#20. Jasmine in India

Jasminum rex

Jasminum rex

Jasminum sambac 'motia' मोतिया





मोतिया







Jasminum malabaricum , मुद गरा, रान मोगरा.







Wild Jasmine, J. augustifolium, wild jasmine. वन मल्लिका.





Jasminum sambac 'Japanese Rai' मोगरा.





J. sambac 'motia', मोतिया.





मोगरा





मोगरा





मोतिया





J. auriculatum जूही





Jasminum multiflorum कुंद






कुंद






J. grandiflorum. Spanish Chameli






Jasminum officinale चमेली






J. flexile. Sometimes known in Hindi as मालती or चमेली.






Echites caryophyllata. मालती.






J. humile, सोनजुही.





J. nudiflorum





J. odoratissimum






राज चमेली. angel wing jasmine






Japanes primrose

(Picture credit to self, Flowers of India and Wikipedia. Labels denote the flower above it. )

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JASMINES IN INDIA.

Various varieties of Jasmines are found in India, and matching their botanical names to prevalent Hindi names has always been a nightmare to me. Bose and Choudhury's book mentions the following Jasmines in the category of shrubs:
1. Jasminum humile. सोनजुही. There are a few more yellow jasmine varieties like:

(i) J. odoratissimum

(ii) J. nudiflorum: Winter Jasmine

(iii) J. mesnyi: Japanese jasmine, Primrose jasmine. All of them are exotic varieties which have been iiiintrodced.

2. Jasminum pubescens and J. pubescens 'Rubescens' कुंद

It is also known as J. multiflorum. Kund finds wide mention in ancient literature. Good, white set of teeth were compared to kund. Variety Rubescens has petals which are white on the inside and pink on the outside.

3. J. nervosum: wild kund. जंगली कुंद. It is native to Manipur. Wild cousin of #2.
4. Jasminum sambac (Arabian jasmine). बेला
Various varieties are grown in In India:
(a). Japapnese sambac 'Rai' and 'Japanese Rai' मोगरा. The two varieties differ in the size of the flower. Both have compact buds and flowers.
(b). J. sambac 'motia' मोतिया. One of the most popular flowers of North India during the summer months। The flowers are used for garlands as well as for ladies’ hair. Lovely fragrance.

It is presumed that all these varieties are native to India.

In the category of climbers they have mentioned a larger number. Some more I have added. The contribution of Tabish to the list is acknowledged.

*1. Jasminum augustifolium: Wild jasmine.

वन मल्लिका

*2. J. sessiliflorum: Similar to J. augustifolium. Smaller leaves as compared to above.
*3. J. auriculatum जूही. Hindi poets are very fond of this flower.
4. J.flexile: मालती, चमेली.
5. J. grandiflorum (Spanish Jasmine): Grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions, preferably in mild climate, for perfumery industry. It is similar to J. officinale.
*6. Jasminum officinale (white jasmine) चमेली, यास्मीन. Native of Persia, China and North India. True jasmine. It is the national flower of Pakistan (Yasmin), as well as of Philippines (Sampaguita) and Indonesia (Melati).
*7. J. trinerve
*8. J. undulatum

9. J. nitidum: Angelwing jasmine. Royal jasmine. Introduced. Native to Papua New Guinea.

10. J. fluminense: River jasmine, Brazilian jasmine. Introduced. Woody vine.

*11. J. arboriscens: Tree jasmine. नाग मल्लि। Large, usually erect but sometimes climbing shrub. Various parts of the plant used for medicinal purposes.

All the varieties with asterisk are native. J. sambac is also named as Arabic Jasmine, so it could have been initially brought from Arabia, although it has been naturalised centuries ago. It may be noted that the concept and design of formal gardens have been brought to India by Mughals only.
There are reportedly 200 species of Jasmine which are native to tropical and warm climate of the old world. However, several varieties have duplicate names and in truth there seems to about 90 original varieties.

Another flower which is often considered Jasmine is Echites caryophyllata मालती, a large woody climber which flowers profusely in the late summer and rains. It is a native of Florida, Mexico and West Indies.
For some varieties I have not mentioned the Hindi equivalent. I don't know them. I would request the members and readers for any help in this matter. Also any suggestions for improvement and correction are welcome.

Added on 8 April 2011.

Recently I came across another variety of Jamine in my favourite site 'indiantreepix'. This is Jasminum rex, a native of Thailand. The present photographs were taken by Aarti Khale at Kandy (Srilanka). (Pictures are at the top).

