Remembering you ‘Ghannu Uncle’………

The demeanor of uncle –  Tidings of the sad demise of ‘Ghannu uncle’ reached me lately. In fact, long ago, I had shifted to city and had laconic connections with my distant parental village. Another fact, the parental village, that otherwise also is the part of the same district of my urban residence, now nowhere looked like as that of bygone era of my childhood. The wave of urbanization and modernity too has transformed it into semi urban area. There,  denizens of that bygone era are hardly visible. The sad news gave me a shock, but I consoled myself considering his ripe age of more than seventy five years. It was a natural process of leaving this banal world at this age.

The tidings made me travel back into the memory lane of my child hood. Although, his full name was Ghanshyam, but in the entire village, we all brats called him as Ghnnu uncle. That was the time when I was a student of sixth standard in the village junior  high school and he had crossed the age of twenty five years of his youth. As per the prevailing norms for the marriage of a man, he seemed to stand at a danger zone of the age bar. With his single status  he could be put into the category of “chronic bachelor.” By looks, his features were sharp rather chiseled one with fair complexion added with a height just above the middle height. Besides, he was gifted with a melodious voice that made him a praise worthy singer.

At that period of time, when majority of people in the village were illiterate or undereducated, he was a holder of graduation degree in arts . This too added an extra feather into his hat.When idyllic people happened to attire in traditional Indian costumes of pajama and dhoti-shirt, he ever dressed up in pant-shirt and pump shoes on the feet. By the grace of the god, his ability as a vocal singer, he was most preferred artist to play the main lead role in the prominent mythological promenade concert of “Ramaleela” of the area. For years to come, from his teen age up to  adolescence, he played the main lead role in that melodious drama.

In our North India, with the fall of winter season, such annual mythological promenade concerts based upon the life history pf religious icon  Lord Rama  were arranged regularly. This promenade concert lasted for days to end. All lead characters in the concert were supposed to be good singer, who could chant the verses of Ramleela  in a sweet singing cord. Ghannu uncle at the beginning of his tender teen age first played the female part of Lady Sita, then of Lord Lachaman and after that of Lord Rama for so many consecutive years.

 His tender love – His soft, tender looks, and sweet melodious vocal cord, as an artist earned him intense admiration across the territory  of so many clusters of villages. Since the concert was the only major yearly event of the area, for years to come he was applauded for his performance. In a sum, in his life he succeeded to win a position of ‘ most talked person’. Later on, when on account of his grown up age, other artists replaced him, in the same concert he often gave rendition of most hit numbers of songs from “Hindi movies”.

Why he couldn’t get wed locked timely, despite himself being one of the eligible prospective grooms, has a story. As an educated person, he too had won a job in a nearby government ordnance depot, but remained bachelor for long. As the story goes, he was a properly famed and renowned boy of the area, having experience of college life. His smarter demeanor made a young girl to fall in his love and subsequently became his ‘sweet heart’. It was a’platonic love’ type thing which Ghannu uncle too cherished to end up happily into a wed lock. The girl belonged to a near by village and as the luck seemed to favor him, she belonged to the same caste and clan as that of Ghannu uncle. It seemed there would be no hazard in this ‘love story’ to reach a happy ending.

But as it has ever been, since the day of the inception of the civilization; the social system ever and ever opposed such type of love story. The truth is, at every stage of social system, every man cherished to have a girl friend. But in those days of conservative, orthodox social system, some one rarely could succeed to maintain this kind of fortuitous relation. In total, out of frustration, on the part of jealous rivals, of not being able to have a lover, impelled them to foil this love story. As it was a taboo in that time to be in love with some girl, he too got visited by other troubles. And the trouble occurred in a unique way.

The all the male members of the girl family, suffered from a common malady; all they were partially deaf. You say them about ‘wheat’ and they heard of “beat’. The entire family had a renown in the area as that of “clan of deaf.” As rumors about the love story of Ghannu uncle got floated, some jealous minded youth poured  the story into the ears of the “clan of deaf.” No doubt, some people too made sincere efforts with intent to make this love story to reach with an happy ending. Some related to them, story with a good intention, other related with a bad sense. This eventually led the girl’s family members with partially impaired faculty of hearing, in to a panic. The end but natural was tragic.

The family persons of the girl, in a hurry fixed her nuptial tie at some remote area and the day came she entered into her nuptial tie with her groom and left the place. This pushed Ghannu uncle into a solitary resignation. The notable travesty of this “tragic love story” was, behind Ghannu uncle, whenever villagers happened to say something about him, they referred him as “son in law of deaf clan” only. It remained as one of his nick names for long.

 The passive revenge of Uncle – Ghannu uncle never forgave the girl’s family for this ‘assassination of his love story.’ But as  a sagacious man, he was left with no option for any physical retaliatory action against the family of the girl, whom he loved with the depth of his heart. But whole through his life, whenever he was asked to give vocal rendition in the annual promenade concert of Ramleela, he wouldn’t hesitate to display his resentment by singing two Hindi movie songs, back to back. In those songs, he would intentionally twist the wording of the songs. This would put the audience into a hilarious mood. Need not say, the audience too contained the people from the girl’s village and this too helped to exaggerate the situation and keep his love story alive in the mind of people.

In fact, first song ran with the meaning, ” O dalliances…. with blossoms ! shower the flowers at paramour, reaching at the threshold of the bride!”( this song, still on today, is hit number, when marriage procession along with bride groom reaches at the door of  bride’s home.) He would twist the first Hindi word, that now sounded as, “deaf O! shower the flower over the paramour……..) In another song, that carried the meaning, ” dalliances of blossom, has robbed off the peace of my heart….” In that song, he would apply the words, “deaf have robbed me off my peace of heart….)

As told earlier, this ‘travesty of love story’, had already conferred him a nick name, ‘ son in law of deaf clan.’ This nick name, people in his native place used for him behind, whenever it needed to relate some thing about him. Whenever, some people visited his native place with a proposal for his marriage from the girl side and inquired to some denizen about him, the reply would be bombastic, ” Oh, Ghannu baboo….. the ‘son in law of deaf clan, you are asking about him?” and that would ever frustrate his marriage prospectus in advance.

The end of all these episodes ended up dramatically. On one sun day, when Ghannu uncle sat in a shop, at the village square. The routine government operated public transport bus, as usual halted at the square for temporary stoppage. From the bus, quickly alighted the “old time sweet heart” of Ghannu uncle along with her infant children. She quickly approached him and addressed him, ” greetings brother!”  and then ordained her infants, ” you all, touch the feet of maternal uncle!”  and with in minutes, before the bus glide ahead, she boarded back with her children and made off. The repercussion of all this can be imagined by reader. But one another tag mark as nick name got fixed with Ghannu uncle as “maternal uncle.” This too was like the ridiculous ending of his love story.   Penned by– Vinay Pharasi……