The nationalism has inverse relation with the distance from capitals and likewise the poverty has a direct relationship with the distance from capital

Cold Mithila:Cold Maithils(23-26.1.2010)- REVISED and COMPLETED; Deoghar and Godda,Bhagalpur, Purnea, Araria, Forbesganj
The nationalism has inverse relation with the distance from capitals and likewise the poverty has a direct relationship with the distance from capitals
People of Ang (and also Vajji region are to choose between the tradition of Janki and Jarasandh



The leaves around 26th January to utilize for home and around had been in my mind for long and hence, I had thought for a Maithili Workers’ Training Camp at Pirpainti (Bhagalpur) while talking with Dr.Vijay Shankar Singh of Bamangama (Sarath, Deoghar),a co-traveller in the Vananchal Express in 2009 winter while I was returning with my sister from Forbesganj after first Varshi of my father) who turned to a Maithili worker and his in laws were at Pirpainti. However, it could not be finalized and I wished to be among students at Saharsa but that too could not be held due to incessant cold since early January.

During January 4-13,the journey to Jaipur - Delhi-Varanasi was in such a cold wave of north India- the cold was piercing one and Kripanand’s wife had asked me to wear gloves which I just forgot to purchase thinking for next winter but Mithila was no less in the poverty of sunshine than of wealth and naturally it was one of the coldest moment again.

I read in the Hindustan that the season was coldest in past 32 years and naturally if Saharsa had refused for a meeting it was not unusual.Still I talked and had some form of meetings here and there.

Before I could reach Jasidih on 23rd Jan., a call from Goadda’s Dumaria that one of the relatives came for shraddakarm of mother of the Sanjesh Mohan had a stroke.( They rushed to Godda hospital where I saw the patient but despite referral to Ranchi he died on 24th night).

I remarked somewhere that had not been Ranchi capital for Godda, patient would have been referred to Patna instead- and may be some near capital in Mithila he would have been saved too-though in massive cerebral haemorraghe outcome is always poor and best is prevention of high blood pressure with low salt diets and proper medicine which the victim had ignored altogether!).

On 23rd morning when I reached Deoghar stand my nephew came to receive me. In fact, I had only called him the previous night just to give him a Sanskrit writing(my views in a Sanskrit book of a scholar, Dr.Ramkishr Jha ‘Bibhakar,’ who was very eager to get it printed in his other book and I had written that in Sanskrit shlokas which I had preferred to tell on phone but he insisted for courier on 22nd evening as he had no one to collect at bus stand in my way to Godda and I decided to drop at Deoghar and requested him to call some persons for a meeting there. Not only I had good darshan of Baba Baidyanath- it was an experience of bare foot walking also and in the way having darshan of a Maghi Durga on an Astami day- first time I had such darshan in Magh!
The temple had no rush but my nephew said that only 2-3 days back many pilgrims had come from Saharsa area for Abhishek of Baba during Vasantpanchami and I stressed that in Maithili meeting that Baba had maximum devotees from Mithila and so Deoghar should go to Mithila!
Deoghar has many streets and it is famous for pedas, my sister had asked and I could have some.Pandas as usual were there but were civilized.
The Maithili meeting has small but influential attendance and it was a coincident that a meeting was held. I saw Bibhakarji’s room was full of sacred books- a temple in itself.
My eldest cousin (sister)’s son’s residence was nearby and I dropped there for 5 minutes.

Bus to Godda was a horrific experience- slow moving one but was passing through scenic route of southern Mithila.From bus stand to hospital – hospital too was in shambles. Doctor attended the patient in early morning but had few facilities. I was sorrow for Sanjesh’s younger brother who had just lost mother and was about to loose father –in-law( who had only daughters and being the eldest and only son-in-law he had higher responsibilities).

The meeting was in other corner of town of Godda where I was taken by an advocate Maithil requested by Binay of Purnea. I saw the house of Dr. Mahanand Jha who was a surgeon in my hometown Forbesganj.

Some Maithils gathered there expressed solidarity with Mithila movement and agreed for a bigger meeting later.

I was taken to the house of Dr.Ajay, a surgeon, my class friend, who was posted there in TBDC? His wife and he were eagerly waited for me since noon 12 but I had only time to eat a special sweet of Godda to take last bus of 530 to Bhagalpur as by then Sanjesh was about to leave for Ranchi with patient and there was no point in going to Dumaria ,his village which was originally planned- to attend 13th day of death of his mother as a mark of condolence.

I could get last but one seat of 3 and could guess from Maithilized tone of Hindi that co-traveller was a Maithil and so he was from near to Benipur and his friend from Madhubani; they were working in fairs, selling electronic toys and had come for a space in ensuing Godda fair. Ananad Choudahry told me that he was a lucky survivor of Darbhanga firing during military recruitment some years back and had decided to work on shelf than to have service and was better than a clerk ,having a lust for good education to his daughters and son in a Kurseong’s public school, near to Bagdogra airport, near Siliguri he was dwelling in his own house and was roaming about many fairs 45-60 days..
He suggested me to go to Bhutan via Jaigaon where scores of Maithils are residing . I gave him Maithili Parishad’s form for a unit at Siliguri when we reached Bhagalpur in a cool night around 9 PM.

