That pair of crows (Part 1st ) —

The narration I am going to relay, about that, reader is at liberty to put it in the category of either anecdote or story. To me the first part of it is like a “fiction,” which is based upon my experiences of teen age. Whilst the second part relates to the first part of story because of  my wanderlust hobby. The god knows only, why I am of the opinion, both the part correlate with one another. The reason in the support of this conclusion may be; the imaginative drive of teenage categorically stands on a different footing with its own kind of conviction. Hence, first part of the story got inscribed in my mind in that way. Second part of the story belonged to the prime youth, when you are at a more advanced stage of maturity but not at the level of fully matured stage.

But what has occurred in that teen age and when you try to correlate that with the second age group; if it helps you feel it realistic, you begin to believe in that. Firstly, I take you to the first part of the story, that belonged to my teen age. For this, I have to take you in the same landscape of my countryside village of Himalayan foot hill district. That was the period when I was a teen age boy about fourteen years old and student of tenth standard. That was the golden period of my life, when I happened to stay in my countryside habitat with Arcadian backdrop. If a reader has been a regular visitor of my this blogging site, then certainly he would have gone through my blogs under the title, “Sketch of.” Alternatively, this story is also extension of the same series with little bit modification.

At that time, long ago my this Himalayan foot hill district was like other conventional district settled on an old pattern. In such district, there used to exist a “main city,” and in its peripheral expansion, cluster of villages were supposed to exist in good numbers. My country side village too was a far distant part of this cluster of villages. Far distant in the sense, at that time if a village located at a distance of about fifteen km away from the main city, denizens ventured to visit the main city in case of urgency only. Otherwise they avoided visiting the main city.

In that era, mainly two “causes” prompted villagers to visit the “main city.” Firstly, if someone suffered badly from health issue. In that case patient was taken to the “main city” located “Civil Hospital” facilitated by the government. Till that time, no concept of private medical practitioner was in vogue in country side. Merely some modern educated doctors, countable on finger tips were in city side and most of them remained engaged in government job in the “Civil Hospital.” Yes, some of them after retirement used to run their own private practice in the city, but they were costly and out of the reach of villagers.  In this cluster of villages, certainly some traditional Ayurvedic  Vaidya ( in vernacular, traditional practitioner who treated ailment though herbal based medicines) were found. But they treated people for common ailment only.

Now come to the second cause. In countryside, on a considerable expanse of land, villagers used to grow green grocery on a large scale. Besides some land holders own orchards of mango, leechi, guava and of other kind of fruits. But the main cultivation was of green grocery. The products of green grocery, if not sent to the wholesale vegetable market in the main city in time, then naturally it was certain to decay in days. Such grown green grocery products, well off farmers happened to send  through the help of some “domestic help” or used to send it by hiring the services of some menial people on payment. Villagers with poor financial background used to carry it either loading it on head walking on foot or through bicycle to the wholesale vegetable market.

Here reader may notice one point is missing. I talked about fruits and green grocery but not of milk products. As long as my memory supports me, at that period of time, in country side selling of milk or milk generated by-products were considered a sinful deed. If a family found, it had got extra- production of milk, she was supposed to share that extra product to some needy neighboring family. This sharing was considered a virtue.That was a memorable, majestic time in deed. This may surprise you, this custom prevailed in till the decade of 1960-70 in countryside.

The backdrop of my this story too related to the farming culture of growing of green grocery of that time. In my teen age, mainly Rabi season crops contained the sowing of wheat and pea crops.  The pea crop was the major cash crop as green grocery and brought the major profit. Wheat too were grown but as subsidiary crop, since it being the essential part of the staple food of people. The green pea pod has ever been a part of the delicious recipe, no doubt. In that era, in vast space of land, almost all farmers used to grow the pea crop. The benefit to grow pea crop collectively mainly was, the loss caused by assailing birds like crow, sparrow and other species got divided equally among the fields. Though, farmers needed to watch over his crop regularly from the assailing birds day long, when crop was near to ripe. For this purpose, small level farmers guarded the crop from birds personally and big scale farmers hired the services of some one.

The pea crop often came to ripen stage in the wintry season and it went through many courses of plucking and culling of pea pods, often twice in a week. This season might last for months. In that old time, population was thinner, lush greenery was in abundance. Besides petrol run vehicles were scarce in number. Even in the city, leave apart the four wheeler, even two wheeler were only with in the reach of some affluent people. Not only this, bicycle was a precious item to own. In total, no concept of “global warming” was heard at that time. Besides, district was in the location of  Himalayan foot hill, ever hit by sever cold waves. Hence sever cold spell was but natural in the wintry season.

There at the dark of early morning, watchers of all fields happened to arrive in the fields to protect the crop from assailing birds and were bound to stay there day long vigilant, till the dark of the evening. Even they were provided their day meal in the field by the family concerned. In that mist of morning, such fields’ watchers to warm their limbs, firstly were to light a fire and this fire were lit again at the evening time. As I told, the severity of cold spell persistently haunted them. It was a captivating view to watch the meandering upward going trails of smoke from every field. It kept reaching up to certain height and dissolving in the upper air. (End of the Part 1st.) Penned by — Vinay Pharasi —–