On Rishikesh’s analysis

By Rebati Mohan Sinha

I open up a debate, quoting a line or two of Sanjeeb Chatterji’s travel story ‘Palamau’. While visiting Palamau in his youth the writer happened to look at a sapling of a banyan tree which was growing on a rock and he felt sad for it and said ‘how could this sapling be surviving on this rock?’. Then he visited the place again years later and saw the same full grown banyan tree and said ‘look at this tree! for its own survival, it didn’t even leave the rocks free.

Rishi is quite right in his own way as far as the analysis on the article is concerned; in fact it is worth reading and an eye opener for our society elders; but some related issues are bit different than what he has perceived. I would just like to highlight those points in brief.

Point-1. 

Rishi should not have a doubt, ‘individual’ precedes over anything. In our society people are very much selfish and they are after their image building spree without any sweating. Individualism has no place in any society; but some of us think otherwise and dictate terms.

Hiring of people for carrying a deceased to the crematorium is not at all a prediction; but a fact. Now days have already come and recent months it happened in a BM village where deceased had left behind her old husband; but no children. The only nephew whom she had brought up in childhood, refused to even see her dead body. And due to dola-doli, man folks of the village had shied away. A samaritan came in for help, he called the people from neighboring villages to do the last ritual.

Point-2. 

The Brahmins in our villages have almost lost their authority as far as the dola-doli is concerned. They are the ‘kaath-putli' of paisa-wala and can not dictate any one.

Point-3. 

Although Mr. Ranjit could see about 20 people were there in the house, out of which only 4/5 aged people listening the religious discourse and the remaining were youngsters. These youths gathered there only for the delicious Prasad, once the discourse was over. No doubt, children are always considered the symbol of innocence.