Cold Mithila:Cold Maithils(23-26.1.2010)-II; Bhagalpur, Purnea, Araria, Forbesganj
The nationalism has inverse relation with the distance from capitals and likewise the poverty has a direct relationship with the distance from capitals

At Bhagalpur bus stand I entered into nearby Sabji Market where in November also I had purchased some vegetables while going to bachelor and young journalist Binay’s house-I remembered that that day I had taken old and rotten cabbage as I do not do marketing usually and was still happy that it would have been given some money to the village girl who was waiting for the last cabbages to be sold. This time I was cautious and purchased cauliflower, beans and tomatoes instead and before reaching the place while in auto, I ate an orange and 2-3 small apples given by my sister at Ranchi. Whole day I was busy and had not taken food and hence, was apprehensive of vitamin deficiency to which I am susceptible and so at Binay’s room I ate two tomatoes from which I had purchased. He came after sometimes purchasing cabbage again but cooked cauliflowers and rice which we had purchased.

It was a 23rd January night and I was in the memory lane of my marriage way back in 1989 this night which I do not when it was broken after three months like the death day of Netaji Subas Chandra Bose who was born on this very date; from English timings my marriage finally had cropped into 24th .I went to the top of the room and saw in reeling cold amid fog some vehicles still plied on the road below.

On 24th morning I got up around 7 to take bus to reach Araria by 1 PM. It was fog all over the bus stand and though I got a Purnea bus quickly, it could reach there in 3 hours, not bad from the point of foggy road. I could not ascertain when Koshi bridge passed. There was a call from Araria’s Sudhirnath Mishra when I had passed Gedabadi(a junction for Katihar) and expressed hope that I would be in time but I missed the connecting bus and next bus started around 12 noon which had many college students at zero mile to go to Kasba College.

I saw many labourers who climbed to roof top of bus with their cycles to go to Balua bazaar area, must be for some road construction, devastated by Kushha breach in 2008. It will take any decades to mitigate the miseries of Koshi victims and in fact Koshi culture is denude and is facing serious threats of poverty. Many poor might have been collapsed this winter when nobody remembers them- even blankets sent by NGOs from Delhi for them would be distributed to other localities’ poor! After all one needs serious organizational infrastructure to reach the last men of any tragedy and that never happens as per my experience in such calamities since 1977’s Andhra cyclone I worked.
I could work in 1988 Nauhatta breach ( towards Kopariaghat) and again in 1987 in and around Katihar and Manihari in other devastating flood, many areas I crossed again in the foggy winter.
By the time I reached Araria around 130 PM, there was broad sunshine, after many days first time as if for my ensuing meeting for Mithila state. I went to Lalitmohan Thakur’s house and had my daily snan-puja and lunch(though it was arranged at other place, if I would have reached in time and would have introduction/initiation of other worker to movement).
When with Lalitji I reached the Mahila College campus, there were some important personalities of area already present. It was my home subdivision, in the sands of which I had my childhood in Forbesganj, even a bigger town than this present district headquarters. I had my middle and secondary examination centre there at Araria in 1965 and 1970 I recalled.

We discussed many organisationl things apart from benefits of Mithila state. I lambasted Md. Taslimuddin’s hoardings as SEEMANCHAL GANDHI. “We had listened to SEEMANT GANDHI of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan but taking the name of that great person by an ordinary politician is a joke and insult to the great warrior,” I said. I was also critical of birthday and other greetings by hoardings and mentioned January greetings by great Hindu leader Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi at Varansi who even if liked so should have waited till Chaitra shukladi to come. Such ideological compromises mislead the followers.
There was a question by ex-BJP president of the area,” newer states did not give better results,” to which I named all such states(southern, Gujarat, Haryana, etc) and shown them Hindi India Today Dec. 30,2009 issue-“It has been accepted by the National Developmental Council for 11th Plan document that the three newly carved states- Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand had achieved higher growth rate than their parent states.
Jharkhand achieved 6.9 per cent growth rate when target was 11.1 per cent
Chhattisgarh achieved 9.2 per cent growth rate when target was 6.1 per cent
Uttarakhand achieved 8.8 per cent growth rate when target was 6.8 per cent.

There were some youth leaders who promised to work for Mithila movement. After the meeting Sudhirnathji and I took a rickshaw for the Ambedkar Chowk where could get a bus to Forbesganj, my hometown, where I was born and brought up.
It has changed a lot since my childhood days but all changes were not good. I said Shanbhu Mishra whose father was Minister that around Sultani Pond, the ‘jungle’(where even ‘peepul’ I had seen to grow as shrub) with ‘indigo vats’ would have been a tourist attraction with many cemeteries of British, one of them was probably of a dog also. Shambhu Mishra’s father Saryu Mishra was lone opposition for its sell out.

My home has no provisions and I had put my bag to the house of the daughter of my mentor Pt. Ramchandra Jha. I also could meet Teju master, my house care taker and Jamuna Yadavji, bosom friend of my elder brother. I went to Sudhirji’s son house who was residing in my teacher Khagendrababu’s house on rent. I could take my teacher’s blessings too toughing his feet. Once upon a time, my most favourite teacher Agamlal Mandal was also residing in that complex.

