Arjun Singh: an Obituary

Arjun Singh, a freedom fighter, passed away on 5th November 2015 at his residence at Sri Krishnapuri Patna. He would have completed 91 just the next month, on 24 December. In a span of nine decades he witnessed, lived and contributed, in a substantial measure, to some of the historic moments of progress in Bihar and India. 

As a freedom fighter he spent six months in jail during the Quit India Movement in 1942. As an engineer he was actively engaged in the design and construction of a large number of the modern day monuments like bridges, roads and buildings that came up in post independent Bihar. Mahatma Gandhi Setu across Ganga at Patna is one of them.

Photo credit: Deepak Kumar
Arjun Singh was born in a nondescript village named Sherpur, situated about 100 km east of Patna on the bank of Ganga. As a student he was promising and bright. Despite the hardships at home he got through the matriculation examination with flying colours in 1942 to become the first matriculate in his village. The only source of income for the people in his village at that time was either farming or cattle raising. Arjun Singh, however, was nursing an ambition to create an alternative source of income for his family through his higher studies in Patna.

1942 was an important year in his life. He got admission to Patna Science College, the best in Bihar and one of the best in India then. But the course of his life took a new turn when Arjun Singh took the plunge in the Quit India Movement . He became a part of the historic attempt made by a group of students in Patna to unfurl the national flag at the state secretariat in which seven students died facing the volley of bullets in police firing. A monument in the memory of these seven martyrs named as Shaheed Smarak still stands before Bihar Assembly as a mute and grim reminder of the event. Fortunately at the time of firing Arjun Singh had to leave the spot for shifting an injured friend to a nearby tree. The friend had been injured in a cavalry march just before the firing.

The news about the firing and the death of the students had spread like wild fire all over the state. In the village when his family members came to know that Arjun too had been in the forefront at the time of police firing, they became very anxious. Describing those moments his younger cousin, Satyabhama Devi, who expired in 2014 at the age of 88, had said, “Arjun Da was the role model of our family. We were resteless to know about his well-being. Just when my father(his uncle) was preparing to leave for Patna he(Arjun Da) arrived at Mokama Ghat by boat. The other modes of transport like rail and road had come to a standstill due to the movement. He reached home in the dead of the night.”

Arjun, however, was undeterred by the brutal measures of the Imperial Government to crush the movement at Patna. Soon he joined his friends in picketing the schools in Barhiya. As a result he was arrested and sent to jail. He had to spend six months in jail where one of his friends, who was also his classmate in the school, was Kapildeo Singh who later chose politics as his profession and served the state as well as the country as a Cabinet minister at different intervals.

When Arjun came back from jail, his aspirations as a student had been thwarted. The doors of Patna Science College and all other colleges had been closed for him. Somehow he got a seat for the diploma course at Patna Engineering College. He was left with no choice but to pursue a diploma.

After finishing this course he joined the Government of Bihar as a Junior Engineer. However this did not stop him from acquiring the degree of engineering. He did so in 1948 by being an Associate Member of Institution of Engineers (India). He was then appointed as an Assistant Engineer by Bihar Public Service Commission in 1949.

Shree Arjun Singh had had a successful and fulfilling career with the Bihar Government-- starting from the lowest as a Junior Engineer, what was then called as 'overseer', to retire from the topmost position as Engineer-in-Chief in 1983. In the long stint of his service he was credited with the construction of a large number of buildings, a huge network of state and national highways and several bridges in the undivided Bihar. 

But when asked about his best, he would say, “Mahatma Gandhi Setu at Patna” with a sense of pride. He was handed over to complete the project at a time when its construction had already been delayed beyond a point. Under his care the bridge was completed in a record period of time and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi, in 1982.

With a long period of 90 years that was replete with some interesting and exciting events and which also coincided with the tumultuous history of pre and post independent India, Arjun Singh had become a legend in his lifetime. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is based on a series of telephonic interviews held with Shree Arjun Singh and Shrimati Satyabhama Devi in December 2013.