#19.The History of a Linguistic Minority

Our Origins

We are a small group of Maharashtrian Brahman community (Deshastha_ land-based, as opposed to Konkanastha_coastal) settled in places like Chunar, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Biharsharif etc. Often I have wondered about the history of our migration from Maharashtra, and how some in the community about 2-3 generations back became disgustingly rich, so much so that for the son’s thread ceremony one of them built a dance hall at the cost of sixty thousand rupees in 1911, with nautch girls in attendance. Another person wasted his entire wealth in nath-utarai ( removing the nose ring of the maiden girls of the ladies engaged in the second oldest profession ). Needless to add that the ceremony of nath-utarai was much more elaborate than the words signify. One also hears of the same person that after every rainy season his gold coins were sunned, and he was not satisfied until some part was stolen away to reduce the total weight. It was a daily routine to weigh the asharfis after sunset, and what was stolen was known as ‘sukhvani’. Some people even say that such affluence was possible only as they were associated with the Pindaris, the unpaid horsemen of the Maratha army who were given the right of plunder by the Marathas, and who were ultimately broken up by Lord Hastings by a three pronged military action. This could be out of jealousy, and I have found no corroborative evidence to back up the assertion. The other explanation could be that they stopped giving to the Marathas the tax collected on their behalf, after the latter became weak.

2. Two names I came across during my childhood days when I tried to find out about our origins: Khandesh and Jalgaon. I was told that my ancestors came from Jalgaon, and the village we belonged to was Waglan, our original surname being Waglankar. First I thought that it is akin to Wagle and I won’t have any difficulty in making further inquiries and discover facts. Then I found that Wagles are Saraswat Brahmans from Konkan area, and had to give up that line of inquiry. Baglan is a taluqa in Nashik and as it is next to Khandesh maybe that is where we hailed from. To complicate the matters some of us especially those from Chunar spoke a language that wasn’t exactly Marathi. It was a strange mixture of Marathi and Gujarati, with ‘Se’ for Gujarati ‘Chhe’, the ubiquitous verb. During my schooldays one of my friend’s father insisted that what we spoke was Gujarati and not Marathi. I couldn’t give any cogent reply though I knew that he was not correct. At that time such questions did not bother me with that intensity. Also some kinds of puja and religious rites observed at my home and especially at one of my father’s sisters were more akin to Gujarati customs than Marathi. Ganesh Puja was introduced by Tilak in the beginning of the twentieth century, and there was no question of it being prevalent with us. But most of the ladies who came in marriage to our house spoke Marathi. Khandeshi (or Ahirani?) we spoke as my grandmother who hailed from Chunar brought it to our family. Sadly it has slowly died out in our family as almost everybody switched to Marathi. It was also considered infra-dig to speak Se-Pe (the language we spoke), just as it is between Hindi and Bhojpuri, or Hindi and Haryanvi. Today if I hear that language, I can understand it allright, as it is so easy and has lots of Hindi words, but it may not be possible to speak it with that confidence. At one time I was fluent in Marathi, but not anymore, the main reason being that both my mother and wife belong to north India. At one time after staying for about a decade in Ghazipur, I had become fluent in Bhojpuri and I found it easier to communicate with my school and mohalla friends.

3. When faced with such doubts, one generally turns to his elders. Unfortunately when I became interested in this question and started looking into it, I was already old enough to be a ‘budha puraniya’ myself. In my immediate family there is only one surviving member who is elder to me and if you count all the first cousins, then the figure goes up to four, one of them gone totally senile. Anyway, after talking to a few people a rough idea began to take shape which may or may not be totally correct.


4. Many of my relatives still swear by the Battle of Panipat where the Marathas were routed by Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. Balaji Bajirao was the Peshwa at that time, but the battle was conducted by Sadashiv Rao Bhau. It is an interesting story of how the battle was lost, but another place and another time for that. The Marathas moved to long expeditions with their wives and even pandits. The story I was told was that after the rout, the Brahmans dispersed in North India and a large group settled down in Varanasi, from where they spread to places like Chunar, Ghazipur, Biharsharif etc. But the story was not convincing as it did not answer all the questions. There is another group of Maharashtrian Brahmans in Varanasi with whom we hardly had any relations, and there was no marriage between the two groups. The other thing which struck me was that none in my family was a Sanskrit scholar. In the group one could name only one family- that of Jageshwar Pathak- who had exposure to the scriptures, and they were responsible for the various religious rites in the group. A few marriages between the groups have happened only now. The result of this isolation was endogamous marriages and degeneration of the genes because of in-breeding. In the older generation, one could find relationship with his or her spouse 3-4-5 links away. Cousins married, even first cousins which is not legal according to Hindu Marriage Act. Who are these other group of Marathis in Varanasi?