Sudhirnathji’s son had talked with me while in December I was at Delhi to come and discuss for an organization for the welfare of Koshi victims. I suggested him to take up those issues under the banner of the Antarrashtriya Maithili Parishad(AMP) itself not only because it will be problematic to have one more organization but also being Koshi an international river, AMP workers can mutually cooperate.
Sudhirnathji’s grandson left me on bike to the telecom complex, where I had left my bag. In the way again I saw my school the LEE ACADEMY and the roads of the small but nice town which have still many dogs. It was cold and few movements were around at 930 PM.

I discussed many familial matters with son-in law of my mentor and initial teacher, Pt. Ramchandra Jha (whose son Bibhakar has turned to be an astrologer and surprisingly at Ranchi itself and saw a big photograph with his disciple Dr.C.P. Thakur, an ex- Cabinet Minister..I cannot understand why a man of his caliber is in the realms of astrology and I recall modern Newton, writer of ,’A Brief History of Time,”, Sir Stephen Hawk while he was in India to deliver his talk at the Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi (which was a live telecast and I had gone to my residence to listen to that leaving my chamber in the hospital); his reply to a question on validity of Astrology, ”I cannot say.”

The only two times more I had left my chamber while duty time for listening to TV- once more when Vajapayee was taking oath for the first time as PM and incidentally at Forbesganj itself in 1969 when I was 14 years old I had met him closely while he was on tours and after breakfast denying Chadars as Brahminical bidai, I had quipped,” aapne kal moti dakshina le lee hai,”(I made my fingers as a purse which he had taken previous day in meeting for party fund).” He laughed and took bidai from Rekhchand Samdaria, a close friend of my father and local Jan Sangh worker.

The bath room was very cool and so water was in cold wave but the morning of 25th January was with broad sunshine for the first time in the season. I went to my home in front and did snana-puja there. Though Teju master Sudhirji came, his son and other workers for Koshi did not turn up. I went to meet my friend Saboo’s mother in front- took her blessings and went Sunita’s house to take my bag. I had some feeling of incomplete evacuation of stool and had to go toilet several times. I took some food and came back to my house which has an open field with some school rooms where children had come. In the morning I had listened to Prabhat feri of children for the Republic Day next day. In smaller towns such days have more enthusiasm than of metros. The nationalism has inverse relation with the distance from capitals and likewise the poverty has a direct relationship with the distance from capitals and so I use to say ,”In India, we are capitalistic in one sense surely that here every developmental thing emanate from Capitals.’,” and probably so I want a capital for my Mithila too(Bihar’s capital Patna has higher per capita income than national average though Bihar as a whole is on the near bottom on this scale).

Sudhirnathji and I reached railway station where while enquiring for train to Purnea, one young ASM,Manoj Kr. Jha recognized me. He was from village Jonki Mahinathpur of Madhubani district. I did not recall where I met him and on my query he told me that some times back when I had come to take a train. (but found in my diary on 1st February 2010 night that I had met him on 11.4. 2005 when I had gone to search one Manikant Jha, Sr. Sectional Engineer hailing from Ujiarpur, Samastipur and had asked Manoj to arrange next day a meeting of Maithils he knew there but Manoj was discouraged by Manikant that it was not possible. I had some confusion as the number I saved with name was again MK and clarified on phone on 2.2.2010 that this time I could met MK was Manoj Kumar and I asked him that now he had experience in the my hometown and should work for Mother Maithili’s advancement like Ranchi’s station manager late Chadrakant Jha was doing; wearing a dhoti-kurta he was a symbol of Maithil culture himself!I had also enquired for one other young ASM whose quarters I had gone there but he was transferred probably near to Katihar somewhere.

From Forbesganj station, I had asked Lalit Rang of Sukhsena to arrange a small gathering but he was busy in the Republic day preparations. I had stayed in his village many years back during a Maithili Workers’ Training Camp and in November 2009, I could get his number incidentally and was a guest for night after my meeting in the Law College. I wanted this time meeting at a newer place .

Since the Essay contest on Mithila state’s need in the Purnea College could not be arranged on 25th for the concerned teacher was busy with college audit, I had requested him to call some persons for an informal meeting there but I could not get him on mobile and was thinking my one day CL was wasted. I told this to Binay and he suggested me to contact his father. His father was happy that I was coming to his house again. I requested him to assemble some persons.

In the train to Purnea(Katihar) there was rush but since the introduction of broad gauge rush is accommodated. I recalled the horrific travel in meter gauge some years back. The passenger train is cheap and takes less time.

Seeing the ways, familiar to me, Dholbazza of Yogendra Jha, my other mentor in the matter of discipline, Araria RS(Railway Station), and Araria Court etc. intermingled with many new halts in between(which has a large Bangladeshi population settled as well), Kushiargaon(where hardly any sugarcane is now),Garhbaniali(of hisatorical Maithil rulers)’ Jalalgarh(on the name of Jalaluddin-whether Akbar ,I do not know but want to call it as Jai Lal Garh), Kasba(meaning a small township) where was a crossing and then Purnea-our old district headquarters, named on Purain(lotus) or Purandevi temple(where Pandavads during Ajnyatvas had prayed) or Purna Aranya(full of forest), I do not know but was mesmerized by the fast talk of two ladies-of short height and was eager to know which languages they were talking. Both had equally fast speed. I thought initially they were talking in Assemese or Boro or CoochBehari dialect but when I asked them, one of them replied,” Bengali.”I said ,” Bengali aami jani kintu..eto fast..”

