It's an old man's stick

Kamal Baruah

(The writer can be reached at kamalbaruah@yahoo.com)

As the mystic Sun rises over the fog and bursts through the lines of Maji (bonfire) and Bhelaghar (a hut-like structure), the Bhogali arrives at the early dawn on the day of Makar Sankranti or uttarayan – the transition time of the Sun into Capricorn. It catches my mind at once wandering around my humble abode. I woke up to empty roads as most of all city dwellers have already left for their ancestral home on Uruka night for the festival of abundance. The bustling National Highway was still shrouded in darkness and looked empty. The mist blanketing the valley has gently lifted by the rising Sun while driving down to meet my father for the aboriginal ethnic festival of Magh Bihu.

Bhogali has an agrarian connection of Uruka bonfire and night of feasts. It ain't forgetting one's childhood memories of those rhythmic sounds (dhik-it-dhik) of dheki (wooden rice pounder). It thrashes Chira (flattened rice/poha) even it grinds sandahguri (roasted rice flour) and various delicacies of Pithas and Larus from earthenware tawa. Those days are long past of run and play, however, we swallowed Jolpan (Chira-doi - curd rice) in a series of gulps. Our good old days of traditional games Gilli-danda, chase to catch and run was played naturally that evoked nostalgia, while moving back in the day remembering those days about that time.

But they're on the brink of extinction now for the rise of the Internet and technical breakthroughs of smartphones have changed the way we live. Today's children are no longer accustomed to being played with such fun doings, where we unknowingly frolicked with such things for the benefit of health through physical activities. We moved all day long barefoot with youthful enthusiasm while having fun umpteen times in the muddy soil for growing and harvesting crops. Besides fun and play, eating with the community assumes great significance. No matter where you are, the lure of Til Pitha beacons us to relish all sweet desserts. Today I grow wistful and my thoughts float back to those times in the past when I believe life was better.

The most significant share is to enjoy escaping a busy schedule by spending time at a remote village. Besides eating, drinking and merrymaking going on far and wide, it also involves the tradition of seeking blessings from the elders in a family. While his Koka (grandpa) was sitting on a sofa, our little nephew was filled with curiosity while pointing towards a free-standing walker. What is this? It's an old man's stick (grandpa). ?? ?? ??????? ????? ?? (Grandpa knows English). We all were very amused at his catchy comments that too in Hindi. Today's children learn to speak the dominant language better than their mother tongue. In the end, the little one didn't expect such a reply in English from an elderly.

Older persons are being marginalized in our society with the change of socio-economic and demographic scenarios. As a result, younger generations have fewer opportunities to learn from the wisdom of the elderly. Children need to learn to get on with each other in an extended family. Life experiences alone give older people an edge in that arena. Traditionally, knowledge is being orally passed from one generation to the other from the ancient past. The concept of modern education is a completely new phenomenon. The kids are now being obsessed with the digital world thereby changing their thinking and learning skills.

When a toddler is learning to walk, we let that process happen naturally. We even give baby walkers to tend to use their toes. As a child gets older, they learned to walk themselves naturally. But an elderly goes back to the walker as a period of second childhood. The stage of the life cycle returned to its beginning as the dependency of older people for care needed. A walking stick surely gives freedom of movement to the elderly, act as a best friend in their hard time and enables them to live a life of independence.

It didn't happen for an overnight stay as I'd drive for return and be back at work the next morning. While returning to my modest dwelling in the basking city, I sat back behind the wheel for the entire drive to ponder on the road. We're a wanderer with no permanent lodging. They're regarded as the custodian of tradition, culture and heritage, yet young generations don't envisage such insight. Probably my father is right; it's an old man's stick. This may be the harsh reality of an elderly, I listened to his words of wisdom with this Bihu and my heart goes out to such dependency. They live alone and we don't let them into our life. This Bhogaliis observed a thoughtful insight into our hectic pace of city life.