5. A more convincing story came from Vishnu Joshi of Chunar whose sister was married to one of my uncles. They had a daughter. All are dead now. Incidentally Kaki died of small pox, and my elderly cousin Bachcha related to me how she refused to take vaccination when the vaccinator had come to our house and the entire family was immunized (like Geetabali the famous actor of yesteryears who also died this way).

6. The gist of what Joshiji told my cousin Dr. Ashok was that at the time of Maratha dominance in the 18th century, our ancestors were sent to Chunar (near Varanasi on the bank of Ganga) for realizing Chauth (fourth part of the cultivation). This was land revenue and these persons could be called either tax collectors or in a sense zamindars or intermediaries. Later more people from Maharashtra were sent to Biharsharif and Ghazipur for similar job. It may be seen that the places where these Maharashtrians were sent were soft spots, in the sense that there was no strong presence of any other administration there. Not many have heard of places like Chunar, Ghazipur and Biharsharif. As for Ghazipur, another version is that they came there to seek employment in the Govt. Opium Factory which was established by the British East India Company in 1820.

7. Chunar has a fort right on top of river Ganga. I lived there as a small child, when my father was the Deputy Commandant of a Refugee Camp of Kashmiris. I have a hazy recollection of the time when Sheikh Abdullah had visited the camp. He had given a speech ( I don’t remember a word now) and at the end of it he showed a bag full of coins which he said was meant for them, and gave it the local District Magistrate (of Mirzapur). Suddenly the crowd’s emotions erupted. There were quite a few ladies in the meeting, and the crowd demanded that the money be given directly to them, instead of to the DM. The noise level rose, and there were a few slogan shouting of ‘Sheikh Abdullah Murdabad’. Ultimately Sheikh Saheb left the podium and the meeting ground in hurry in a jeep. My father had told me to get under the table on the dias so that I don’t come to any harm. I don’t remember but there could have been some brickbats- I don’t know.

8. I don’t know how to relate this fort to the story that Vishnu Uncle told. I spent quite sometime in the library that is internet. Chunar Fort was built by Vikramaditya of Ujjain to commemorate the stay of his brother Bhartrihari who took live Samadhi at Chunar. In 1029 King Sahdev made this fort his capital. His daughter was married to the famous King Alha of Mahoba.

9. Then came the Moghuls. Babur visited this fort in 1525. Later this came under the possession of Shershah Suri when he married the wife (!) of Taj Khan Sarang Khani, the Governor of Ibrahim Lodhi in 1531. Humayun tried to capture it unsuccessfully and ultimately it was won back by Akbar in 1574 and remained with the Moghuls till 1772 when it was taken over by the East India Company and turned into an Ammunition Depot. Chet Singh occupied it for a short while, and during the Chet Singh upheaval Warren Hastings retired here for safety till Major Phophen expelled Chet Singh from his stronghold.

10. Now let us tally the dates. Shivaji was born on 19 Feb 1627, coronated on 6 June 1674 and died on 4 March 1680. Akbar captured Chunar Fort in 1574 and it remaind with them till 1772. So when our ancestors came to Chunar, the Moghuls were having their sunset days.

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10A. My friend Prahlad explains the two groups of non-mixing Brahmans by differentiating between Pravasi Grihastha Brahmans and Bhikshuk Brahmans. Whereas in the North, all the Brahmans are clubbed together in one category--those who are doing Paurohitya (Yagya and Karmakand) as prescribed in Yajurved, the Brahmans of Maharashtra who migrated to UP, Bihar etc. belong to two distinct categories of Bikshuk and Grihastha (or Shikshak) as above. Whereas Bhikshuk Brahmans are Karmkandis, who are given daan and dakshina for their livelihood, the other group who have land or business for their livelihood are known as Grihastha Brahmans. They are also called Mahipati. It is said that Brahmans are those who may own things, but they are not engulfed in the Maya they own. Well, this needs further study and verification, but yes, there is some distinction can be made between Karmakandi Brahmans and those who have taken up professions other than karmakand.

