Memories of my childhood with reference to the major festivals of Durga Puja and Moharram

Author- Manoj Kumar Abhimanyu

Some of the little known facts and my fond memories I want to share here.  From the age of 7 to 8 Years when I was able to recognize and enjoy the things of this world around myself, I remember where I resided at Patna, we had a population consisting of Hindus and Muslims both, but it was not fully mixed.  We had small pockets of mohallas where Hindus were together in the bunch, while Muslims were again in the bunch in different pockets; and these small pockets were hardly separated by a few meters. It was also like a narrow street of 5 ft width that separated the two such pockets while one side Muslim dominated and other side Hindu dominated.  But mostly both the communities remained in peace and harmony enjoying each other's festivals too.

I remember some of the muslim families' ladies and children who used to come to our home and meet my mother.  They used to come with sweets and dry fruits with the plates covered by coloured and netted cloths for us on the occasion of their festivals.  They used to invite us to their homes on the occasion of their festivals too.  We also reciprocated to them in the similar way.  I remember my mother used to send me to their homes to give Prasad of our "Chhath" Festival or Diwali Festival with some more ingredients for them than for others, probably because of my mother’s affection for those ladies and children who treated us equally well with lots of affection.  But since some unfortunate riots those Muslim families who were living in our mohalls, left and settled somewhere else.  Similarly those Hindus living in Muslim Mohallas, they also sold their properties and settled elsewhere. 

I was fortunate to study in schools in my childhood where there were students from both the communities almost in equal numbers.  The Muslim classmates and friends were very cordial to me and I always enjoyed their company.  I liked their way of dressing in schools; while Hindu girls were mostly wearing Skirts and Shirts, the Muslim girls always wore Salwar Kurta and Dupatta covering their heads, even little girls of six seven years.  That time we were little kids, how different we were while playing together, they used to shout "Hi Allah" and we "Hey Bhagwaan"..   We used to play "Chhupa Chhupi" which you also know by the name of "Hide and Seek",  "Denga Paani", "Chhua-Chhui", “Pitto” etc. hahaha…  While returning home with them, I did not come directly to my home, but while taking longer route returning with them and in the way pelting stones on the branches of trees where Amla and Amra trees were located and then eating those fruits in the way.  Plucking thrones from the Cactus tree was also our favourite habit those days in the way. 

Well I also recall the days of Moharram which we all Hindus also waited for the entire year.  It was the time when all the streets and Roads were cleared by the administration for around 24 Hours when there was a complete ban on any movement of Vehicles.  All the families of our mohallas used to come with bed sheets or mats to sit on the road side shops and their platforms the whole night and subsequent day.  Those who were having their houses on the road side, they along with their friends and their families sit on their roof tops to watch the number of Moharram Akharas passing along those roads. 

Moharram Festival is celebrated in different ways in different cities of India but at Patna, they used to have competition with Hindus' Durgapuja Idol's Visarjan celebrations that was a huge hit with the localites.  There were some puja committees who spent huge amount of money bringing bands of musicians from different states who used to march past and this exhibition might have been anywhere between half a km. long to two Kms. long with band of Camels, elephants, horses; then several bands with variety of musical instruments, then singers singing on the beats of those bands.  This huge chanin of exhibition passed along the streets and roads covering the whole stretch of the heart land of the city, covering around 10 to 15 kms.   And one after another the different Pooja Committees had their exhibitions lined up.

Moharram is though a festival of sorrow and remembering sacrifice, but in Patna on its last day when the exhibition had to reach to the Karbala, it was just akin to the Durgapuja Idol visarjan ceremony.   There was one striking feature in those Moharram exhibitions that they had two big flags tied to two big bamboos and then stitched together in the middle and two persons holding those bamboos one each at both sides of the narrow roads of twenty Ft. portraying the arrival of their Akhadas, walked on foot along the roads. There were several such different coloured and textured flags used by them in the celebration. The exihibitions were so long that you could not see the bands of musicians even after arrival of the flags of those akhadas.  The exihibtions include many speakers one after another boasting about their Akaadaas and highlighting their shows, bands of musicians and singers, Animals, and even dancers.  Some were showing their dancing skills, some Marshal Arts, including use of Lathis and naked swords.  It was awesome to the eyes of the beholders.  Spectators were just awed by these arts and glimpses of the troops and bands.  I remember from the roof tops, people used to throw flowers and garlands also in some areas in both these festivals, mostly in case of Durgapuja by the Muslim Community and in Moharram by Hindu Communities in contrasting styles to commemorate the harmony of the two communities.  And then the speakers used to make us really emotional.  The love that evoked out of by those speeches brought cheers on the faces of all the spectators.

Yes, I miss those days. I got the inspiration to write this article after watching this song “Phir tere Sehar mein Lootne ko chala aaya hoon, Phir wohi Ishq tera, Phir wohi dil laaya hoon” from the movie “Ek musafir ek haseena.”  Actually this song I heard only in the Moharram Celebrations some ten years back when I was there at Patna during those days.  It was having a band from Maharashtra and it was having such a long tail I think almost two hundred musicians were lined up with their saxophones and all the instruments that they play, and there were dozens of brass loud speakers and the song resonating all around in the skies were reaching our ears, thus bringing an immortal effect on us.  It can never be imagined if you did not witness all this.  This was the first time I heard this song then and never knew which movie it was from and all its descriptions, but today when I watched this movie, I could feel why that song was chosen by such an expensive band then while there were many other popular songs of that time they could have chosen; and also why these bands are so expensive, and why they are known to be different? 

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मित्रों यदि मेरा यह पोस्ट आपके दिल को जरा भी छू कर गुजरा हो तो मुझे विश्वास है कि आप मेरे इस प्रयास को लाइक दे कर मुझे और भी अच्छा लिखने की प्रेरणा, स्नेह और आशीर्वाद देंगे। आप अगर मुझे मेरे फेसबुक प्रोफाइल पर फॉलो करते हैं तो आपको मेरे शेयर किये सारे पोस्ट्स आपके नोटिफिकेशन्स में मिलते रहेंगे।