मैया की कहानी, मैया की जुबानी 2

हमलोग चार भाई बहन थे, तीन बहन और एक भाई। तीनो बहनों में मैं सबसे छोटी थी और भाई हम सबसे छोटा। वह मुझसे आठ वर्ष छोटा है। उसके जन्म होने के पहले मैं घर में सबकी लाड़ली थी । उस ज़माने में बेटे और बेटियों में बहुत भेद-भाव किया जाता था। वैसे तो यह फ़र्क आज भी किसी न किसी रूप में बरक़रार है। पर मेरे बाबू जी के विचार बिल्कुल अलग थे। वे अपनी बेटियों को पढ़ाना चाहते थे। पहली दो बेटियों में तो सफ़ल नहीं हो सके, लेकिन मुझे वे पर्याप्त शिक्षा प्रदान करना चाहते थे। शुरू के वर्षों में घर में बेटा नहीं होने के कारण मेरा लालन-पालन भी बेटे के जैसा ही हुआ।

मेरा पहला स्कूल मेरे गांव का भी इकलौता स्कूल था । उसका नाम था 'लालागुरू जी का स्कूल'। जैसा कि नाम से ही स्पष्ट है, इस स्कूल के शिक्षक, कर्ता-धर्ता और सबकुछ एक ही व्यक्ति थे, लालागुरु जी। गुरु जी गांव के बच्चों को वर्णमाला एवं पहाड़ा की शिक्षा देते थे । गांव के लोग इसके बदले में उन्हें जो दक्षिणा देते थे, उसी से उनका जीवन यापन होता था। एक गुरु के द्वारा चलने वाले ऐसे स्कूल आसपास के गावों में काफी प्रचलित थे। स्थानीय भाषा में इसे 'पिंडा' भी कहा जाता था। यहाँ मैंने हिंदी वर्णमाला, गणित में पहाड़ा एवं आसान जोड़ घटाव का ज्ञान हासिल किया। आजकल स्कूलों में 1 से 12 तक ही पहाड़ा सिखाया जाता है । लेकिन लाला गुरु जी के स्कूल में हमने 1 से 30 तक का पहाड़ा से लेकर सवैया, ड्योढ़ा, अढ़ैया, हुट्ठा (ये सब दशमलव के पहाड़े थे: सवैया मतलब 1.25, ड्योढ़ा 1.5, अढ़ैया 2.5, हुट्ठा 3.5) इत्यादि को कंठस्त कर लिया था।

करीब पच्चीस बरसों बाद मेरे बड़े लड़के, अरुण, की प्रारंभिक शिक्षा भी इसी स्कूल से शुरू हुई। उस समय गांव में एक पर्व मनाया जाता था जिसका नाम था चक चंदा। इस पर्व के अवसर पर गुरू जी अपने शिष्यों के साथ घर-घर जाते थे और गीत गा-गाकर गुरु दक्षिणा मांगते थे। मुझे याद है कि अरुण भी गुरुजी एवं अन्य शिष्यों के साथ एक बार हमारे घर आया था। बच्चों ने उसकी आँखों को बंद कर दिया और वे गाने लगे:

"बबुआ रे बबुआ, लाल-लाल ढबुआ
अंखिया लाल-पियर होळौ रे बबुआ,
मैया तोर कठोरा रे बबुआ
बाबू तोर निरमोहिया रे बबुआ
जरियो नै दर्द आवहौ रे बबुआ,
भूख लगल हौ रे बबुआ
प्यास लगल हौ रे बबुआ।

लालागुरु जी के यहाँ मैंने कक्षा एक एवं दो की पढ़ाई पूरी की। इसके बाद की पढ़ाई के लिए हमारे गांव में कोई विकल्प नहीं था। इसलिए बाबूजी ने मेरा दाखिला पास के गांव, बादपुर, के सरकारी स्कूल में करवा दिया। वह स्कूल मेरे घर से करीब एक किलोमीटर की दूरी पर था। नया स्कूल, नया बस्ता, नयी पुस्तकों को पाकर मैं काफी उत्साहित थी। घर से बाहर जाना, बल्कि गांव से भी दूर स्कूल में जाकर नयी चीजों के बारे में जानना और सीखना, मेरी कल्पना से बिल्कुल परे था। पहले दिन का अनुभव तो एकदम आशा के अनुरूप था --- मैं स्कूल गयी और घर लौट कर आई, पूरे उत्साह और उमंग के साथ।

लेकिन दुसरे दिन मैं जैसे ही घर से बाहर निकली कि मेरे एक चचेरे भाई, जो मुझसे करीब 20 साल बड़े होंगे, ने मुझे रोक कर मेरा बस्ता छीन लिया और गुस्से में आकर कहा, "खबरदार! आज से तुम्हारा स्कूल जाना बंद। इसके बाद अगर मैंने तुम्हें स्कूल जाते हुए देखा तो तुम्हारे हाथ पैर तोड़ दूंगा। "बाद में उन्होंने मेरे बाबूजी को भी इसके लिए बुरा भला कहा। असल में हमारे इस भाई साहब ने हमारे संयुक्त परिवार के प्रतिष्ठा की सुरक्षा का बीड़ा उठा रखा था। इसलिए खासकर औरतों और बेटियों को बाहर भेजने पर उन्होंने पाबन्दी लगा रखी थी। अपने इस दायित्व को वह धर्म के रूप में निभाते थे।