11. Now the language. What language was carried from Maharashtra to Chunar, Ghazipur, Bihar etc apart from Marathi? Khandesh was often mentioned by my father and others, so I tried to find out something about that area. Khandesh is the north-western portion of Maharashtra, consisting of Jalgaon and Dhulia (later bifurcated into two districts of Dhule and Nandurbar). During the time of Moghuls it was the terminal territory before the Deccan started. River Tapti passes through Khandesh and unlike othe rivers of the Deccan, it empties into the Arabian Sea. Khandesh is divided into East Khandesh (Jalgaon) and West Khandesh (Dhule and Nandurbar). Some tracts of Jalgaon have rich black cotton soil which is excellent for cotton cultivation. Cotton- seed is a healthy cattlefeed (till the humans found it edible) with the result that the cows gave rich fatty milk full of butter (and ghee). In addition Jalgaon reportedly produces 60% of banana grown in the country. This figure may have become outdated now after Tamilnadu emerged as another major producer of banana, with Maharashtra still the highest banana producing state.

12. Khandeshi is spoken in Jalgaon, and is nearer standard Marathi whereas Ahirani is spoken in Dhulia and Nandurbar. This language is also spoken in Jalgaon and Nashik (Baglan, Malegaon and Kalwan tehsils). Ahirani is a mix of Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi. The language brought to Chunar was probably Ahirani. Incidentally, the name of the tehsil Baglan sets to rest the mystery of the surname Waglankar. It should probably be Baglankar, and this should be the place from where we or our family migrated.

13. Incidentally in our family 2-3 generations away Kuldevi was given a lot of importance. I didn’t know who the Kuldevi of our family was. I asked one of my sagotraj, and he said that it was Varah Ambika. If Ambika is Lakshmi, Varahlakshmi is something which is not easy to swallow. How can Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and beauty incarnate take that ugly form? My doubts were laid to rest when I went to Kaladi near Cochin to see the birthplace of Adi Shankar on the banks of river Periyar. Incidentally, this is one of the most enchanting places I have seen. Lakshmi is shown there in 12 forms and one of them is Varah Lakshmi. I have yet to find her temple, though I am sure that it should be somewhere in Baglan tehsil of Nashik.

14. My genealogy as told to me is Ramji Bhatt (who were three brother Ram, Lakshman and Hanuman. Lakshman was childless, and Hanuman’s descendants are still there. Krishnakant Bhatt is the elderly person in that line. Then it is Saligram Bhatt -Jivan Ram Bhatt -Shriram Bhatt (he was four brothers and three sisters, all except my youngest uncle are dead) -myself-and now Devashish. Saligram was a renowned vaidya (ayurvedic practitioner). There is a story prevalent in our family. Saligram was not very well-off during his earlier days. One Dhanteras night he had gone out somewhere, maybe on a call, and there were two ladies in the almost dark house: Saligram’s wife and sister. Suddenly they heard the sound of the anklet of some lady who first entered the house, climbed the stairs and went to Saligram’s room on the first floor. After that the sound stopped. My great-grandmother told her sister-in-law: ‘Listen! Our days have changed'. You rightly guessed that after that Saligram rose to affluence. To me this looks apocryphal but then, who knows…..!

15. Sadly whatever language was spoken in our family in the name of Khandeshi has slowly died away. I have not spoken Ahirani since the death of my grandmother in 1963 (nor Marathi for that matter).

16. K.S.Singh in one of his monograph has written that Maharashtrian diaspora emerged early in history. A group settled down in the Himalayas. This was when Adi Shankar set up his Ashrams in four corners of the country. For Uttarakhand he selected Maharashtrian pandits. The group must have been self-sustaining with many more families than those of actual ritualistic pandits. The pace of migration went up during the rise of Marathas to dominance and several states like Indore (Holkars) and Gwalior (Sindhias) had Maharashtrian administrators, ministers and priests. They also spread to Bengal, Orissa, Tanjore and Punjab. The coronation of Shivaji was performed by Pandit Gaga Bhatt of Varanasi who was specially brought to Raigad by two Brahman emissaries of Shivaji.

