( Recap- In the previous part, I narrated about the marriage ceremony of Aatma Ram Mama’s ( Maternal Uncle) youngest son and incidence about the marriage procession. How guests, who were invited to attend the marriage procession as a distinguished guests, were expecting as usual about the arrangement of a bus to carry them to the destination of marriage venue. l also described about their disappointment on that front as how dramatically they felt crest fallen. Further about the chaos, that took place during the marriage function.)
Its said about the time, ” Time is an ever changing concept and also brings drastic changes along with.” The same occurred here. Ten long years had elapsed after that marriage ceremony of youngest son of Aatma Ram mama (Maternal uncle) ji. The same marriage function about which I narrated about my life time’s first drink experience of liquor in the last episode. Now it was the year of 1990. In between this period of time, I too had completed my post graduation study and had joined my “legal consultancy” profession. My coming into “legal consultancy vocation” had enhanced my face value amid kith and kin.
On the same, Aatma ram Mama ji too had granted a general pardon to all his “distinguished guests,” who had attended his youngest son’s marriage procession and soiled his reputation by creating a chaos there. It often happens in the social system in which we live that with the passing of time, all social offence are ignored. I too was one of the offenders, who was granted pardon. Though, for years to come, when ever any other small scale family function held in his family, he sternly commanded my mother not to get me accompanied along with her. But after lapse of time every thing got normalized. Yes , in between those years the Gandhian type image of Mama ji remained alive in surroundings as usual.
He got retired from his teaching job in the same year or after one year of his youngest son’s marriage ceremony. After retirement, he kept on riding on his bicycle, but later on managed to buy a light weight petrol-engine run Moped bike. This too was needed with his growing old age. Now, before going ahead about Aatma Ram Mama ji story, the narration of an another “relationship” is needed as an essential segment of this story. Without the description of this segment, the sarcastic facet of human psychology can not be emerged up. As a matter of fact, one of the real sisters of Aatma Ram Mama ji was settled in the adjacent Religious city of our district, on the bank of river Ganga. Her abode was there and that city was part of the another district.
In this sequence of relationship, his sister being the the cousin sister of my mother, hence she was my aunt on maternal side and her husband as uncle to me in the prevailing social fabric. Although, this uncle was elder than Aatma Ram Mamaji and had three sons and two daughters as offspring. Despite this, uncle being elder than Mama ji, I had cultivated a good deal of tuning with him. This was the time, when I was installed into my profession properly and been transformed into a daily habitual drinker. At that period of time, still it was considered a taboo, of a youth like me to become habitual of daily drink in our social system of that time.
But, by nature I had ever been a rebel type youth and was given not to acknowledge any criticism on this front. I was of the opinion, It was my life and I was free to enjoy it in the way I like. Now this uncle ( husband of maternal aunt from the religious city,) too was a great fond of alcohol. Notwithstanding the “Generation gap,” in the sense of age group between his and mine was like father and son. But, the liking for drinks had cultivated a close affinity like friendship between us. One noticeable point here about the age group was; his eldest son too was much elder than me, but even after that, uncle treated me like a friend.
One thing worth mentioning about this uncle was, he was of his own kind of person and expert in maneuvering through in all odds and even situations. Besides, an another significant feature about our Hindus’ religious cities is worth mentioning. In our all religious cities, the policy of “Total Prohibition” is imposed from the very beginning. Such religious cities been notified in government gadget as “religious” one and no “licensed liquor shop” is found with in precincts of such cities. In fact these are “dry area.” But, the another facet of the coin is, in every such city, a good number of people as “fond of alcohol” too also happen to exist and they too obtain the supply of liquor properly behind the curtain.
It may sound mysterious to reader, but need not say: such kind of supply chain of illicit liquor has ever been a lucrative business for many people dealing in that line. Whenever, I happened to visit the uncle’s place at his “religious city,” often I used to carry proper quota secretly from my own city. Here in my city, it was a licensed selling business and no any such restriction on sale of liquor was imposed. Occasionally, it happened, if my “stay” lingered on for one or two days more there, then the “shortage” of liquor was supposed to occur. Since uncle was a person expert to deal in such odd situation as an old “mastereo,”, he was to visit some “secret spot” and would be back with sufficient quota of liquor.
To me, visiting his place had ever been like an adventurous Picnicking. A simple phenomenon worked behind this. A place where “sale and drinking of” liquor was not permissible and you enjoy both the ventures there, it provided you with a thrilling sensation. In that young age, it gave me a feeling of “defying the existing law and order.” I think, It was due to the lack of maturity on my part and as a”bad habit on the part of Uncle and “bad habit dies hard.” While on the same, in the government law and order maintaining agency, liable to maintain the law, a good deal of people too remained indulged in the same bad habit of drinking in the same religious city. This fact was known to all.
In the same scenario, in between the time, the nuptial tie of second youngest daughter of the Uncle got fixed in the summer season. Again, I was bound to attend this marriage as sole representative from the side of my family. It again soothed my nerves in imagination to experience the same adventure of consuming liquor in a prohibited area on the settled date of the matrimonial ceremony. ( End of the Part 5th .) Penned by — Vinay Pharasi —–