I feel that is the case Maithili also with many dialects. Angika or Vajjika some claim as languages are faster versions of Maithili with lesser grammatical bindings.
She replied that everybody had different speed of talks. When I asked where they lived, one of them named some mohalla of Purnea. She said that where ever is a Bihari there is a Bengali.
When I came out to take a seat in auto, all were set to go to some Satsang(maybe of Mehibaba or so). After some time, I could get one to go to bus stand who left me at Line Bazar, no wonder the same days newspaper had a news that for three wheelers, Purnea was second in selling only to Gaya and Patna was poor fourth after Muzaffarpur.
There are no comparative data available to me but surely Patna will rank one in for wheelers. Poor need shared commutation and so Mithila’s Purnea and Muzaffarpur lag behind even in the matters of three wheelers from Magadh’s Gaya!

Line Bazar had many medical clinics where many of my friends do practice and get good number of patients but I chose another way despite a medical consultant where I do serve. I took a rickshaw to go ill-known Teachers’ Colony near Chhathi Pokhari. Many English schools are opening in every corner of Mithila and Purnea is no exception. There were many Muslim mohallas in between which too probably signify the amount of infiltration from Bangladesh.

After some time on bad road, I reached Teachers’ colony where some retired persons assembled quickly. I addressed them about Mithila’s culture and demand for statehood. Though number was small they represented interior villages (Amaur, Vishnupur,etc.) and I entrusted them task of awareness there. With one of them I could make contact with Shri Dhirendra Mishra, ex-IAS and vice-president of the AMP, Jharkhand. It was enchanting to see the faces of his classmate and other an uncle who was presiding my meeting.

Initially two youth were there and I was happy to see them but soon they left. One was apprehensive of money collection as was done by some persons sometimes back in the name of Maithil Brahmin Sammelan. I told them that to me every person of Mithila was a Maihtil not merely this or that caste and I do not preach or practice casteism. Yet they left and there was none even to send release to press-all were old and retired persons there. It give me an opportunity to visit press bureau to of Hindustan, Aaj and Dainik Jagarn while in way to bus stand.

It was difficult to get a Xerox shop and when I could get one the quality was poor. Though everywhere release was received by correspondents themselves none interrogated me much and were under pressure for 26th January advertisements that release of Araria and Purnea could not get space despite might have been their willingness as I could ascertain from body language. Whether newspapers are for news or otherwise are a matter of concern.

Despite some food at Forbesganj had no desire for not full utilization of the day but when Binay’s sister told me that she had cooked for me which will be wasted, I ate that food and then went out hurriedly moving to Purmea press beaureaus could get last seat in a Bhagalpur bound state Govt. semi-Deluxe but preferred a Cabin seat where too soon overcrowding was because of many persons taken without tickets and most of them were to be dropped where bus had no scheduled stoppage. That is the cause of Bihar’s backwardness- corruption at every level. When I reached Bhagaplur Tilaka Manjhi Chowk, I preferred to take note of the first martyr who lead a struggle against British in 1785 when Baba Tilka was a mere 35 year youngman; I had confusion from a mazar near a banyan tree where he was hanged that was it his but Binay clarified in the night that Santhals’ dead bodies were buried not burnt. However, I was happy to note that some floral garlands were decorated on the Republic Day eve.
Cold Mithila:Cold Maithils(23-26.1.2010)-III; Bhagalpur- People of Ang (and also Vajji region are to choose between the tradition of Janki and Jarasandh

When I reached Binay’s place opening his gate was a difficult task for three workers of ‘Binay Mess’ and they initially failed despite asking Binay on mobile who opened and closed that lock many times(more in night being an editorial staff of a daily newspaper, Hindustan). ’Jiski bandariya vahi nachaye,’ said the youngest amongst them, the waiter-cum-cook who ultimately could open the lock).

Every time I go there I am amused with the writing of its signboard Binay -it is ‘B,’ in Hindi and no ‘V,’ which in fact should have been(and also a ‘Murdhanya Sh’ rather than a ‘dantya S’ for Mess in Hindi).

It may seem a ‘mesh,’ of wordings as Binay is not coming under Mesh Zodiac sign but Vrish as per Hindu astrological divisions but here lies the proof that whatever claims residents of Bhagalpur area may do on the name of ‘Ang,’ it is linguistically and culturally part of Mithila. I had seen some banners in the Bhagalpur town, ’Ang Deshki Rasham Nagari me ,’ in the same visit; of course Bhagalpur’s silk was world famous once upon a time and so might have been ‘Ang’ in the days of Mahabharata but it was more so Munger which was awarded by Suyodhan (or Duryodhan as popularly he is called) to Karna for making him fit as a king but nowadays Mungeris are not so vocal for their Angship than Bhagalpuris are for some reasons not so well understood.

In fact, for long the area was ruled by Bengali dynasties and no proper historical records are available as to show a continued tradition of Ang rulers, if any, which I had said in my previous visit to the youth of Nathnagar without any disrespect to Ang area and have suggested them to have movement for joining Mithila as any Govt. of Mithila will pay more attention to develop the dialect of that region than Govt. of Bihar could do in almost one complete century.