17. It would be interesting to recall the controversy relating to the coronation of Shivaji. The Brahmans of Maharashtra were not keen to anoint him as he was a Maratha and did not even had the thread ceremony performed. Gaga Bhatt resolved the problem. There are two versions. One is that Gagabhatt proved the ancestry of Shivaji to the Rajputs of Rajputana (now Rajasthan). The other is that Sant Gyaneshwar in his treatise ‘Gyaneshwari’ has mentioned the characteristics of a King as self-originating (Swayambhu). They are courage, bravery, brightness, daring, fighter, donor and worshipping qualities. Gaga Bhatt found all these qualities in Shivaji and therefore anointed him according to vedic rites. They say that Gaga Bhatt was given five lakh rupees for his services, and after staying in Raigad for a year he returned to Varanasi. Gaga Bhatt’s father had migrated to Varanasi from Paithan.

18. Now about the other group of Maharashtrians in Varanasi. The story that fits and which was confirmed by Joshiji is that they were the Brahmans who had accompanied Balaji Bajirao and Sadshivrao Bhau to Panipat and dispersed after the Marathas were defeated. Maybe because of Gaga Bhatt’s descendants and associates, Varanasi was a focal point for these Brahmans. It would be interesting to recall some basic facts of the battle. Balaji had the typical formation of artillery followed by infantry, pikemen, musketeers and bowman. He had 30,000 young Maratha soldiers, trained but battle- inexperienced, 30,000 civilians and another 30,000 totally inexperienced soldiers. Whereas Marathas had choked the exit route for the Afghans, the Afghans had blocked the Maratha supply line which was really crippling. Ultimately the impoverished Maratha army was forced to launch a frontal attack on the Afghans. Both sides lost heavily, the Maraths lost 35,000 on the battlefield and 10,000 otherwise. The Afghans also lost about 30,000 soldiers.

19. The Brahmans were among the 30,000 civilians. As they were ritualistic pandits, they looked down upon the group who came as tax collectors. On the other hand, the group who came as Maratha representatives were more prosperous and were reciprocal in their one-upmanship on the other group.

20. One of the cousins of my grandfather had a small zamindari in Ghazipur. Even during my childhood days I remembered that some people came to deposit the revenue voluntarily on Dashera day. The tenants were given sweets and I remember that one of them once complained about the deteriorating quality of sweets as compared to the previous year. This land revenue was collected and receipts issued by one of my uncles, and in the evening money received that day which was not very large was distributed among the children. We felt quite rich when going to mela in the evening. Incidentally this type of zamindari in the towns in UP continued for some years after the zamindari system in the villages was abolished in the villages by Govind Ballabh Pant.

21. Where did this zamindari come from? There could be two explanations. One that the Maratha tax collectors continued with the same job under the Britishers. But probably the second explanation was nearer the truth which said that it was purchased by the cousin of my grandfather.

22. I don’t know whether I have made it an interesting read. Of course it is only an arm-chair analysis, to be confirmed or otherwise by field visit which I intend doing next winter. Till then you are welcome to comment, point out any mistakes, and to let me know of anything you know on this subject, including a different line of thinking.
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#18. I Met A Student of Mine

The Most Forgettable Incident of My Life

I started my career as a University Lecturer. It is easier to handle small children. Teenagers are probably the most difficult, but at undergraduate level, people who continue really want to study. It is another matter that in India for a large number of students at that time in the middle sixties of the previous century (was it really, it seems like yesterday!) was to get a degree so that they could get a government job or at least a teaching job. Well, government is no longer the source of large scale recruitment. There were not many avenues open to the young men then. Better of them went to medical or engineering courses where the admission standards were tougher, Some who had more confidence in themselves continued with their studies with the intention of getting into civil services or other decent jobs through competitive exams. In the late fifties and early sixties banks and insurance companies started taking people at junior officers’ level through competitive exams State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India, the two government companies were the more attractive options among the 'others'. While working as a Lecturer, I was preparing for the Civil Services. It was an ideal arrangement. Teaching job gave a lot of spare time, holidays and vacations. A number of students followed this route to the civil services. On the sideline I had also filled up the form for the State Bank Probationary Officers which required a written test followed by an interview. The test did not require any extra preparation than what I was doing for my scivil services exam, except polishing your school mathematics in which luckily I was not bad.

We had a graduate student, a Bengali who did his masters in Economics during the period I taught. I got through in the Civil Services, and was waiting for the call to proceed to the Academy at Mussoorie. I also got through in the Bank exam after appearing in the viva voce. This was summer, and the results of M.A. were also out. This boy I mentioned got a first. He came to meet me and sought my advice on what to do now, and how to go about it. I told him about the Civil Services and also about the bank exam. I gave him some back papers of bank exam which I had, listed out relevant books and gave him whatever tips I could in an hour or so he was with me.