पर बाबूजी ने हार नहीं मानी। अखवार इत्यादि के माध्यम से उन्होंने घर में ही मुझे पढ़ना और लिखना सिखलाया। थोड़ी बड़ी होने के बाद चिट्ठी पढ़ने और लिखने में मुझे दिक्कत नहीं होती थी। गांव में किसी के घर डाक से चिठ्ठी आती तो कई बार लोग मुझे बुलाने आते थे। मैं उनको चिठियां पढ़कर सुनाया करती थी।

अखबार के अलावा धीरे-धीरे मैं धार्मिक पुस्तकें भी पढ़ने लगी। उस समय रामायण, गीता, महाभारत जैसी पुस्तकें लोग घर-घर में पढ़ा करते थे। मेरे गांव में कई ऐसे व्यक्ति थे जिन्हे धार्मिक पुस्तकों की पंक्तियाँ पूरी तरह से याद थी। इन पुस्तकों का पाठ एवं गायन हमारे सामाजिक जीवन का एक अभिन्न अंग था।

मेरी उम्र 13 या 14 वर्ष की होगी जब मुझे और मेरी चचेरी बहन, कलावती, को बड़का बाबू शाम को बंगला(दालान) पर बुलाते थे और रामचरितमानस पढ़ने के लिए कहते थे। वे खुद चौकी पर बैठ जाते थे। हम दोनों बहन नीचे चटाई पर। हमलोग मानस की चोपाई का पाठ करते और बड़का बाबू उसका अर्थ कहते थे। बीच में उच्चारण में कोई त्रुटि होने पर वो उसे दूर कर देते थे। बड़का बाबू हमारे बाबू जी के तीन भाईयों में सबसे बड़े थे। कलावती बड़का बाबू की ही बेटी थी। मेरी हमउम्र बहन एवं सहेली भी।

आज संयुक्त परिवार जब समाज से विलुप्त होने के कगार पर है तब समझ में आता है कि कैसे कुछ शब्दों का महत्व भी अब ख़त्म हो रहा है। संयुक्त परिवार में पिता के अन्य भाई भी पिता के समान समझे जाते थे, उन्हें भी उतनी ही इज्जत दी जाती थी। इसलिए बाबू जी के बड़े भाई को बड़का बाबू, मंझला बाबू इत्यादि कहकर पुकारा जाता था। इस तरह के शब्द संयुक्त परिवार को जोड़कर रखने में सहायक सिद्ध होते थे। अब जब संयुक्त परिवार की जगह एकल परिवार ज्यादा प्रचलित हो रहा है तो इन शब्दों की शायद जरूरत नहीं रही। शब्दों की भी पदोन्नतिहो गयी है। बाबू या पिता की जगह पापा अथवा डैड ने ले लीहै। बड़का बाबू, मंझला बाबू इत्यादि अब सिमट कर चाचा अथवा अंकल बन गए हैं।

मैया की कहानी, मैया की जुबानी 1

मेरा जन्म पटना से करीब 100 किलोमीटर पूरब एक छोटे से गांव में हुआ, जिसका नाम है शेरपुर। गांव के पूर्वी छोर पर गंगा बहती है, और पश्चिमी छोर पर है दिल्ली से हावड़ा को जोड़ने वाली मुख्य रेल मार्ग। मेरे घर और रेल लाइन के बीच केवल खेत ही खेत थे। बचपन से घर की खिड़की से आती जाती गाड़ियों को देखकर मैं इतना अभ्यस्त हो गयी थी कि केवल समय देखकर और गाड़ी की सीटी सुनकर मैं बता सकती थी की ये मुगलसराय पैसेंजर है, तूफ़ान एक्सप्रेस या कोई मालगाड़ी। 