The people of Ang (and also Vajji region are to choose between the traditions of Janki and Jarasandh- again I am not saying it with disrespect to Magadh but after all Magadh is known for its empires not for wisdom and sacrifice though Chanykaya was there, he probably was a Maithil and so Nalanda was there but again Buddhists made big universities but Buddhistic teachings could not be continued while Santan Hindus had ‘Guru-Shishya parampara’ and still that is continued in some form or other and so much so that probably not a single Buddhist family of Buddha days are in present Bihar due to bloodless logical war by Maithil scholars like Mandana and later Udayanacharya; had they sent their pupil to offshore like Buddhist Ashoka sent his son and daughter –Mahendra and Sanghmitra to Sri Lanka and many monks to China, Korea, Japan, etc. probably all would have returned to the shadow Santan Banyan and might be as a consequence the word would have been in a more peaceful state with least conversion to Islam due to weakening of security which could be and recent problems in China’s Han province and others would not have taken as more Islamic conversions were in the land where Buddhists had more propagation).
When I say thus I do not undermine the importance of Bishnupad of Gaya, the most important seat of Lord Vishnu or Patndevi of Patna, one of the 52 Shaktipeetha where right thigh of Mata Sati was fallen but Mithila is Mithila where it is impossible to say where left arm of Mother was fallen and at Baidyanath Deoghar the heart after that Yajna Dhwans of Daksha Parajapati (on which I had written a small play in Maithili,”Vambhru,” seeing dearth of such plays based on epical stories)and so they are culturally same, Dakshinmargis unlike of Magadh.

Any place where fell the body part of Mother Sati is a Holy Shakti peeth but where fell parts below naval is worshiped by Vammargis and no wonder area of Magadh is under the arm influence of leftist Maoist and has been an area of caste inferno to which Mithila is so far immune and any example of recent happenings at Khagaria was in fact result of the company of Bihari rage (Sangat Sanjayte Kamah; Kamat Krodhobhi jayte,Gita 2:62).

Probably segregation of Mithila from Bihar will add to the pristine glory of our Holy Motherland.

The people of south of Ganga(east of Magadh) till Deoghar are speaking Dakshini Maithili which some persons in retaliation (of their insult by early Maithil Brahmin Maithili scholars)have named ‘Angika,’ though the correct word as per linguist Dr. Subhadra Jha would have been, ‘Aangkiya,’ (and likewise ‘Vajjkiya’ for Western Maithili) which George Grierson did term,’ Chhika-Chhiki,’ from the verb form though ‘Dakshini Maithili’ would have been appropriate as to my wisdom and I love to use it with respect to the dialect and I wish many more literary work and theses in it which should be recognized as the standard form of Maithili. In any case the state language of Mithila will recognize all such dialects to be used for official work whatever literary form may be for scholastic work; Sanskrit has 10 verb form, including one ‘let lakar,’ only used for Vedas.

Coming to ‘Binay Mesh,” in Maithili ‘B,’ is usually used not ‘V,’ and that is why on the railway station of Ang’s most famous historical site, I had read some times back as ‘Bikramshila,’ not ‘Vikramshila’.

On that token even ‘Bihar’ is either wrong (for ‘Vihar’ would have been right) or Maithilized (and so ‘Jharkhand’ is misspell which should have been ‘Jhadkhand’- nor ‘R’ of Ram but ‘D’ of ‘Ladka’(for a boy) as Jhad is for forest not for jharna (water fall) which too are abundant in Jhadkhad full of forest and greenery.

Maithili’s ‘B,’ for ‘V, is more pronounced in Bangla, eg. Rabindra is name of famous ‘Gurudev,’ not ‘Ravindra’ and so is ‘Basu,’ instead of ‘Vasu’ and it is so much more in Oriya that there is no alphabet as ‘V,’ as once Swatika, an Oriya hardware engineer of MECON, Bangalore had told me and hence, I corrected a name as ‘Binita Panigrahi,’ while editing Souvenir for All India Steel Medical Conference while someone in the programme sheet had entered her as ‘Vinita.’

If this ‘B’ for ‘V’ is to be taken in the account, I should have been surprised long before that ‘Binay’ Tarun was my host (and his certificate name ‘Binay,’ was rather correct from Maithili standpoint though he had taken a confusing email id from Vinay and again incidentally he became a tenant where on his name ‘Binay Mess’ was already running on the ground floor and no wonder, the mess workers were very obedient to him.

Further ‘Murdhanya Sha’ is pronounced in Maithili as ‘Kha’ which is as per Panini’s rule( SSHRhr pareshu Sha khakarah) that when ‘Murdhanya Sha’ is followed by,’‘Talavya Sha,’ ‘Murdhanya Sha’‘Dantya S ‘ ref’ and ‘H’ it should be pronounced as ‘Kha’, hence, ‘Varsh,’ is ‘Barkh,’ in Maithili but ‘Manisha’ is not ‘Manikha.’ Proximity to such difficult rules of Sanskrit adapted so easily in colloquial Maithili is a matter of pride for us and Maithili thus is the closest to Sanskrit and in fact traditions and culture of Mithila are one on which every Indian should be proud of not merely Maithils.

