Khora camp and Bokaro- ‘786’ is also ‘OM.’,

Khora camp and Bokaro- ‘786’ is also ‘OM.’,



I had been at Khora(NOIDA/NCR) on 27.12.2009 and had a brief meeting with some Maithil workers there in the Mithilavihar temple. There AMP.President Dr.Kamalkant Jha had also come and Secrtary,Kripanand Jha and we had suggested them for a Maithili workers training camp(which needs 3 days and 3 teachers). Dr.Jha had fixed dates with them. His son was also employed nearby and so only I was required to go as Kripanand Jha and Ghnshyam Mishra could also be trainers after attending XIX Maithili Workers camp at Burari in Dec.2009.

I took one day CL as April 2 was Good Friday and 4th a Sunday but when Bokaro meeting was postponed from 21st March to April 4, it was again a good utilization of return journey with a break for few hours at Bokaro.

When I started journey from Hatia it was a hot summer like feel in the season of spring. There were few passengers in train whole night –only 2 in the bay for 8. I saw the palas flower filled pink environment till evening, more pronounced till Silli in the way to Muri and again after Barkanana here and there which is the area of an old civilization needing exploration as well as preservation.

I saw many people at a station and around and it was McCluskieganj about which Wikiepedia informs..” is a town in Jharkhand State, India. It is about 40 miles northwest of Ranchi. The town used to have a significant Anglo-Indian community, however this has declined. The town was founded by the Colonization Society of India in 1933 as an independent homeland for Anglo-Indians and was home to 400 Anglo-Indian families within ten years. [1] In 1932 Ernest Timothy McCluskie the founder of the town sent circulars to nearly 200,000 Anglo-Indians in India inviting them to settle there. [2] Of the nearly 300 original settlers, only 20 families remain, as most of the Anglo-Indian community left after World War II.” Once I had read an interesting review on a book on this little place. Presently it is an area infested with Naxalites who had not long ago hijacked a train.

There was also railway station Tori from where if you take train to Delhi will save around 2 hours if they take a bus to Tori. However, after evening there is no bus for Naxal menace, Tori is centre for bauxite and I saw heaps of that there.

Daltonganj station had passed where I have yet to take a meeting(postponed some times) and then I slept. At Chunar probably some passengers entrained and whole day it was an exhausting experience with gradual late run of train in a scorching heat.

As usual. I did my bath in train and sandhyabandhan etc. I had been anxious as much delay would mar my evening meeting at Khora and next day I had a train at 1940 from Delhi so hardly I would be available,if sessions would be only in the evening. The two boys who entrained with a lady at Chunar were very corteous and they broght water for me when I did not purchase a bottle seeing no seal(even otherwise I pefer tape water over bottle as I read somewhere that supplied water is tasted on much more parameters than bottled ones which are tasted for few parameters only and in fact I feel that instead of purchasing bottle one should take fruits which too has water content but one may call it my misery also as my youngest brother a scientist in the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Centre argued that persons should must spend something on water as well when they spend much on food.

What surprised me that on the coin shaped neckless,(tabij) it was not ‘Om’ but ‘786’ and it took me time to conclude that boys were Muslims not Hindus but what I felt that from angle if one viewed’786,’ would be looking as ‘OM.’ Is not it a startling discovery that ‘786’ is also ‘OM.’ Which is not surprising from the Vedantic thought as the world is ‘Om’ only.



But with that my mind was more jiggled as the lady had sindur(vermillion) on her head and boys were Muslims. She was their mother’s age. I could not resist and when she asked me that whether I was from Mithila region (she was from Samastipur later she divulged) I asked her whether in her area even Muslim women put sindur on their forehead. I knew one of my patients from Orissa who despite being a Muslim used to have sindur on her forehead. She was a very jovial lady.

“No, I am a Hindu.”

“And the buoys,?’ I asked.

They are my neighbor’s sons.

Good communal harmony, I witnessed.



It was a disgusting delay before Dadri as track was being repaired and as suggested by a fellow passenger I was ready near Lakuian to get down to go to Khora from the highway. A young boy seemed to me an IT person was in fact going to Delhi for the ensuing CBSE PMT. I could give him a copy of the Aayurvigyan Pragat, I edit for the National Medicos Organisation(NMO),I founded in 1977 and asked him to mail me but despite a handy palm top in his hands I am yet to receive his mail.

The train had a long halt before Dadri near a temple from where fellow passengers brought water which was cool and tasty-after all it was like a prasad after a bhandara held in that temple on march 30 only on the occasion of Hanuman Jaynati as per banner on the gate,

As is usual the late train halting everywhere did not halt at Lalkuian(in fact it has no schedule stoppage in between Kanpur to Delhi) and my fellow passenger could guess that red light will turn yellow when the train would approach. Still one after the other both could get down in slow to fater becoming train. I too could get down and they remarked that I could despite faster than the moment they could. I had experience of my Bangalore-Mysore daily trip for three months and knowing the first law of motion, always run with the train for some distance if you have to get down. Probably persons like me should avoid but again ifs and buts comes and your life is in His/Her hands!