सन 1934 के जनवरी महीने में हमारे गाँव और उसके आस-पास के इलाके में एक भारी भूकम्प आया था। उसमे चारो ओर जान-माल की काफी क्षति हुई थी। उस समय मैं अपने माँ के गर्भ में थी। मेरी माँ बताती थी कि उसी के सात महीने बाद मेरा जन्म हुआ। उस ज़माने में जन्म दिन याद रखने और मनाने की कोई प्रथा नहीं थी। लेकिन 1934 का वो भूकम्प मेरे जन्म की तिथि निर्धारित करने में सहायक सिद्ध हुआ।

आज जब मेरे छियासी साल पुरे हो चुके हैं, बहुत सी पुरानी बातें याद आती है। जीवन से जुड़ी कई घटनाएँ, किस्से, कहानियां मेरे जेहन में कुलबुलाती हैं, बाहर आने को आतुर हैं। ऐसा लगता है की कोई सुननेवाला मिले तो उससे अपनी उन खट्टी-मीठी यादों को साझा करूँ।

सन 1942 की कई बातें मुझे याद है, भारत छोडो आंदोलन के अलावा भी। तब मैं आठ साल की थी। उसी साल मेरी सबसे बड़ी बहन सत्यभामा की शादी हुई थी, मोकामा के सकरवार टोला मे। उसकी शादी की घटनाएँ मुझे उतना याद नहीं है। 

लेकिन उसके ठीक आठ दिन बाद हमारे गांव में जो एक और बारात आई थी, मोकामा के सकरवार टोला से ही, उसकी कई बातें मुझे आज भी स्पष्ट रूप से याद है। बारात काफी सज-धज कर आई थी--- उसमे कई हाथी, घोड़ों के अलावा एक मोटर गाड़ी भी थी, सकरवार टोला के नामी रईस बृजनाथ प्रसाद की। मेरे लिए किसी मोटर गाड़ी को देखने का यह पहला अनुभव था। दूल्हे की पालकी, ढ़ोल, बाजे, बत्ती के साथ बारात के सबसे आगे थी। हमारे छोटे से गांव के लिए यह एक अदभुत नज़ारा था। जब बारात दुल्हन के घर के सामने रुकी, तो सारे गांव के लोग जमा थे, बारात को देखने के लिए। 

अचानक किसी ने दूल्हे का चेहरा देखा और लोग बातें करने लगे कि 'लड़का बूढा है', 'लड़का बूढ़ा है'। धीरे-धीरे गांव के लोग इकट्ठा हो गए और कहने लगे कि ये शादी हम नहीं होने देंगे। एक सोलह साल की लड़की की शादी पचास साल के लड़के से नहीं हो सकती। बारात के लोग जब बातचीत से नहीं माने तो लोगों ने उनके ऊपर पत्थर फेंकना शुरू कर दिया, जिसमे मोटर गाड़ी का शीशा टूट गया। विरोध के इस पूरे अभियान में मेरे बड़का बाबू सबसे आगे थे। बड़का बाबू मेरे बाबूजी के तीन भाइयों में सबसे बड़े थे। बाबूजी भी वहीं थे पर वो बारात के लोगों को बचाने की कोशिश कर रहे थे। अंत में दूल्हे एवं बारात को उलटे पांव लौटना पड़ा। जाते-जाते मोकामा के लोगों ने धमकी दी कि शेरपुर का कोई भी आदमी जब कभी भी मोकामा आएगा तो हम इसका बदला जरूर लेंगे।

इस बीच हमारे गांव के राम बालक पहलवान दुल्हन को गोद में लेकर तेजी से अपने घर चले गए। हमलोगो ने जैसे ही देखा तो हमलोग भी उनके पीछे-पीछे गए। उन्होंने दुल्हन को एक कमरे में बंद कर दिया। राम बालक पहलवान के घर में भी उसी दिन एक लड़की की शादी थी, जिसके लिए पास के गांव, दरियापुर, से बारात आई हुई थी। गांववालों ने निश्चय कर लिया कि दरियापुर से आये बारात में से ही एक सुयोग्य वर ढूंढकर उस लड़की की शादी कर दी जाएगी। सचमुच वर मिल गया और उसकी शादी अगले दिन एक जवान युवक से हो गयी। एक ही दिन में उस लड़की के जीवन में एक नाटकीय बदलाव आया। कहाँ वह मोकामा के एक बुजुर्ग की पत्नी बनने वाली थी, अब उसकी शादी दरियापुर के एक नवयुवक से हो गयी।  

