All the beautiful daughters of Mara, Ashok Aatreya [black male authors .TXT] 📗

of his Nana’s memory who till his last days wanted to help him in the matter of Shaheen. But unfortunately he was arrested again in connection of politically framed murder charge of some congress leader who was aspiring for M.L.A seat in the first coming election…
‘He died in Jail by protesting hunger strike which deteriorated his health badly and by the time he was being sent to hospital he died on the way. He was a fiery opponent leader of ruling congress party…
After a long pause when Mira felt, he was lost somewhere, she changed the subject.
‘Anand have you ever seen the collection of old masters in Taj Palace Hotel?
‘’No I have no idea of that…Even for coffee or tea I avoided visiting Taj…It must be very expensive.’
‘That way I am also not a frequent visitor but my father has a very reputed position there .He is in purchasing committee of art objects, paintings and sculptures so I am also known to curators of Taj’
‘Can we have access to that treasure trove of art?
‘We can try today…at least the display works of masters can be seen.’
‘It’s my pleasure…
So Anand and Mira entered the heritage wing of Taj
‘Anand in very recent times there was the famous Rendezvous in the corner but today it’s a memory…It no longer exist.’
‘Was that a grand hotel?’
‘Not exactly grand in size but it was a place of ultimate glamour and sophistication for Bombayites…My mom was a regular visitor - She emphatically told him that. Then she told him one more interesting thing…when Taj was first opened it’s Ballroom pillars of spun iron were shipped from Paris.At that time its founder builder Jamsetji Tata was in Paris.
Anand was fascinated by the interiors of different section of Taj.They moved in the intercontinental wing.
‘From that point my mother enjoyed the unbeaten view of Arabian sea. She often talked about those glimmering and vanishing memories…the reflection of ships lights falling on sea and the rest of Bombay. She described all that as dream when ever she visited that place. Mira became emotional.
Now they were passing through the Bell Tower suit where famous painting of contemporary most celebrated artist Jahangir Sabavala was hanging…It was ‘Outward to unknown’, another enormous canvas highlighting M.F Hussain’s new work behind the frontal desk of new wing…it was a riot of colors of his established style. For his viewers he used a new mechanism and expressed through decorative motifs the usual rhythm of daily chorus of life. Mira got Anand introduced to the curator of art who gave him wide range of information of paintings in the heritage section. As friendly and traditional gesture they enjoyed ‘tea with fruits’ at curator’s desk and left Taj with special privileged feelings.
He enjoyed few more months in Bombay, came in lime light as short story writer and art critic of repute. During those months he also developed relations in the Bollywood circle also but then all of a sudden decided to leave Bombay as he had already completed his two year’s diploma in fine arts from the prestigious J.J School with flying colors. He thought to return to his roots and his own people. Perhaps it was somewhere his craving of coming out from another sin which went deep into his mind…the sin that became his agony and the emotional set-back…His Shaheen’s affairs…


24/ HIS UNSUNG HERO
Anand was newly appointed as a teacher in a small village Mojera near Eklingji, Uaipur. Before that he did ‘Darshan’ of the principal God of Mewar.He had completed his art diploma from J.J. School of Art and willingly wanted to opt for some tribal area for his first posting. Since he was attached emotionally with his Nana and heard about his days of struggle in those tribal pockets, against the British Crown, he wanted to respectfully touch that land by his own feet.
After coming to the pious soil of Mewar, Anand first of all visited ‘Haldi-Ghati’ and offered his homage to Maharana Pratap, the lone crusader of independence who struggled very hard, fought bravely throughout his life against Moghel Badshah Akabar.Anand still remembered one poem which he had read in his school days-‘ Mai ehda poot jan jehda Ran Pratap , Akbar sootyo oujha ke jaan shirane saamp.’…( O mother give birth to a son like Maharana Pratap, whose mere thought kept Akbar sleepless and scared as if there was some snake hidden under his pillow.’) He took the sacred sand of the narrow valley and did a tilak (mark of respect) on his forehead. There was a vast and impressive memorial, a statue of Pratap on the back of his loving blue- horse Chetak before his eyes. His head bowed automatically…he was thoughtless for some moments then he contemplated about his pride motherland…no dust particle of his vast land was free from the blood of heroes who sacrificed for their country…he remembered the historian colonel James Tod who was the great admirer of velour’s and outstanding fighting spirits of Rajpoots.He wrote in his Annals-‘Not even the smallest territory of Rajasthan is less than any Thermopolis and no land is without a warrior un-equal to Leonades there…!
Anand became very emotional as he deeply thought about his Nana who almost gave his entire life in fighting against the British colonialists …The British from its early days had to contend almost ceaselessly with resistance from number of such persons like his Nana .It was actually the misrule of British against which his Nana fought. He wanted to support indigenous institutions, he wanted social justice, he was for the happiness and material well-being of his people and for that he was engaged in the Independent movement, his ways were radical and he wanted to over through the crown by totally violent means.
It was the uprising spirit of his Nana’s revolutionary group which gave the British a hard-tough time. That group separated and spread all over the south part of Mewar and organized agitations. That rocked the government.
He lived to see the dawn of freedom; … Anand’s Nana was no more feudal lord…He was rather against the whole new system of freedom. He was still thinking that freedom had come to immature but corrupt hands…It was in the hands of black ‘Angrez’ (English men) .There were lot of cases still pending against his Nana since he was a staunch opponent of Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent congress leaders…he had still the fire of revolution in his heart and did not favored the making of Pakistan…His game of hide and seek was going on. He died in agony in jail. As he never compromised with his revolutionary ideals and never agreed with Gandhi’s ways of non-violence, his revolutionary day’s friends left him alone…and ultimately he died as an unsung hero. But in Anand’s heart his Nana had made an image of an idealist who was never a practical person and due to his rigid stand in life he had to suffer a lot… actually as a matter of fact lot of qualities made him an unfit man for the changing society….in the newly developed political market his Nana remained an ingot only and people lately, after independence, needed finished products….sort of thick skinned persons!
Anand left the statue with wet eyes ….(’Shaheedon ki chitaon pe lagaingai har baras mele)There will be festivals on the martyrs lands … that will be the only mark left, in the memories of those who gave their life for the nation. (Vatan par marne walon ka yahee baki nishan hoga…)’these words were still echoing to his ears.


