were deeply annoyed by the rat, the sage to be said my dear sidekick I have had enough of this mouse, it is disturbing my concentration. I have to focus on the higher things of life to reach somewhere in my inward self, attend spiritual bliss and evolve as person. Why should I be deprived of all this because of a mouse, you get a cat so a cat was brought along and the sidekick said Swamiji this is a great idea. We were disturbed by the rat but Now we have the cat and the cat pounced on the rat and are it up. The cat was now very much you know sort of full. He was all stretched out and started mewing and purring. Now after sometime, both the sage to be and the sidekick realised the cat kept moving. It would pop in and out and was too distracting and after each feed, it would mew loudly, just how could they meditate with this mewing. How could inner peace be achieved, how would he, the would be sage know how to take mankind to a higher level, this was too much. He instructed the sidekick, get a dog, so a dog was brought and the dog chased the cat away. But now the dog would bark, even howl, and this prevented passers by and devotees to come over and give alms and donations. That again become a headache,they tried their best to calm the dog. They tried to tie him. They tried to muzzle the dog and finally one day the would be swamiji said loudly he had enough. He shouted get me a thick stout damn Lathi (a huge thick stick), the sidekick went out and returned with a lathi. He chased the dog as it barked away and gave one blow to the dog, it whimpered and cried a bit and then stayed quiet. And stayed quiet over the next few days. The would be Guruji now observed sagely to his sidekick, for all my years of meditation and attempts to reach my inner self and seek peace, this process has taught me a valuable lesson. I still don’t know about the inner self, inner peace and consciousness but the Lathi, this thick hard stick you brought me is certainly very useful, you can’t really lead your life without the Lathi. Everyone needs it. To have one and to know how to wield it. That is one clear lesson we can both safely draw. Hence if you travel, you will always a guy from Haryana , in the rural areas, with a lathi. The lesson, you draw.

The third story is about to Thanedars, (police heads at stations, say Inspectors) guys both now retired after long stints in rural areas where they had a legendary reputation for rough and ready methods in policing. They had settled in a small town, both had been good friends through college and service and they constructed their houses exactly opposite each other across a narrow road. Both had settled down after a couple of years and would go for long walks together and catch up with other senior citizens. Their main focus was to encourage their sons in their professions and to sit and chat with each other and the family members. And tell stories of thrashing sundry anti social elements while in service. Being the best of friends, they both decided their sons needed to get married, found good girls for them, and both the sons got married on the same day and it was a grand big happy joyous affair. 

Now one of the Thanedars, Haryanvi that he was, still partially prone to his service days, did what he was used to, pointing out loudly and roughly faults in the food and taste and the upkeep of the house. Nothing seemed to make him happy. Even if his wife thought of cooling him down, he would rudely brush her aside. The target though inevitably was his daughter in law. The second Thanedar saw this and became equally loud, rough and grumpy in his house. Both houses were ruled with an iron fist. The son of the first Thanedar was by now thinking that his father was bound to break up his marriage. It seemed on the cards. One day the daughter-in-law cooked some food and placed it on the dining table, it was lunch time and this Thanedar let loose in rough language, upbraided her loudly and told her that the salt was more, chilly less and went on. His son thought here goes my marriage, in desperation and to save his marriage, he quietly took a firm stand and let loose on his father, his mother watching silently, using his own father’s vocabulary though not exactly. He said it so loudly that anyone on the road could listen. The Thanedar, understanding his complaint was rather weak and taken aback at this huge unexpected counter attack, understood the situation and went quiet and ate his food.

Meanwhile the second equally bullying Thanedar had been also voicing his opinion roughly and loudly about his house and food, his wife sitting reconciled to the situation and the daughter in law ready to go back. That night dinner was served at the house of the second Thanedar, he sat down to eat his food while his son, wife and daughter in law got ready for the verbal onslaught. The daughter-in-law realised there was no salt in the food or for that matter any chillies, but the Thanedar sat quietly eating the food saying very good, very good. The son ultimately said that I am unable to eat any further, there is no spice at all, how did you eat the food and convey compliments, he asked his father. The Second Thanedar said I don’t know how I managed to eat it but I heard clearly what happened to my friend just across the street in the afternoon and I think it’s better to just eat my food. With all my training and experience in police work, I know when my it’s the time to keep quiet and when it’s a time to talk. That experience and training was just very useful just now. Draw your own lesson.
—————————————————————————————-