The Joy of Jaora

The Joy of Jaora

The Joy of Jaora

It was in 1942 as a child that I visited Jaora with my grandfather who had accepted a judicial post there. Jaorais a city and a municipalityin Ratlam districtin Madya Pradeshstate, India. It is without any exaggeration that I must say at the very first sight I was wonderstruck by the city's fertile land with black soil and plenty of crops particularly sugarcane.

As a student I was admitted to Bar High School which had a beautiful church-like building. As I hailed from the Punjab state, Northern India I was used to wearing shorts without any Topi' (a type of cap worn in India). I started going to school in shorts and shirt without any cap. One day when I was sitting in my classroom, the school headmaster came by and looking at me asked Where is your cap?' I replied I have no cap'. Later on I realized that there was difference of cultures in the Punjab and Jaora especially when it came to dresses. In schools in the Punjab where I came from students used to wear shorts or pajama (a type of dress like pants cut and stiched according to Indian custom) with a shirt and wearing a cap was not necessary. But at that time in Jaora students were supposed to wear formal looking pajama and a cap in schools. I straight away purchased a cap, ordered for pajamas and an Achkan' (a type of long coat for formal occasions). Soon I started wearing the new dress to remove the clash of cultures. But then one day my class fellows asked me in surprise as to why I had left wearing shorts. I told them it was according to the local custom. All our teachers and headmaster in school used to wear Achkan, pajamas and topi.

Jaora used to be a princely state then. One of our cooks had come from the palace of the Nawab Sahib (A Muslim head of a princely state in India) of Jaora at that time. At the time of employing the cook his experience at the palace was considered a great asset and it was believed that the person who had worked in the palace was an expert in his job. No doubt the meals he prepared were excellent. Many people used to visit the palace in the afternoon where they had audience with His Highness the Nawab Sahib. But while doing so they had to wear a turban. Only people wearing a hat could remove their headdress in respect as was their custom similar to the West but those wearing turbans did not have to do so. There were many sports in the palace ground which people could enjoy. Once I saw a large group of 500 well-bred dogs from the same breed coming out of the palace to be taken for a walk by guards. The Nawab Sahib and his family were also fond of hunting.

By way of culture people generally used to sit on carpets in their rooms with large pillows behind their backs. Some of them would also keep sofas and other furniture in the other half of the room. I even saw officials in the high court there working while sitting on carpets with small desks.

The land of Jaora was so attractive that I used to travel even long distances. It was a land of heavy rainfalls one of the many aspects of the city that I enjoyed.

There was a large factory of processing sugarcane in the area. The owner of the factory was completely illiterate but was running it quite successfully. Sometimes he found his work difficult because of his illiteracy. He then asked my grandfather to takeover the charge of the factory management. As my grandfather was in service he did not have much spare time for the job so he declined the offer.

I often used to visit the nearby railway station where newspapers like Times of India' reached from Mumbai (then Bombay) 400 miles to the west.

Here I must mention a unique architectural structure of historical importance called Bolly that still exists in both India and Pakistan. A Bolly is a free public guest house thathas a staircase leading to a small room and then there is a well. Once I saw a group of Sadhus' (Hindu Monks) who were staying in a Bolly. As a child with a lot of curiosity I mentioned it to one of my servants and also said that as they appeared very poor they might be illiterate too. But my servant told me they were not illiterate. Rather they were fluent in speaking, reading and writing in Hindi and also knew Persian. I then went to the Bolly and asked one of the Sadhus in my broken Persian if he knew the language. He replied Bisyar danum' (meaning he knew a lot of Persian). It was a pleasant surprise for me.

I stayed in Jaora for about a year but I must say that Jaora was a thing of beauty' which like a poet says a joy forever'.

POST COMMENT

Easy Steps To Follow In Baking Cookies 2 popular ways to convert MP4 to WMV Save Tiger Save National Pride Expert Landscapers in Madison WI How to Wath Encrypted Channels For Free How Can Custom Made Lapel Pins Be Used ? A simple way to convert MP4 to WMV Grooms' cakes How to Build the Backyard Pool of Your Dreams How to Draw an Old Man Sequestration Without Property - Summary of the Procedure The Role of a Public Adjuster What To Do When You Lose Your Keys