REVISITING PAST

I am obsessed with exploring different villages these days.

Because it is the best source of cultural history , authentic conversations and meaningful discussions.

Also, I really love talking to random people , knowing about their stories , learning from their experiences and sharing my experiences too.

So,

Day before yesterday I was sitting in my room and was wondering to step out of my house. As it's been long I haven't visited anywhere. After a long self talk one question popped up in my mind.

That - "What can be a better option than a village? I will get the most authentic experience there."

I randomly googled nearest villages from my place. Then I chose a village namely, Naraina. 

(No specific reason behind it).

This time I donned the way they do. So, that the respective villagers are comfortable to talk with me and I don't look foreign to them. A better communication is possible this way as feeling of belongingness is there.

Well, I traveled via a bus.

 (I took all the required safety measures.)

After struggling a lot , I managed to take a window seat .

(that's a prerequisite of traveling. Isn't it?).

I enjoyed the whole journey , gazing the trees, gazing the sky and listening the sound of the air. It's so soothing.

 

After a few hours, I reached there.

I was clueless as to , What all are the places to visit here? From where shall I start my excursion ? etc.

This happens when you make a random plan!!

The only option was to ask the fellow villagers about "Must visit places" there . But , they were confused as nothing came in there minds.

Suddenly, a little girl screamed and said - "Tripolia Gate".

She guided me to visit this place.

Meanwhile, she told me about her village and about herself too.

(What's her schedule? How boring lockdown is? And everything under the sun. She shared all the random facts about her village.)

She asked- "Are you here to inspect these monuments, for renovating them"?

I laughed and said - "No, I'm here to travel. That's all."

She gave a vague look. Maybe my answer was unsatisfactory.!

 

Anyways,

Tripolia Gate is a beautiful place with a really impressive history.

You can read it:

 

 

In the right of this place is a beautiful dargah.

Here we go :

 

 

 

What an amazing blend of cultural history? Isn't it?

(At least, two religious places can coexist peacefully unlike so called religious humans.)

I sat there for hours thinking about as not so important things as, "What if I don't get a bus today? Will I be able to reach home on time?" to as deep as "Forget everything. I can stay here forever." 

I was wondering that , there's one advantage of not popularizing these places : They are left unaltered and aren't damaged by us. This preserves our cultural heritage and historical monuments. 

But, the disadvantage is that, people are unaware about the beautiful history of our villages , and are only aware about the chaotic side of the story.

It's important to tell everyone about the peaceful side too.

 

After sitting there for innumerable hours.  

I started walking towards the village side .

 

A few kilometers away , I noticed a group of women gathering tree branches and wood for fuelwood.

I went near and asked them as to why they were cutting the tree branches?

They said - "It's for cooking food". (Irritably)

And then they continued there work.

Their look frightened me.

I escaped from there and continued my walk.

Now, here comes the best incident.

I noticed an old woman, she was making an earthen pitcher with clay.

I greeted her. She smiled and said - "Come daughter. Sit here."

I asked her that - "When did you start learning this skill of pottery? Whether this is your family's profession or not?"

She said : "No, its not my family's profession there is a painful story behind this."

(After an hour of pleasing and persuading her. She agreed to share her story.)

Then, she asked me to come inside her house, made me sit on a chair and she sat on a bedstead.

After that the story telling started….

I got married when I was 12 years old. My seven sisters and I got married together. I was the eldest of them all. It was normal back then , child marriage was practiced extensively.

My husband was a factory worker. He was 10 years elder than me.

I never went to school. As soon as I got married my life was restricted to household chores and innumerable adversities. Happiness was quite rare.

One day , when I was out for collecting fuelwood and was heading towards my house as it was my husband's lunch time.

Two kids came in the field running and they said - " Aunt hurry up! Uncle fell on the ground and he's unconscious. Nobody is there at home."

I ran straightway to my home. As soon I reached there he was already dead. He had an heart attack.

I couldn’t understand what shall I do. I just sat over there and cried.

Later my in laws came and funeral preparations were done. All this while I was sitting there like a dead body. I couldn't think about any thing , I was just blaming myself that I shouldn't have stepped out of my house, I could have saved my husband, I wished I was dead too, How will I survive now? etc. 