A couple of years passed. I had completed my training in Audit & Accounts in Shimla and was posted to Bombay. From there I switched jobs to the Indian Administrative Service and was again waiting for a call for training while at Delhi after having been relieved from Bombay. Some movie was running in the Regal cinema hall in Connaught Place. Only those who were young men in the sixties can appreciate the powerful draw and attraction of cinema those days on the mind of the youth when there were not many avenues of entertainment open. TV had not come to India, Video and cable TV which have changed the entire lifestyle and entertainment scenario in the country were quite a few years away. I bought the ticket for the show, there still was about 15 minutes to go before it started. I went to a restaurant to grab a cup of tea. And there somebody suddenly came and accosted me. I took some time to place him. Then I remembered. It was the same Bengali boy whom I had given some tips about various competitive exams while in the University. He was with a group of friends who I learnt later were his colleagues. The boy had put some fat (thin he never was for that matter ). 'Sir, I have got through in the State Bank , and am at present undergoing training.' I silently cursed. All the time the movie was in my mind which was about to begin in a few minutes. 'Sir, it is you who suggested this job to me and I have got through because you told and guided me about it. Do you remember that you gave me back papers for the entrance exam?' and his tone expressed his genuine gratitude. I was fixated on the movie, congratulated him, wished him luck, excused myself, left the conversation and ran for the movie.

The incident still rankles me. I remember the hurt in his eyes. Yes, I could have spent some more time with him even though it would have meant missing my favourite movie for 5-10 minutes and I could feel the disappointment in his voice by my abrupt departure. It is one of those incidents which is etched in my memory cells and I keep on remembering it after almost four decades. No, I have not met the guy again. From all I know, he might have retired now after putting in distinguished service in his bank, and I hope he has forgotten long back the discourtesy shown by me at that time.
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#17. Significance of Trees in Vedas and Puranas

One forester (Rishikesh Sharma) gave this write-up to me in Hindi . I have tried to translate it so that everybody can understand and enjoy it.
Happy reading.
akbhatt
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Significance of Trees as Mentioned in Vedas and Puranas



1. Ten wells equal a step well

Ten step wells equal a tank

Ten tanks equal a son

Ten sons equal a tree.

(Matsya Purana 512)



2. Those who plant trees in deserted and difficult to reach places

Give salvation to their previous and future generations.

(Shiva Purana Uma Samhita 11/7)



3. Those who have planted tulsi vana (Indian basil, ocimum sanctum forest) in the course of worshipping Vishnu have done yagya with all the rituals, and they have got the fruits of 100 yagyas.

(Padma Purana Srishti Khand chapter 26, Shloka 43)



4. Those who want better future should plant good trees around tanks, and raise them like sons, as the trees are considered like sons in our religion.

( Mahahbharat, Anu Parva 58/31)



5. Noble is the birth of trees who give life to all beings. They are like gentlemen who never turn anybody away disappointed.

(Bhagvat 10-22-33)



6. Trees are like gentlemen who help others. They stand in the sun but give shade to others. Their fruit is also for the use of others.

(Vikram Charitam 65)



7. The five biggest favours bestowed by trees are like five mahayagyas. They give fuel to the the families, shade and resting place to the travellers, nests to the birds, and medicines from their leaves, roots and bark.

(Varaha Purana 162-41-42)



8. Eunuchs, snakes, rakshas, gods, dancing communities, human beings and sages all seek shelter under the tree.

(Mahabharat Anu Parva-58/29)



9. Trees fulfill the desires of human beings by their leaves, flowers, shade, , root, bark, wood, fragrance, gum, ash, charcoal, buds and new leaves.

(Srimadbhagvat, Skandh, a-22 Shloka 34)



10. By planting one peepul (ficus religiosa), One neem (Azadiracht indica), one bargad (ficus bengalensis), ten Imli (Tamarindus indica), Three Kaith ( (Limonia acidissima), Three vilva (aegle marmalos), Three aonla (Indian gooseberry- Phyllanthus embilica), and five mango (mangifera indica), one can never go to hell.

(Bhahvishya Purana, Rajdharma Kaustubh Khand)



11. See my dear Friend, how lucky these trees are. Their whole life is dedicated to doing good to others. They bear storm, rain, wind, and hails, but they save us from them.

