Facets of common man’s life –
In our daily life, we encounter with multiple of minor incidents. Some of them occur, in a routine course of life, as if , part and parcel of old fashioned life of advertisement world. The anecdote I am going to relate, belongs to my student life and goes back to the decade of 1980. This story contains two facets of the same travesty, the life plays with common people. Myself, being a native of distant located village of the district at that time, had to attend my college classes in a city college. For the purpose, I happened to board on a bus from a local ‘bus stoppage’ that was at a distance of about two km from my residence.
This distance, I had to cover on my bicycle. There, near the “bus stoppage”, I would station my bicycle at some local shop and board on the bus. The motor-bus would drop me at, my final destination in the city ‘main private bus stand.’ In our India, there has always been in existence, two types of bus services for public transportation. One, run by the government department, by transport corporation of the State or the province. Another one, by ‘private bus operators’ under legally issued licence by the authority. The period of time I am talking about, this system prevailed whole through the territory. Still, the same system operates at minimal level.
At the ‘main city private bus stand’, I was to alight from the bus and walk on to my destined college on foot. That was an old era, and, population density was thinner. India at that time, indeed,was an under developed nation, and entirely a different scenario ever existed. Vast, open places were abundant in such small city. And, at the ‘private bus stand’, various makeshift shops, kiosks, small restaurants obviously had had to register their presence there at. There only, whenever, I walked off from the bus stand, a tent type make shift shop, ever attracted my attention. It was basically, because of its selling of unique numbers of products.
The shop belonged to people, migrated from a far distant province of Rajasthan. This province is a border state of India, whose international boundaries touch the Pakistan. This makeshift shop, made of tent; in the frontal portion, they people run their shop. Behind, in another comparatively larger side tent, their joint family stayed. It sufficiently contained so many family members, including male and female members of every age, from children to old aged people.
The uniqueness of the shop was, to vend ‘self- prepared’ herbal and Ayurveda medicines along with some edibles prepared from dry fruits. As they proclaimed, such products were enormously helpful in enhancing the sexual potency of a man. In the advertisement drive, they happened to play hit numbers of film songs of the time on the tape recorder, sound amplified with speakers. In between the songs, as commercial breaks, the announcement about the efficacious effects of potency enhancing medicines were made eloquently.
In next ” star campaign drive,” they used to apply a traditional device. In this drive, firstly, they attracted the audience by announcing, ” come on, all ladies and gentle men! Now our wrestler boy will display before you his physical strength. This strength, he has obtained by consuming our powerful, potential medicines and porridge made of herbs and dry fruits, specially prepared by us.” And, when enough number of audience gathered in shape of crowd in a ‘circle’, there would appear a wrestler aged about twenty five years old with naked body. Merely a small piece of cloth wrapped round his loin tightly. His whole body sheeny by the galvanization of oily substance rub. With his stout, muscular body, he would make some rounds inside the circle displaying his body building. After that, he make some sit – up and push up, twisting his body, in a fashion as a bodybuilder displays from various angles.
Wonder display
In next step, a pair of Mirzapur bamboo’s sticks( Mirzapur bamboo is a rare variety of bamboo. It,s solid rock from inside, having not a bit hollowness as bamboo in general have, and as hard as steel. Such bamboo poles are commonplace in villages, as a stick used by old fashioned natives as well as for combat purpose.) were brought. These bamboo sticks, both of equal size, having a length of about six feet and a girth about four to five inches. Both bamboos tied tightly at both end with the help of leather thongs, and looked like a single thicker stick.
Then, the old man who anchored the show, threw a challenge to the crowd, ” any gentleman, who takes himself strong and full of physical strength is welcome here. He is free to apply his hands on this pair of bamboo sticks. He is asked to apply his force in the mid of the sticks and by stretching apart the sticks, make a space and pass himself through that chasm.”
No doubt, apparently it was an impossible task. No one in the crowd succeeded in making even a chink by applying his entire force of both hands. And miraculously, how it all happened, I am unable to explain even on this day, ( as an eyewitness of the street play). The wrestler, finally stretched both the sticks, with the force of his both hands, making a sufficient space of “boat shape,” by parting them and passed his body through this space gliding. It was a deed of stupendous physical strength. The show helped to generate a miraculous impact on the crowd that herbs and porridge being sold were of immense potency. This induced crowd to buy the miraculous sex enhancing products. Some shyly, others boldly would purchase the products and make off.
Travesty of life
Now, come to the second facet of the same story. On on day, I was wandering in the district court compound regard my “domestic certificate” get issued from the Sub – divisional Magistrate office. I noticed, some people from the same Tribe there, who happened to run their business of selling the products of sex enhancing potency. All they squatted in a small circle, at an open place in the lawn of the Sub-divisional Magistrate.Their faces wore melancholy expression, as if, waiting something anxiously. Even the same wrestler too was with them. This created a curiosity in me, since, watching their wrestling show, I had begun to feel some affinity with them impliedly.
Just to begin the conversation, I extended my pleasantry to the headman, the same old man who anchored the show. I asked him, ” hey, old man, what made you come here?” Old man responded with a deep sad tone, ” what to say Saheb ji, the better half of our this wrestler boy has eloped with some scoundrel. We have confirmed information, at what place she staying with that scoundrel. So we are here to get issued the “recovery warrant” to take her back home. Our advocate is inside the court and arguing our case there to obtain the warrant.
Just ponder over it..… Penned by– Vinay Pharasi…..