25/REINVENTING THE NEW SELF


In the matter of his loved birds, Anand was always lucky, although he had never moved in that direction in any planned manner… and whenever he was skeptical about the fair sex, he thought of staying away and tried for reinventing himself. When he met Bhairvi for the first time he never knew that she would become an important part of his life.
It seemed the life had turned, in the right direction. Although she was a victim of nature but in her ebony young lady the living fire was burning and she was true to his choice. Cupid stroked him again, in the picturesque, hilly surroundings of Aravali valley. He was ready to take the plunge again. No problem, this time with a pretty and smart nurse! The entire episode took little time as it was a game of heart, heart knows no bounds. The chances of risking and loosing were there but his temptations to travel on a different path, was his part of life. He was not an escapist. His tendency was never of a commoner. It was a time when he was working in a small primary school as a drawing teacher in the southern part of tribal area of Rajasthan. Bhairvi was a nurse and she belonged to Kerala. She was a black beauty as if crafted by God himself… The delicate side of the girl was her so called stigma of being a leaper. Her hands and some part of the neck had the brown, black patches of the disease. Anand also heard about her that she was once made the victim of attempted rape by ex Health Minister to whom she opposed with her courageous and bold spirit. It was a difficult decision of marrying her as her background and cast factor
The sun was coming out of the clouds behind the Arawali Range and the town of Delwara creating silhouette effect because of sharp clear light falling on each and every building of that ancient township. Everything below the hills was moving slowly with life of limited people scattered in patches around tea stalls. He was in the relaxing mood. The bus from temple town Nathdwara was on the way to Udaipur. From that Roadways bus the local village nurse of Primary Health Center of Delwara just came down…. She was turning towards the Bargad Ki Gali (Banyan- tree). …And an above average slender good looking black beauty in white tunic and socks blouse covering her hands fully was before him. Her movement was very graceful and face was radiating calm emotions with charming sleeping eyes half open…He watched her with some butterflies in the stomach. She was bending little toward right side and putting her weight on her right shoulder. On the first sight she projected a complete impressive caricature of her personality... No doubt she was a nurse
.“She is coming…” in local dialect, a beedi smoking mine worker laughed meaninglessly, opening his half mouth and showing his broken yellow teeth. She is the ‘Universal- sister’. Someone standing below the broken branches of Banyan tree, made some intelligent but irrelevant comment. Anand kept himself silent and did not think proper to talk about the nurse who had already made a good impression in his mind. She in slow motion entered the street where she was residing.

Next day after leaving his School in half time Anand reached Primary Health Center (P.H.C.). The nurse was busy in routine work of bandaging some old man. The P.H.C. had only one compounder and one nurse as a staff that is all and visit of any doctor would only take place when there was some V.I.P. visit. He had some pain in his neck and for last one month that pain was not subsiding. When he asked about his pain and wanted some pain killer she gave her simple Aspirin tablet with Vitamin B-complex small yellow tablets. But the same time she advised him for x-ray… The meeting with her was initially for formal introduction but made a lasting impression of her sensitive behavior.
There was a narrow rivulet on the opposite side of P.H.C... And the