( Srimadbhagvat, Skandh dasham,A22 Shloka 37)



12. Just one tree with flowers and fruits makes the forest and environment fragrant and heavenly, like a good son to a family.

(Chanakyaniti Darpan, 3-14)



13. Those who plant one peepul (ficus religiosa), one neem (azadericht indica), one bargad ( Ficus bengalensis), ten flowering trees, two pomegranates, two oranges, and and five mango trees can never go to hell.

(Varaha Purana 12-2-39)



14. Those who plant trees in this world beget sons in the netherworld.

(Vishnudharma sutra 91-4)



15.. Trees with flowers and fruits satisfy this world. Those who donate a tree are given salvation by the same trees in the other world.

( Mahabharat Anu Parva 58/30)



16. O Tree! You bear the burden of flowers, leaves and fruits, give relief to the people from sun, and give them succour during winter. Thus you dedicate your entire life in helping others. That is why you are greater than a gentlemen. Therefore O Tree! Please accept my regards.

(Bhamini Vilasa-86)



17. Where there is tulsi vana (forest of Indian basil), god Vishnu is nearby. Brahma, Lakshmi, and all other gods are also with god Vishnu there.

(Padma purana, Srishti Khand, Ch. 26, Shloka 38)



18. God Vishnu says that aonla (Indian gooseberry) is holiest of all fruits in all the worlds. Therefore it is important to plant aonla trees . By planting it, men and women get rid of the cycle of life, death and rebirth in this world.

(Padma purana,. Srishti Khand, ch. 26, Shloka 2)



19. By worshipping peepul and Khejadi (Prosopis cineraria, shami) trees , even a barren woman begets a child.

(Atharva veda Pt. 612-11 first stanza)



20. God said: 'O King! It is I who dwell in peepul tree and look after the three worlds. Where there is no peepul tree, I don’t reside.

(Mahabaharat Vaishnavdharma parva Chapter -19)



21. What is the use of having so many sons, If they are irreligious and poor? Compared to them the roadside tree is better in whose shade travellers take rest.

(Upavan Vinod)



22. The leaves, flowers, seeds, root, branches, bark, stem and even the soil of the place where tulsi shrub grows are all holy.

(Padma purana Uttarkhand 24/2)



23. Wherever there are aonla trees, poverty disappears. All gods become satisfied by aonla trees, reside in it, and do not forsake it for a moment.

(Padma purana Srishti Khand, Ch. 26, Shloka 15.)



24.. The man who worships Vishnu with tulsi leaves can never be involved in sins like a lotus leaf in water.

(Brahma vaivarta Purana)



25. Those who plant trees, for them they are like sons. There is no doubt that because of those trees, man attains heaven after his death.

(Mahabharata Anu parva 58/27)



26. If you water a mango tree, the ancestors feel happy.

(Mahabhashya, Part I)



27. If you destroy a tree, you also destroy leaves, flowers and fruits, and the country has lesser or excess rainfall resulting in famine.

(Agnipurana).

#16. My Dear Uncle

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My youngest uncle is a strange character. My father had three

brothers. Chhote Kaka was the youngest, and a posthumous child. My

grandfather had died of cholera which was a yearly feature those days

in eastern part of U.P. If you mark, all the English settlements were

some distance away from the town so as to keep away from filth, and

crowd. They were thus saved from the epidemics because of this

distance from the native colonies.

Anyway, to come back to Kakaji who is the only survivor of the four

brothers. He is above 80, but he is mobile, and his mind is alert.

Healthwise he is ok. I don’t think that he has even hypertension.

The stories I am narrating are not of recent times, and they had all

happened when his mind and body were fitter and more alert.

Kakaji is known for his miserly habits. Once somebody closely related

to me by marriage was sitting with him in his drawing room. It was

mild summer,which requires a fan, and not a cooler or AC. I don’t

know whether he had a single phase electric connection or a three

phase one. Anyway, after 5 minutes or so, my Kaka asks this

gentleman whether he would mind if he switches off the fan in that

room, as another fan was on in another room in the flat. To say the

least, the gentleman was stunned, and he could only shake his head in

assent.. Nedless to say this gentleman after a few minutes said

goodbye to him and walked away.