Anyway I walked back and crossed a small bridge and through the side of a small power plant I reached on highway and took a seat in the shared auto. Kripanand phoned that he was on the highway and so I got downa t Vijaynagar. I purchased some oranges(in lieu of water ) and ate before he reached to me.

After some minutes we were in the Mithilavihar Mandir where some 20-30 Maithils were waitng for me. Dr.Kamalkant Jha was taking session on the history of Mithila and he asked me to speak on the geography of Mithila but with that I continued on necessity of Mithila state and other points as well as expalined that we have come to them as they could be with us in dharna for Mithila and for us bringing poor Maithils from Mithila is almost difficult and that was the amin reason of our concentrating in Delhi?NCR though we give importance to each and every place.

I was not sure to be there on next day and they did not agree for morning session that I could halt there and instead they agreed for session from 4 pm next day so that for 90 minutes I may be there again.

I phoned Lalchand as he had asked me to call in my previous visit to go to his house but it was ‘no reply,’ and also it was a bit late and with Kripanand I came to his Mayur Vihar residence and after taking bath and food slept calmly till 8 in the morning.



I surfed my mails and prepared press release and some other computer work and after food we stated again for Khora where we were in time but our Maithils were playing cards as in the villages of Mithila. In fact they have made a Mithila in NOIDA there as everywhere they have gone.

I was asked by Kamalkantji to speak on,”Achar-vyavhar and health aspect,’ covering which I asked them to be example in themselves.

They in reverence offered the Temple to me(forAMP) to which I said,”Accepted and again given to you in Bharat’s tradition to run the show with Mithila’s glory and to have vedpathi brahmcharis(Lagma/ Shringeri was in my mind) as well as a Maithili library there. I also thought for 2012 AMP Sammelan there but did not announced. I said that our secretary Kripanand will be there in monthly Madir meetings.



Taking leave of them, Kripanand left me at Anandvihar from where again I was in the Metro-the world of which is of a rich ’India,’ with fashinable ladies, after coming from “Mithilavihar’s poor ‘Bharat.”

I was in a bit haste for getting train but I was well before my train of 1940 as there was a co-passenger for Ziarat express of 1920 also who was very comfortable and confident of getting his train. Therefore I had extra 20 minutes and from outside I purchased bananas and fried chana etc. for food at night(dinner!) and so I was in train which had full passengers. A little boyish looking was shoe salesman for women shoes for long 8 years. Hailing from Gaya he went Delhi after his matriculation. I appreciated his estimation of himself for a work rather most of our boys who indulge in long studies without interest or abilities. The other passengers were a couple- male was a retired RPF personnel. One other’s red tika I concluded him a Maithil which was confirmed when he talked on mobile in Bhagalpuria tone and he was from village Kusumar near Sultanganj. Next day after my puja in the train he offred me kismis and peda as prasad feeing must for me a Maithil pandit. Despite my provocation he continued talikng in Hindi. One other couple on dide bay’s side seat were from samastipur which I had asked from their talk in good Maithili.

I had told to the soe salesman boy and other boy of Anugrah Narayan Road that that though said train will be late for many hours it would not be more than 2 hours because I had a meeting at Bokaro and lo! It was so. The train was though not in time it was not much late either and at Bokaro I jumped in atrekker where SK jha of Munger but posted in BSL recognised me.

We needed a change of trekker and from Naya More to Ram Mandir and to HSCL Community Hall I was before the start of meeting rather was angry on the organiser when it was delayed for one or the other person and reasons( donor whoever maybe should not be such that for him meeting is unduly delayed). Not finding meeting in protocal (first presiding person be called then chief guest and then anybody else),I took up the work of anchor. It had a desatrous effect for one of my old acquaintance whose one of the poster’s one word only I could read,’Vipra samaj” and I prohibited all as AMP is not a caste based organisation.



The first speaker,Tula babu criticized Mithila movement and it gave me chance to counter in between though seminar was on the ,”Role of Maithils in the development of Jharkhand,”

Chief guest R.Jha, Executive Director,HSCL spoke nicve wiords—“We need patience..(and in fact I needed it most..”

His full talk merits separate bog and will be published in Maithili Sandesh.

I was almost without food for the day till evening and my anger was not unnatural.

After the meeting with my brother in-law(Bahinoi) I came to his residence and after dinner I was again at station of Bokaro to wait for a Ranchi train at 2 PM. When I awoke at Ranchi all passengers of coach had already left. I changed the coach and came backwards and again the train started and I entered in a coach to get down at Birsa chowk and came to my residence from there to be in duty before peon came to open the health centre.




Dr. Dhanakar Thakur
Spokesman,
Antarrashtriya Maithili Parishad