Binay returned late in night and again cooked rice and vegetable cursing his sister as to why she did not send some ‘khir-paratha,’ with me though his father had given me an electrical coil for repairing eclectic short circuit.

Once I went to roof again and saw to some vehicles plying in cold but could not find any rickshaw, seeing one of them from the same place, I had SMSed a poem to an AIR announcer girl of the town on 4.12.2009 at 1.05:39

A Foggy Midnight at Bhagalpur
“This chilly midnight
In your city
From the roof top
Of 4th floor
I saw on the road
A rickshaw puller
Happy he might be
On a lonely road
Like I am
In a bachelor’s house.”
Foggy weather like
Mystic world
People work
For their hunger
Those who have
Sleep under warm
Blankets of sheep wool
Who had it to protect
Them from the cold
Despite street light
Nothing was seen
The rickshaw was
Advancing
On assumed
Road to station
As we all are
Advancing to
The road of
Dead end
Or station of
This universe.”
-(4.12.2009 at 1.05:39,
Completed on 2.2.2010 noon 130)

Well, cold was there though reducing day by day but in the morning when I woke up late so that water was supplied after repairing electric line but it was not done by that time but from the roof top I saw again National Tricolour unfurling in the opposite Muslim High School and remained in attention till National Anthem was over.

It was the same place where last year(2009) to I had viewed Republic Day. I could find a difference rather addition to the past year’s parade- the NCC cadets had one batch with different dress like that of ‘jungle,’- whether they were of any Commando training group under the changing atmosphere of militancy?

I was happy more so that it was in a minority institution though many believe that many of them are called fundamentalists. The other face of coin also flashed in my mind that surely Republic Day was of greater moment of joy for them because it was the Constitution of India which had given them more rights as minorities while non-Muslims have been denied so in Islamic countries not only in India’s shelved parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh but also in the Middle East countries; may be some Far East countries are better in this regards.

Maybe for them this reason the day might have been more joyful than Independence Day though 26th January was in fact celebrated as the Independence day from 1929 to 1947. It was on 26.1.1929 that Jawaharlal Nehru (then called as ‘President’ ) had declared on the bank of Ravi river at Lahore ,’Purn Swarjya(Full Independence though only for fools Independence may not be full) as goal but even that Lahore could not remain in India when She got Independence.

I remembered in NMO’s XXX Natioanl Conference at Katihar on 28.1. 2007, even Muslim medicos recited Bande Matarm voluntarily(again ‘Vande Mataram’ though seems correct, it is a Bangla song transposed in a Bangla novel, ’Anandmath,’ and hence, my logic to write it as Bande Matarm was though not accepted by the editor of The Hindu, he published my letter after many e-mail transactions on the philology and linguistics of eastern Indian languages. ‘No body will like to misspell proper noun of its writer Bankim as Vamkim,’ like ‘Ravindra,’ for Rabindranath Thakur(again Tagore is a misspell nobody calls his father Maharshi Devendranath Thakur as Tagore).

Our country has progressed a lot in 60 years of Republic. I had read a lot of data in the Dainik Jagaran, 25th Januray issue some are here:
1950 2010
Population
36 cr. 166 cr.
Per capita income
255 Rs. 37490 Rs.
Life expectancy
32 years 68 years
Infant Mortality Rate/1000 134 53
Doctor/lakh 16 60
Salary of administrative officers on joining 350 Rs. 26000 Rs.
Gold value 10 gram 98 Rs. 16645 Rs.

The data I was reading in the India’s poorest zone(a vast zone of Mithila around 60 million population) to which I belonged and hence, for its economic emancipation I wanted to work and being doctor my priority was health sector to which my suggested model has been accepted by GOI (not exactly as Diploma in Medicine or lMP but as MBBS –Rural though by 205 half of Indian will be urbanized and MBBS(Slum) may be required by then? I am of the opinion of one system only in hospitals and or education.

I asked Binay to accompany me to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College to meet some young medicos for the National medicos Organisation (NMO) work.Without taking bath or puja we went out to take his bike from the press premises where editor Nagendra Pratapap was waiting for other 36 editorial staff and their family members for a picnic to Sabour Agriculture College Guest House.

The media persons have few holidays and thus they wanted to enjoy that. They also in competition probably want so many editions and latest news input that they have become nocturnal species(like bats or owls) which is effecting there health. A good research paper can be made if a survey is done and probably will establish my postulates on ‘shift neurosis,’ in swift shift change workers.

I could get a casual patient in an underweight friend of Binay and suggested some drugs for his hyperacidity syndrome though he needed some investigations like endoscopy and stool examination as well as some blood examinations.

The editor was surprised on Binay’s punctuality- many others were late but Binay quipped that he was also late as Tricolour was already unfurled. The editor asked for snacks to us but I did not because I had no bath till then but it saved me from those fast food and sweets. ‘Fast food kills fast, ’will take time to be understood and priority of fruits over sweets need health education.

I gave a copy of “Aayurvigyan Pragati( a quarterly medical journal of the NMO and the Maithili Sandesh “( a quarterly bulletin of the Aatarrashtriya Maithili Parishad(AMP) and pages from my, unpublished, ”The Autobiography of an Unknown Medico.” regarding reorganization of Indian states based on 2.5 to 5 per cent of Indian population and or area . I said him about Mithila movement in Nepal and in India, He was aware of as he had worked at Patna for long though he belonged to Lucknow. He pointed on one scan of the Hindustan’s report in the Maithili Sandesh.