Those days I was posted at Delhi. I had serious road accident in which

I injured my backbone, and was in bed for three months. For about a

fortnight I was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. On such occasions

people close to you, friends and relatives come to see you, and as I

was fully conscious with all the limbs intact (touch wood!) they could

easily come to my bedside and chat. One afternoon Kakaji came to

see me. He was living in far-off Janankpuri, and before the coming of

metro rail, going from one place to another by public transport was

quite time-consuming. Kakaji chatted with me for sometime, and also

saw a few magazines lying on the bedside table. When he got up to

leave he suddenly picked up a magazine (it was Navneet I think). I

mildly suggested to him that he took another magazine (Kadambini I

think), but he said that he had already read that. In truth, the magazine

he wanted to take was mint-fresh and I hadn’t read a word of it. But

then chivalry is the best part of valour and I said ok.

Much later a cousin of mine (I will call him Munna) who stayed in

Nagpur told me that Kakaji was talking to him on phone on the same

day in the morning, and had told him in disgust and frustration as to

what custom we Indians have that people had to go and see if

anybody was not well and admitted to a hospital.

Munna had a few more stories about him. Once he was visiting Kakaji

for a few days, and one evening Kaki had cooked mutton. Munna told

me that even while the mutton was being cooked, the children (three)

and Kakaji entered the kitchen and started eating the delicious pieces.

Later even Kaki feasted on a few pieces. What was left now was the

curry for the poor guest, to be eaten with chapatti and rice. Now don’t

think that Kakaji was poor. He had a Reader-equivalent post in a

Delhi university, and had his own flat, with all the installments paid.

Earlier he had spent about 15 years in a south-east asian country, and

had earned good money. Although he claims that he lost a lot of

money in some foolish investment in some dubious company.

Munna also told me that Kakaji had a phobia about guests coming and

staying with him, some for a few days and some for longer periods.

Once Munna had some work in Delhi, and he rang up Kakaji to

inquire whether he would be available during that period. Promptly he

replied that he and the entire family would be out of station for some

time in connection with a marriage in his in-laws’ family. His reply

was so quick that Munna got suspicious, and at Delhi when he got

down from the train, very confidently he drove straight to his place,

and lo and behold! Kakaji was very much there. Later when Munna

asked him as to why he had not given correct information to him, he

coolly replied that his programme got cancelled at the eleventh hour.

To think that this was when Kakaji had stayed with Munna’s family in

Calcutta for almost a year when he had a job there.

Munna incidentally is a heart patient, he took voluntary retirement

from a good bank job, and the last angiography he had was in 1995 I

think. He must have a few blockages, although he never reveals

anything truthfully, and refuses to undergo surgery saying that he has

lived his life, and there is no point in going in for a major surgery. Not

that he cannot afford it.

A similar incident happened to me when I was posted to Mumbai. I

was going on a short trip to Pune, and my wife decided to join me.

Kakaji’s younger daughter is married to some guy in Pune. I rang up

Kakaji at Delhi and tried to find his daughter’s phone number. Well,

he did give a number but when at Pune we tried to contact her on that

phone number, we found that it was not her number. I immediately understood that

Kakaji didn’t want his daughter to be disturbed….. we could have

gone and stayed with her for a few days. Ultimately we found her

correct number from her elder sister who stayed in Chembur. When I

once met him at Delhi after some weeks and told him about it, he very

easily replied that the number he gave must have been her old

number. I then remembered one or two of my colleagues when asked

about their residential or mobile number, they did give it to you, but

with one digit wrong! If asked about it later, they could very well say

that it was a mistake on their part or my part. Such are the ways of

life!

Remebering Munna’s experience, I once played a crude joke on him. I

rang up from Gwalior and told him that I would be coming with my

step mother who was a cripple in her last days and will be staying with

him for about a fortnight for her treatment. I also told him that I would

have to bring two servants with me, one for carrying her up and down

(he was staying on the first floor), and her maid servant for helping

her in her daily chores. He almost had a fit. After a sleepless night he

rang me up and told that it would make things very difficult if Jiji ( as

we called our step mother) was brought to his house. I was laughing in

my heart, and argued about it for some time. We could not reach any

conclusion at that time. I got a call from him a few hours later. I

thought enough was enough, and told him that I had no intention of

bringing my mother to his place, and it was all a prank played on him.

He was not amused, obviously.

To wind up, Kakaji came to my son’s wedding at Delhi some time

back. The venue of marriage was quite some distance from Janakpuri

where he has lived all through. I was really grateful that he could

come with his son and daughter-in-law, after a couple of hours or so

on the road, so probably he is not all that bad.