Varanasi, BHU, and Me

Varanasi, BHU, and Me



Varanasi is said to be on the trishool of Lord Shiva and probably for me is the city which had changed the course of my life.

The dates (4-6,1977; 18-21.12.1984; 21.9.199; 5.11.2001; 30.4.2002, 10-16.1.2003; 23.8.2003, 9.2.2006, 13.11.2008, 20.12.2008; 29.1.2009; 13.1.2010; 1.3.2010, 20.2.2011) when I had been there, starting from my 22nd year when I had gone there to found the National Medicos Organisation to 20.2.2011 when I was there amongst a galaxy of Maithil teachers and students for rejuvenating Mithila Manch.

Maithili was taught there as a subject in the BHU till 1940s and still students from Mithila celebrate Saraswati Puja.

I reached there and went to meet them and had a small reunion and we exchanged pir views on Mithila and Maithili.

I was surprised to note that the institution of pristine glory has been made a dumb by officialdom and felt it was insult of Mahamana’s ideas of rejuvenating India.

There are some 83 hostels named on various great persons and places of importance which need a Hostel day dedicated to that name and in fact round the year there should be functions in the evening where anybody should be allowed to speak on that place and or person’s glory and idea for developing our nation.

Making a graduate was not aimed by Mahamana who had asked my father about the rituals of Mithila when he had visited Bikaner’s Brahmcharyashram in 1920s.



We must acknowledge the contribution of KHV(BHU) in the social and political life of India and should encourage freedom of thought there.

I am rather surprised to know that people do equate student union election with party politics and goondagardi which probably forced management to shun that but that will be counterproductive in the encd.

After all these young boys and girls will shape the destiny of our motherland and above 18 the students have a voting right also. CEC wants it to be reduced to 16 which may be controversial but university teachers are not like other government servants must be thought of. They are to i8nculcate a sense of nationalism and values of democracy among the students which cannot be unless chance was given.

I was surprised when a young student asked me as to when and how Mithila state can be made as he wanted to choose politics as his career.

Politics is not the political science but ramifications are there and a good teacher should fearlessly prompt up such young to shoulder the responsibility of nation which will add to the glory pf the institutions as well.

I suggested the boy ,’ those who think for nation, devote their lives and it takes generation at least(27 years) to have a change(it is not like sowing seed of any vegetable or planting a fruit yielding tree.(Saag ke lie kucch mahine, fal ke vrikshke liye kuchh saal , rastranirmanke liye jinding lagaini hogi) and as such I have been working for Mithila’s statehood since 1992, maybe a further work for 10 years(by youth) may yield the fruit.

Having one more state or some states would not be detrimental to national unity rather would add to that as India has been defined in our Constitution as Union of States.

How the states be formed? Let us discuss and I had given them a plan for national reorganization (2.5 to 5 percent of area and or population keeping a base) and Mithila fits that for which if some student takes up subject on my contribution for Mithila’s statehood demand probably many papers will come out of national importance( probably I am the most traveled person in country, at my own expense, at least),



I am always caught by the serene campus of the BHU where I could not go for study due to my ill health in 1970 li9ke my father too had returned even taking his admission there in 1930s .

I do not know whether there was any hostel named as Mithila and many on many of its great sons and daughters and many shrines and rivers there which has contributed to the fullness of Indian diasporas but surely some I passed like Thygraja, I felt Mahakavi Vidyapati was like him and can be discussed in any such festive day. I talked with students on contribution of Mithila starting from Vishwamitra’s Gayatri and Balmiki’s Ramayana to Gautam’s Nyaya, and different branch of logic.. and distinctiveness of Maihtili language to which some teachers added that it was the sweetest language of the world- the polite, more polite than japanese and Koreans..

Here ‘Tu, Tonhe,’ is spoken not for disrespect but for telling them closer to the caller..as to God and Mother.

In Mithila a little child is called,”Anha (equivalent to Aap)..

BHU needs discussion on such marvel aspects of Mithila as a series of lectures. I hope someday t will be done and that was the idea of my short visit,

Let me remind it was Maharaja of Darbhanga who had presided over the meeting of Rajas of all over India for donation to make university where Gandhiji had spoken first in India after he had returned from Africa. When Gandhiji had asked kings to give their golden clothes as charity there was a furor and an unknown Gandhi was about to be sent to jail as if he had made disrespect to kings assembled there.



Varanasi has so many things to visit but this time I could not go to Lord of the world..(jagdeeshwara) and Sankatmochjan as I had little time.



I came railway station in time but my train was delayed for three hours and in my lifetime first time I saw that my train already started from platform was halted at next signal and was brought back on the same platform to give pass to other train(Farakka) whicvh was also an express only! It is possible in India only and that too in Varanasi.

Anyway I reached Ranchi 3 hours late- better for me instead 415 AM chilly time to 730 AM!
































Dr. Dhanakar Thakur
Spokesman,
Antarrashtriya Maithili Parishad