इस शादी से जुडी कई किस्से, कहानियां बाद में काफी प्रचलित हुईं। हमें पता चला कि मोकामा की बारात में जो बुजुर्ग व्यक्ति दूल्हा बनकर आये थे उनका नाम था सन्तोखी सिंह। लड़की के पिता, महि सिंह, उन्हीं की जमीन पर मोकामा टाल में खेती करते थे और सन्तोखी सिंह के कर्जदार थे। इसीलिए गांव के लोगों को शक था की शादी के नाम पर वो अपनी बेटी को बेच रहें हैं। इस पुरे प्रकरण में महि सिंह की बड़ी बेटी, मुरली, की भूमिका काफी अहम थी। वह खुद तो बाल विधवा थीं, लेकिन अपनी छोटी बहन की शादी सन्तोखी सिंह से करवाने में काफी सक्रिय रहीं। इस सन्दर्भ में लोगों ने मुरली पर एक गीत रचा, वह गांव में काफी लोकप्रिय हुआ :

कहमॉ के दाली-चौरा, कहमॉ के टोकना,

केकरा ले खिचड़ी बनैलें, छौंरी मुरली। 

मोकमा के दाली-चौरा, शेरपुर के टोकना 

दरियापुर ले खिचड़ी बनैलें, छौंरी मुरली। 

अपनौ खैलें, दरियापुर के खिलैलें 

सन्तोखी ले जूठा नरैलें, छौरी मुरली।             

प्रवासी पिता

1970 में प्रवासी पिता का पत्र अपने पुत्र के नाम:

प्रवासी प्रीतम

पढ़िए, एक 'प्रवासी प्रीतम' ने अपनी 'प्रिये' से जनवरी 1970 में क्या कहा था?

Baba: My grandfather

The year was 1982. Baba(my grandfather) had agreed to come from the village to our house in Patna for his cataract surgery after a lot of persuasion and request. At that time we used to live on the third floor of an apartment which did not have a lift. When Baba started climbing the stairs, he was staggering. But as I extended my hand for support, he rebuffed me outright by shouting me down. Taking help or support from anyone for his daily chores was anathema to him, a sin.

He passed away only after a few days of this incident. He was 86 year old.

Baba reminds me of the Grandfather of The Portrait of a Lady, a story by Khushwant Singh, which I had taught some time back to the High school students. He was tall and slightly bent with a stick in his one hand. He was also toothless. I could not imagine him to be young and married with children. He was meant to have lots and lots of grandchildren.

A typical day of Baba included his getting up at 4 am, doing the other chores for the day and finally sitting for prayer for minimum two hours. It must have been the most enjoyable part of his day. He would devote this period to the reading of the Hindu Scriptures such as the Ramanyan, Gita or Mahabharat. He would have the first meal of the day after finishing the prayer, not before 1 pm ever. However for my Grandmother, that was the most painful period. She could not have her meal before he had taken his (an unwritten rule of a wife taking the meal after her husband in the house). We would often hear the Grandma grumbling and complaining against the late eating habit of Baba.

It was during one such usual session of his prayer that a gentleman came to meet him. When I went to Baba to convey about his arrival, he raised his hand to indicate that the person should wait. The gentleman sat by his side and waited for the prayer to get over. After finishing the entire sequence of meditation, prayer etc when the grandfather turned around, he recognised the gentleman immediately and called him by his name. Further he said, "Have you come to see if I was alive or dead. The gentleman was very embarrassed but Baba burst out in laughter. The gentleman had indeed been sent by the Indian Postal Department for the same. My grandfather was drawing his pension after his retirement from the department.

Baba was the patriarch of our joint family and he also behaved like one. He would be fair in his judgement and won't spare even his children or grandchildren if they were found guilty. Once a boy from the neighbourhood had caused grievous injury to our cow by piercing its back with a spear. The cow had strayed in his farm while grazing. We were five cousins of the same age group who became furious to know this. We took it as a matter of family honour. Without consulting any of the elders we went to that boy's farmhouse, taught him 'our lesson' by snatching the spear from him and bringing it back home. When the matter came before Baba, he punished us for what he considered as wrong. We were ordered to go to boy's house to return the spear and say sorry to him.

The tradition of oral learning was practised in India until as late as the beginning of 20th century. People used to learn volumes and volumes of scriptures like the Vedas and such other books by heart. This learning was further handed over from generations to generations. My Baba was perhaps a strong link of that tradition. Though he had received the formal education only up to grade seven, he had all the multiplication tables from 1 to 30 and those of the decimals like 1.5, 2.5 etc at his fingertips. His knowledge of History and Geography was amazing. One day when I was struggling with some difficult arithmetic calculations while doing the homework for grade six, he came to my rescue by telling the answers in seconds.

