Some nostalgia here. This was about a couple of decades back when my mother had already taught me reading and i used to admire the lean Salman Khan modeling for DIGJAM, or may be BadaSaheb, in the India Today. My grandfather was a popular RSS-pracharak and Babri incidence was fresh. Mornings were the time for group reading (Granny-Papa-uncles-neighbours and few RSS men) of half a dozen newspapers including those chauvinistic Paanchjanya and Aryaawart. Evenings were the times of those famed intellectual debates. Afternoons were very calm. I distinctly remember the noons and the tone and tenor of the Jogi, or beggar if one may call him that, who used to visit our old ancestral house and sat singing at the door. I can recall one of his songs describing Kidnapping of Sita and airborne journey to Lanka. He was not so dark, lean and of above average hight. And yes! He had an ektaara, which he occasionally played. Probably only at the start and end of his narrative songs. He used to sing with his eyes closed, always. My mother, working inside the house, mostly used to avoid facing him directly while he sung. I remember a dialogue between my mum and my badi-maa, when she urged her to give some grains to him. Mum retorted that she wanted to listen to his songs for some more time and thats why she was not giving him the alms. And many a times, she had even requested the jogi to sing this part of Ramyana or that one during his visits. He was occasionally fed cooked food too, in our plates. Though he always carried his vessels and other belongings. He sang with absolute ease and panache. And i can not say for sure if this guy in the link below is singing better than my Jogi above. PS:Bit of myth/lore here. My fathers grandfather had left home many yrs back and had turned a jogi. Everyone in the family, including my grandfather, attested to it. My mother said that the Jogi coming to our house our great-grandfather and he comes up to see the well-being of the house. There are some more intriguing facts and memories. But, those citations would make this post look like a short story...
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 21:25:47 +0000
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