Bheri Gaon's Khas Kura

By Kaziman Ghale

The reminiscence flashed in the murky corner of my matured heart and started hovering in to the past making me feel quite uneasy with the nascent frivolity of my childhood, but Lo! Behold my wrinkled hand starts quivering while putting those reminiscences into black and white. Some times I fear to think whether my village Bhangeri Gaon is in seismic zone because of earth tremors and frequent soil-erosion. A child of about four years old accompanied his ailed father being carried in a doko to his native village Bhangeri Gaon, on foot by his kith and kin from Birgunj where he had stayed more than two years after retirement from Indian Army under British Rule in 1943. .

Secluded his village and hardly pliable even today in the 21st century, the people are socially and economically disrupted, and shackled into varied rigid customs, rituals and staunch belief unsuited to ever-changing environment of 21st century. The common language of Khas Kura is the language of their bewilderment still now as they speak the language of their own castes. The language is the main hindrance for communication to these rustic villagers of far off hilly terrain. This may be a tremendous green belt for research Sociologists. Reverie of thoughts shattered into reality and I was on my way to my village tired of ascending and descending the zigzag foot-treks in the hilly terrain. My ailing father who got treatment in Missionary Hospital Birganj in 1943, was deprived of medicines in his native village and soon took heavenly abode leaving my mother and me in lurch. I still recollect my starving childhood when there was draught and feminine in my village in 1946.

On the vast breast of a giant hill with a cluster of shacks is situated Bhangeri Gaon laid in sedate with its credulous and innocent people shabbily dressed in shoddy clothes always engaged themselves in the drudgery of cultivation in traditional way. The barren hill is converted into cultivated land in ladder shape, the dense forest is feasted with many varieties of valuable herbal plants, gorgeous trees and fossils as well, drawing attention to the scholars, research-students of forestry, botanists, zoologists and geologists as well as to those involved with keen interest in natural sight-seeing, bird-watching and rare-trekking. The hill top seems to be wrapped up with silver clothes almost throughout the year looking beautiful and alluring everyone with its charming queer scene when flash of lightening with rumbling sound out of the over hanging clouds, fall on its silver wrappers and then tiny pearls are showered from the heaven to quench the thirst of the earth. Insects of rare species of nature seem to pervade all over this heavenly abode. The swinging paddy crops mostly all over the hilly terrain making sweet rustling sounds, fill the pious hears of cultivators with tremendous joys and gay-full spirits.

Nature has carved high hill into small plateau called Salentaar inhabited and cultivated on its sedimentary soils. Nearby is the Ratamate, which seems always lop-side smiling, reddened countenance of blushed bride. Wherever our glance fell the swishing green crops on the red soil look very beautiful. Aarughaat is a developing rural area changing into a charming town. From technical, environmental and other point of views, Salentaar is the ideal area for industrial developments, agricultural research centre and social welfare centre. Aarughat the twinkling small village but fast growing into a town in the murky night on the embankment of the river, saddled between the mountains, looks as if the star-studded heaven has come down on earth for merry-making.

Companionship! It’s natural instinct found in every living thing. People crave for companionship. It’s not the carving for the sake of company but it’s their latent fear of being destitute. The credulous mostly the illiterate younger generations finding deficient source of their livelihood in the up-surging economic upheavals, find themselves inclined and enthralled towards this un-satiable waves unwittingly. It therefore, seems inevitably essential to bring forth a radical change in restructuring the ancient society, as the people, on being in an economically affordable position, change their shabbily dressed shoddy clothes, can’t they bring about radical changes suiting to the new generation in the old-fashioned beliefs and chronic faiths deeply wrapped in poverty. The varied languages of different castes and creeds of the hilly terrain scattered all over the country, are the main hindrance for common communication, and without proper communication management, the pace of the progress is dimly tenable. Far away from the ruffles and rumples of urban life, the hedonistic attitude of life as seen prevailing in many parts of our rural areas mingled with prudish fear of the poverty-stricken people, must be stopped at the earliest for the healthy society. In the night reverie function of youths, choosing of a damsel for one’s wife without her consent, is a ridiculous and mockery in the present era of advanced social welfare state.

The sexual conduct and priggishness of the female are immensely affected by such prevailing hedonism in the rustic society. The most affected and profound sufferer one is the child who, at the later years of his or her life, finds in a very critical and perplexed position having more than one father as well as mothers to call them for establishing his or her own entity in the developed healthy society. Such mental torture of the new generation must be stopped by the State because "Unless above himself, he cannot erect himself, how poor a thing is man". The innocent people of my village cannot think of the advances achieved in science, technology, kaleidoscopic changes in the concept of time, space, energy, social, political and economic advancements for the betterment of human-beings. Let the differences and animosities of our different castes and creeds be kept aside and not be allowed to come on the way of advancement and welfare to our society.

Let the freedom to practise and right to propagate one’s own religion be given to the people in a better way of understanding each other with due respect, having broader vision of our life. On the way of varied religious symbols of one’s being the superior one and different modes of practising the religion on the ground of superiority, let it be given a thought that the great value of every religion in the world is to give inner tranquility and solace to all humans from the exterior sufferings of the mental agonies, stresses and pains.

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