After this incident , I was like a living corpse. My life was miserable, but my in laws didn't throw me out of the house as I was pregnant. Otherwise, all the widows are asked to leave the house immediately.

I started living a normal life and the only reason behind my survival was this baby.

After few months, I was blessed with a baby girl. She was my life. I used to spend my whole day playing with her, gazing her beautiful face and listening her laughter.

But, my in laws were not happy with a baby girl. One day when I was bathing , they strangled her neck , killed her and threw her in the well. That day I realized that humanity doesn't exist.

I cried a lot in grief, but I couldn't do much about the situation. Nobody was there to support me I needed to fight this war all alone.

I went back to my mother's house but she asked me to go back. I felt dejected and all my hopes faded away. But, still there was one person that came in my mind she was "Ganga", she was a my childhood friend. When she became a widow her in laws threw her out but her grandmother supported her and she became financially independent due to the art of pottery.

I decided to tell her everything and asked her to lend a helping hand.

She asked me to become financially independent first of all. (Because if they can kill my daughter, they can kill me as well.)

So, she decided to teach me this art of pottery. After a few months of training I was good to go. I started selling earthenware, pots, pitchers etc.

I was able to earn enough to eat good food and lead a normal life.

Everyday I used to visit near that well (where they threw my daughter) and cried in pain. I missed my daughter a lot.

I always prayed to God that - "If my daughter would have been alive, I would have shared my life stories with her. Please give me strength to get through."

One day God answered my prayers. (In a mysterious way)

I said - "What?!! How?" (Shockingly)

She said - "Remember Ganga, unfortunately she died after delivering a baby girl. Though I lost a good friend but I found my daughter again. I adopted her daughter as no one in her family was happy with her birth , her grandmother would have been very happy but she was not alive."

I took care of Ganga's house and kept the art of pottery alive. I took care of my daughter. I loved her. I fulfilled all her wishes. I made her life as peaceful as possible. I educated her , sent her in a good school.

She got married after completing her education.

Again, I was alone in my house. I spent my days missing her and rest of the time I sell earthenware and taught pottery to few kids.

Everything was going fine.

Until one day when my daughter called me and told me that her in laws were torturing her because she wasn't fair enough and didn't bring dowry. Her husband used to support her but couldn't take stand.

This time I decided that it's time to speak up for my daughter and I cannot stay silent. In past , I paid a huge price for being a timid lady and I refrained taking any action against my in laws. This time I would not leave any stone unturned to save my daughter from this miserable life.

I said - " What a fierce woman you're. I'm proud of you."

She smiled and continued with her story.

Next day I went to her in laws house and came back along with my daughter and son in law. I warned them that dare not torture my daughter and son-in-law ever again. From now onwards they'll live with me.

After that day. We all lived happily ever after.

I said - "What an inspiring story it was. I felt like I'm listening to the story of Rani Laxmi Bai. You're simply amazing Grandma".

She smiled and said thanks for listening my story so keenly . I felt relaxed. Sharing all this gave me mental peace.

I smiled.

Then I asked her - "Did you take any action against your in laws?"

She said - "God took action against them, their karma gave them the best punishment." (With a sigh of relief)

I felt so motivated after listening to her story. This was true example of an empowered woman. Her story portrayed the characteristics of a courageous, brave and independent woman, who can fight all her battles alone.

LEARNINGS:

 - It's extremely important to take a stand for your self because if you don't take stand then people will torture you for everything that you never did. They'll take advantage of your innocence. It's very important to speak up for yourself and be your own savior.

 - Financial independence gives you the courage to fight your battles. Until and unless you're independent , you cannot live a satisfied life. So, whether in terms of money or in any other way be independent in life.! Being independent makes you empowered too.

- When you have a strong will power and determination, good things start happening in your life. 

 - Our cultural history teaches us a lot. We should try to know about it and visit historical places. Such unexplored places have worthwhile stories to tell.

NEVER GIVE UP! There is always a way out. 

No matter how impossible life seems to be, however difficult it is. 

There is always a way out.

Fight all your battles like a warrior!

Revisit past, it speaks a lot about your strengths!