There were 74 members in our joint family, all living together under one roof. Even the neighboring families(about 100 of them) were all part of the same clan or community where the members were bound with the ties of kinship. Death would occur every now and then either in the immediate family or in the distant, extended families. But I had never seen Baba shed any tear on the death of even a very close relative. It seemed as if he was devoid of emotions.

One evening in November I was sitting along with my cousins (eleven of them, sisters and brothers) around Baba, listening to his story of how he had passed the fitness test for the job in the Postal Department. Suddenly one of our cousins came running. She announced, “Baba, our Grandaunt is dead, Granduncle (her husband) is crying”. At first Baba became quiet. Then he said, “He is a fool, a henpecked husband”.

Similarly when the news of our Grandmother's demise was conveyed to him, we were all eager to see how he would react, especially on hearing the demise of his wife. Again he paused for a while, then mumbled, “She was the Lakshmi of the house.”

However two years later I got the privilege to see his tears. He was in his deathbed writhing in pain. My father, who was his third son, and my aunt, his only daughter, were sitting by his side. The aunt took his hand in hers and pleaded, “Babu (father), we are unable to see you in such pain. Rest in peace.” Hearing this two drops of tears rolled down his cheeks and the eyes were then closed for ever.

Even thirty six years after his death I miss Baba. He was a pillar of strength for me, a strong link to my joint and extended families, my childhood, my past. He stood for a tradition, culture and a way of life. His absence has created such a void in my life that can never be fulfilled.

Barka Babu

Barka Babu passed away today at 5 pm at a hospital in my hometown, Mokama. He was 86 years years old. For the last one month he was ailing and was bedridden. We all called him Barka Babu because he was the eldest of my father's five brothers. 'Babu' is the word for 'father' in Magahi. In a joint family like ours we would address all our uncles as Babu. That is why we had Barka Babu, Manjhla Babu, Chhota Babu. Not only this, as my father's five cousins also lived in the same traditional house having a courtyard in the centre and a Dalan in the front, we would address them as Goru Babu (because his complexion was fair), Karu Babu(dark complexion) etc.



Barka Babu expired exactly at the same age (86) at which my grandfather had died. Like his own father he also worked as a Sorter in the Indian Postal Department . He was, thus, known in our small town as Ramchandra Singh Sorter. There were many other similarities between him and the Grandfather. They both were recognized for their hard work, honesty and sincerity in the department. Each had had the privilege of being the head of our joint family. In fact Barka Babu had succeeded my Grandpa after his retirement.  


When I recall my childhood days, I am able to see him as a man of average height in his usual dhoti and kurta going to his office. He was duty-bound, never late for work. When he came back from work, one could observe a very controlled smile on the face. Otherwise his usual self was serious. With the children he would relate more. He had his own way of interacting with them. He would call them by their pet names at a very high pitch and they would get scared.

He had led a disciplined life-- right from getting up in the morning to getting ready for the day, then prayer, meals; everything had to be on the right time. I could not imagine Barka Babu being ill or bedridden ever. When he was the head of our joint family, it was his responsibility to take care of any member who became indisposed. 

I remember once when I became down with fever as a child. Everybody in the house said, "Let's wait for your Barka Babu. He would do the needful." I kept on waiting for him to come from office in the evening. I was barely given any food. It was an unwritten rule in the house that anyone suffering from fever will remain on fast until he is taken to the village ayurvedic doctor. One could  be given only warm water or hot milk to drink and thin arrarot biscuit of Brittania company which was popular in those days. My mother coaxed me so much to drink milk that I started hating the very sight of milk and biscuits since then. I was actually waiting for the time when Barka Babu would arrive and solve all my problems. 

Finally when he came to me in the evening, he put the palm of his right hand on my forehead and paused for a few seconds. Those were the moments for which I was waiting for long. Indeed I was feeling very hungry and weak. I was expecting I would be given the freedom to resume the normal diet. But to my utter disappoinment he said, "Be on the fast for one more day". From then onward I would shudder at the very thought of being ill.

Before his demise he had stayed in the village, bedridden, for two weeks. Then he was brought to Patna for treatment. He had not been ill for such a long time. Perhaps it was a surprise for him too. That is why when my father, his younger brother, (6 years younger than him)  went to see him there, he said, " Rambahadur, I am going to the next world now". My father replied, " Dada, don't worry. I shall follow you soon". It was only about ten days after this conversation that he passed away.