I told him that one stinger/reporter of the Hindustan, some Singh of Madhubani (who had listened to me at Bhaura Chowk in 1994)had made me a leader of Mithila state movement from an unknown pedestrian. (His 4- column news when there was only one edition of the paper created awareness all over Bihar,including Jharkhand of modern time.

The Hindustan’s editorial team had picnic in 2009 also on the Republic Day at Bikramshila but that day too I had to catch Vananchal Express at 1530 and it had no stoppage at Bikramshila, still seems a deserted place in between Kahalgaon and Pirpainti.
In year 2010 they had already voted for ‘the best ideaba’j(might be Binay whom editor might have a perception of Samajvadi because I perceived editor as a Samajvadi seeing his kurta-pyjama in that way); ‘best jhuthbaj,’ was probably for some Mishra as Binay guessed but I saw a young person asking editor that he would have to play in fancy football or cricket I could not discern but editor had an excuse that he was without a boot despite which young man was adamant that he would have to play(or a referee he might have been!). A small unit should behave like a close-knit family and it was an example to that.

With Binay I went to the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College where I could meet some boys and talked about the NMO. I went there after a lapse of many years. I had probably first organizational tour to that medical college in 1980 which I still remember that I had slept in an electric shop of a market near Ajanta Talkies, of a co traveler due to engine failure of that passenger train from Patna. I had been going there since then when it was merely ,”Bhagalpur Medical College,” housed in ‘Naulakha building,’; there are many new buildings but that was still unique. I remembered Mandalkothi Hostel and others;I recall NMO’s IV National Conference there in 1988.

I talked medicos to work who were apprehensive that social work might hamper their studies to which I opposed giving my own example of competing post graduation in most difficult subjects of medicine and paediatrics despite remaining busy in the NMO work all through.
I suggested them to have some tree-plantation in the hostel premises and to conduct some medical symposia by medical students. I gave them my own example of my Darbahanga Medical college days when I conducted 13 consecutives symposia ,e.g. on congenital hear disease students can speak on the embryology of heart, physiological changes at birth, anatomy of heart chambers, signs and symptoms of cyanotic and acynotic congenital heart diseases, management of congenital heart diseases,etc. I told them that in one of such seminar on carcinoma breast former principal and renowned surgeon Dr.S.M.Nawab became so happy that he gave Rs. 300 to give boys as prize which I gradually disbursed them purchasing books of ELBS seires like Julian’s Cardiology.

Binay said that had some medicos with his group during Koshi flood of 2008, medicines would have been better utilized. He also asked me as to how malnutrition can be screened in a community which I replied.
The medicos had some reservation on a recent happening with a Hindustan employees’ relative about which Binay told me while we were returning. As medicos said doctors’ number is always less than required for proper duties ,I feel empathy should be for a dying patient and also should know that medicine is more an art than science and more so at critical times and at that time art of communication must be learnt by seeing how seniors deal such events; more so in the setup of public undertaking where few doctors like me are serving a closed community and also I feel media should have restraint and pacifying role if such an ugly event take place and the matter should not be personalized but taken as a social disease needing rectification from many angles, law utmost can be a small player in that whatsoever its dimension may be; willful negligence cannot be excused but it cannot also be treated like a motivated crime.

There was as usual many jams on the road as our cities are becoming destinations for poors due to uneven growth of villages and centralized system of governance. After some time, Binay while Binay was returning back to same road,I guessed he had forgotten to purchase curd for my ekadashi at Kalifabagh. And so it was, infrint of Devendra Jalpan Grih from the shape of the shop I guessed that must be a meeting and gossiping place of Bhagalpur where an advertisement on railway stations of Mysore etc. I had seen,’A lot more can happen over a cup of Coffee..” and so it may be like famous Coffee House..Anyway I do not take tea or coffee and so have not been a part of such evolutions.
But Binay said that the curd centre was the best of the town and one can get even quintal of curd on just order and I got the answer as to what will happen to Mithila’s economy which people say will remain in red as it has only water(and floods) and sands! I use to say that despite’Lauraj’ making Bihar bankrupt Sudha had been in benefit. So, I feel Mithila can replicate many’white revolutions,’even Kurien would not have contemplated and so ‘Green revolutions,’ better than Norman Boroloaugh’s imagination,after all green revolution of Punjab and Haryana was due to the sweats of Maithil labourers who had migrated there for menial work being devasted by ill-conceived flood-making bandhs on Koshi and Kamla and Baghmati and Adhwara..

