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NEW DISCOVERY

 

NEW DISCOVERY

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

28/V/2022

 

As we explore nearby places around our new abode, it is leading us to new discoveries.  I walked out with a camera in hand to shoot. Greenery has come up well. Ours is one of the cleanest and greenest colonies in the ‘Sun City’.

 

Be that as it may. I moved to capture flora, fauna and everything in between to give me fuel to write. As I roamed around there was a new revelation.

 

The first thing which took my breath away was a ‘bougainvillea bush’ that one of the residents has trained for shade. Their garden floor was as if a white carpet had been spread on the ground.

 

The next stop was a plant with a flower jutting more than ten feet towards the sky. While adjusting my lens, my eyes caught a glimpse of what we call a ‘Chattri’. One has seen many of them all over Rajasthan, especially Jaisalmer & Jodhpur in particular. This one, adjacent to our colony caught my attention and I wanted to dig more.

 

Royal families of erstwhile kingdoms used to construct ‘Chhatris’ (Cenotaphs). Chhatri literally means an ‘umbrella’ as they are dome shaped standing on four pillars. They are made in remembrance of the great kings & queens who ruled their kingdoms in their hay days. Chhatris are also tombs or cremation spots which do not contain remains of that person; it is only constructed as a tribute to their greatness.

 

This much was sure that these chattris belonged to the affluent people of their times. Jojari Nadi, kisses the feet of these ancient monuments. The stone was definitely the famous stone of Sun City, a little darker than the usual ‘Chittar Patthar’ which ornate most of the houses here. Bricks were unknown till very recently. Interiors and exteriors are constructed in local stone brought from the quarries spread on the outskirts of the city.

 

It is unfortunate that Jojari Nadi is now a stinky nala, with effluents from the industrial area flowing into it. There are plans to make it into a ‘water front’ resort. I wonder where they will get water from in this water parched land. Unless they recycle industrial waste water into something which can be called water.

 

The boundary walls were high and much garbage was piled adjacent to it. Usual Indian mentality. One had to climb up a wall to take a shot. My inquisitiveness grew and could not be satisfied till I knew to whom these chattris belonged to. So, I set off on a question-and-answer spree. People working here for decades could not tell me anything. Many of them didn’t even notice such structures existed round the corner. What a pity!

 

However, one person gave me a clue to enquire from a​ owner of a​ car garage ​​co-located. It belonged to the Royal Rajputs who were ‘jagirdars’ of this place. I wasted no time and called up the garage owner. Luckily, we had just got our car serviced there. He is a very down to earth, very polite, very traditional person.

 

People generally call him for car related issues, mine was a very unusual call. He assured me that his father would be able to throw some light on the subject. His father was there in the garage itself, so before he could move out, I drove to the workshop.

 

‘Khamma gani hukum’ was the greetings and reciprocated by ‘Gani khamma’ as we broke the ice. He was in his mid-fifties and from a Rajput family of the village. Bahut purani hai, mhare par dada re dada ke tame ri hai. Angrej hakoomat thi. I could imagine that. It was a cremation ground on the banks of the river and these chattris were built in memory of the family ancestors.

 

As I probed him, he said that it is documented with his family and will have to dig them out. I insisted that he should share it with me to record in the modern times. One thing that surprised me he said, os tame ri bhasha manhe aave koni sa, kisi dokre (old person) se pooch ke bataun la.

 

My day was made. It was so wonderful chatting with a simple person who invited me and my family for Ker Sangri and Gawar fali lunch. Khata, a kind of Kadi, Raabori made of chach as his ‘gai’ was about to deliver. Mhari gai Biyaan wali hai, thay tabbar sath padharo. It was an invitation of a lifetime. Within minutes we got acquainted and conversed like old friends. Our half an hour conversation should not have come to an end.

 

Now I await his call to give me further details which I shall share soon. How soon will that ‘tame’ come? I wonder!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS 

 








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