home to parents-Gumthala

5. Home to ‘Parents’- Gumthala

Jhai says, Babuji came to see her and proposed instantly.
Nana needed time to think. Babuji insisted it had to be ‘yes or no’ right then.
Well, ‘so he was, all along, mostly his way’.

Born in 1919, his own Father another Advocate, Sr. member of the Judiciary, about to be appointed as Judge of the High Court at Haryana, died of Tuberculosis when he was around 12. His mother, my dadi and he grew under the protection of his Taya and Tayiji at Gumthala.

The realization that he was the only son who had lost his father when young came much later as I grew up. Perhaps that is why while the big HAVELI in Gumthala lay deserted in the village, he would often visit and dream ‘Dreams’ of doing some thing big with it.

He left us suddenly, without telling us ‘what exactly’. So my mother Sarla and Brother Vikram drove to it in 1987 in our small Maruti through the dusty roads into Haryana, Karnal, Kaithal, Pehowa and then Gumthala Gadhu. Hoards of kids peeped through the windows of the car as we carefully stepped on the cobbled stone path.

The HAVELI, more like a Fortress complete in itself stood, a strong reminiscent of ‘our past’.

Ralla Ram Babaji the last of my grandfathers then, was living with Sushil Uncle at his farm at Dhampur. He told me the story of one Asa Ram who lived in Shahpur some 200 years ago. Following a squabble over Chess with the Muslims he moved to Pehowa and then got anchored in Gumthala Gadhu- a Rajput Muslim habitation. His son Khyali Mal built 2 Havelis in 1828 for sons Jassa Mal and Hazari Mal. One is ours and the other is called Parli Haveli Our ancestors were rich farmers and money lenders. 40 families lived at one time in the Haveli with a 100 servants. Ganga-jal used to be stored in big Ghadas and an elephant could pass through the front gate carrying goods.

Babaji had been witness to the fading grandeur of vast arable land comprising many villages and the largest Haveli of the area which even now, is also a landmark on army maps. None could portend the decline. 20,000 acres of land was confiscated under Land Ceiling Act, promulgated after Independence of India in 1947. The Muslims to whom money used to be lent, by our ancestors had migrated to Pakistan. And the Haveli was fated to relic.

NO ONE lived in it any more. From rich farming business men, generations moved to becoming intellectual professional men and women in varied fields, spread all over the world. Tayaji’s eldest, Ravi Uncle took a big leap from Haryana to California in the 40s. Some of us became American, Canadian and British citizens, others, residents of Delhi, Bombay, Lucknow etc. A few, closest to Gumthala still are in Pehowa and Kaithal.

So, the Haveli! Father believed in one thing that was education. My mother, Vikram and I decided to give it to Mr. Sharma, a local Brahmin, who converted it to a School, first primary and now upto 12th class.

Babuji, after finishing School, went to do law and Commerce in Lahore as was customary for most, at that time. All his cousins were younger and he began to be their guide and mentor.
When he married my mother he was 23 and earning about 100 Rs./month at Ambala.
He was selected for the Indian Revenue service early in his career and kept growing professionally till his retirement as Appellate Commissioner Income tax.

My mother ‘Jhai’, who was a Matriculate at Marriage, had to do many exams, go through many ‘notes’ much against her will. No excuses even during her Pregnancies and finally became a ‘Bachelor of History’ at least on paper.

‘The English’ did leave but left the English legacy behind. My sister Shashi and I studied in Convents or convent like Girls’ Schools at Kanpur, Lucknow, Gwalior and then Queen Mary’s, Delhi.
Youngest sister Sunita and Vikram continued with them in Allahabad, Calcutta, Jabalpur and Bhopal as part of his transferred posts.

Thus started my learning, ancestral and intellectual, not predicting then, the future formation of ‘the Yahoo Psychiatrists Literature Group’.

Veena