Kushha flood was due to lack of 10 liters of diesel there at that black night but surely it was the cause that generated emotions in many Binays heart to work for them whom till then they had not felt that those were the part and parcel of their social fabric. I recall many stories Binay told me while in way to Sultanganj in my previous visit where we saw people fighting for water..
“Water water everywhere not a drop to drink..’ could be written by S.T. Coleridge for ,”The Ancient Mariner,’ while in the salty sea but Mithila has an abundance of potable water,even bottling of which can make any millionaire if not fish production which can remove the malnutrition among poor, Binay was asking and some years back Sahniji had said in theMadhubani conclave for Mithila that he would make Mithila self-relieant only by selling fishes! I am an exceptional Maithil being a vegetarian but peole say Mithila’s fishes are tasty.
As a doctor my duty is to remove diseases like diabetes where like “Water water everywhere not a drop to drink,” glucose is present in every body tissue but body is unable to utilize that. Maybe Mithila’s water problem is like that. And if Ang and santhal remains with Mithila they will get it abundantly if some Bhagirath is there, Gangajal will be on the banks of Babadham’s Shivalaya, making fertile the hilly soils in between which will work like de-silting agents for purifying water and so I call them to join Mithila;at least the posterity should not blame me that they were not asked/given opportunity to join Mithila and hence, I go to Bhaglapur as many times possible not merely that it is a portal to my entry to Mithila.
Binay went to his group picnic and I spent some time in Binay’s room waiting for a call from the young boys of Nathnagar but it did not come. After my bath and worship, I ate delicious curd(full of fat otherwise harmful for coronaries) with new chura he had purchased in the way for my ekadashi day.
The Vanachal(again it should have been ‘Bananchal,’) Express was in time and was returning with one more memory. When the train started I saw Sabour passing must be Binay there receiving his award of ‘best ideabaj,’
After some time, I saw Mother Ganaga near Kahalgaon and bowed my head in reverence. Seeing which an RPF constable asked me whether I am reverent to Ganga to which I replied in affirmative that She was the mother of all of us.
He said me in very poor and broken English that he repented that he could not enter to a college after his matriculation but he could recall few strings of a very famous poem…” Some flowers are on the street but some are fortunate to get place on God”’ I completed that with my memory from the same Hindi Textbook I read some 10 years before him in 1969-70.
” Chah nahee hai surbala ke gahnome guntha jaun..
Chah nahe Main Premimalame bindh pyari ko lalchaun
… Mujhe tod lena Banmali dena us path par fenk..
Matribhumi par sheesh charhane jis path jaben veer anek..”

He said that his father had not given him any day money in his pocket (Mujhe shauk laga rah gaya ki pitji kabhi mere pocketme paisa dete) and had given property to other brothers but mother before her death had blessed me (tum hamesha khush rahoge)..and he was happy growing his children, educating them well.

I said my grandfather had also said thus to my father. I said that everybody does not get everything in his/her life. (I too did not ever remember but I do not curse God for that).
When Bikramshila passed, I did not notice but I noticed Pirpainti and I recalled Dr.Vijay Shankar Singh of Bamangama (Sarath, Deoghar) again who had entrained there in 2009 exactly on 26th January in the same train and that RPF constable was there was remarkably helpful to a rural woman at a station that Mirja chauki had a scheduled stoppage of that train.
At Pakur three ladies and a young man entrained. The younger lady much fairer than others had a child and she talked with child in Bengali. The other lady not so old missed to bring packet of puri-sabji, then the fair young gave few from her bag which too had a modern version from a modern tiffin box and for that all her clothes and materials were modern while the older women had old patterned plastic jholas of rural area . I thought that the older ones might be her maid and her brother and the young man too from their families.
The fair lady asked young man in a very polite tone to take eggs etc. at next next station. The old ladies and the boy were talking in the dialect I thought Bhojpuri and just to clear my confusion I asked the boy from where he belonged. They were from Hirnpur,Pakur and I recalled one school teacher Jhaji who had met me many years back while I was tarvelling from Jasidih to Bhagalpur probably by a bus and could not make a trip to Pakur for Maithili work however, the Maithili Sandesh was being sent to
Bal Vidyapati Sansthan, C/O Shri Bimalkant Jha,R.K.High School,Hiranpur,
Pakur(Mithila) 816106.
The boy told me that he himself was a teacher there and knows three Jhajis. I could not recall the name of Bimalkant Jha then which I have written above from address list and gave him four pamphlets for Mithila state to give them one each and asked them to call me so that I might knew whom I had met and plan to visit Pakur which we claim as a district under Mithila.
The boy was going to Dhanbad (where his brother was a guard in the railway) for the treatment of the oldest lady, his mother and the other old lady was his sister. What a surprise, the fair lady was the wife of his brother! When I asked about her Bangla speaking he told me that she speaks Bangla also. Still I have a picture of her in my mind that she was a Bengali lady however the fact remains that it is akin to Maihtili spoken till Santhal Pargana and a the difference in the standard was due to her husband’s job in Government sector.
This difference has cropped up in almost all Maithil families due to large scale migration and we are to patch this by economic regeneration of the Mihtila villages which is but a difficult task and for that Makhan Lal Chaturvedi(about whom today’s i.e. 2nd February 2010’s Aaj a brief biography of that great nationalist and journalist is published) famous lines
,”Mujhe tod lena Banmali dena us path par fenk..
Matribhumi par sheesh charhane jis path jaben veer anek,” will have new dimension of development of nation and that too with equitable distribution and for that we all social workers should strive.
I returned Ranchi almost sleeping in the way passing through Dhanbad, Bokaro and Muri with many questions unanswered as to how these goals can be achieved in short life span probably a flower’s life like whatever left is to be utilized and hence, to work and work and work for the goal is only way.