A day at Patna_(19.2.2012) for Mithila work

A day at Patna_(19.2.2012) for Mithila work

When I had decided to go to Patna on 19.2.2012 there was to be Patna Pustak Mela but despite knowledge of its postponement, I had decided to go there as Patna has importance for the statehood movement for Mithila. Patna and Delhi have equal and even more importance than work in Mihtila and so arranged journey(including off from call duty on the holiday) I wished to utilize but again local workers had not much enthusiasm.
I could not be informed the meeting venue till morning I reached despite earlier information- each one tried to have settled by the other and finally the person accepted gladly could communicate on 19th morning that the previous day he had some accident at Darnhanga. Though he met with unfortunate accident, he had not communicated others that was a point and I decided not to take his help to arrange from the next time (as it was second occasion- in November too he had gone suddenly Muzaffarpur) from my side though I will inform him/ ask the other organizer to inform him/ any such worker who have defaulted due to any reason.
Not only ,the other who was very active for Brahmin Mahasabha was busy in Ravidas jayanti and did not find time.

The other one who had been very serious for having a plot on Darbhanga Highway and have strong Mithila movement too did not arrange a meting though had invited me to come his residence (I had told that I WAS ON Pradosh Trayodashi FAST AND he had nothing to do except calling persons for a meeting) but had to leave home on urgent call.

A teacher talking on Maithili stories had too the same day only to go to Mithila.
The other senior worker wished to come the point I would be and even went there but could not locate the house as could not get me on mobile. When in the evening his phone I received I could talk and reprimanded that that was the cause I insist on meeting venue and time beforehand, If that is not fixed whom one can inform and it was not the first time my mobile could not be connected. Usually I call prefixing 0 which catches many a times yet it is sure our Maithil community is organizationally very weak and do not take things seriously.

It is not a matter of my visit that I undertook at my cost of time , money and health it was important or not, Maithils as a whole are unaccustomed with organizational tours and meetings which I have been trying to instill since two decades. Then who works? Only those who had RSS or such trainings in the past and so AMP is continuing despite having no affiliation with any such body.

Though Maithils are accustomed to grand Vidyapati functions , there are certain basics which Maithils need to learn. In any organization such tours are important and be planned meticulously. Remember in big functions some workers are lost- we lost some for Mumbai, Agra conferences as there is glamour of camera and posts but small in-camera meetings add workers was the view of MS Golwalkar of the RSS and he was cent per cent correct ( I felt that in the NMO working when they left the founder himself on its grandest Silver jubilee at the Siri Fort Auditorium graced by Sarsanghchalak KS Sudareshan, DY PM Advani, and many more ministers from centre).

Yet I had a meeting because I asked Nabebndu, the nephew of a great Mithila lover and worker late Chandrakant Jha of village Sabas(Darbhanga- Benibad –Muzaffarpur route) asked me to come his residence when I called him on 18th. He used to send Maithil Nav varsh greetings for many years(this year on April 13 that day is and should be done by all of us concerned –a day before Jursheetal, the Vishv sankranti which is Ashwini in Mesh and is NEW YEAR astronomically).

I had an uneventful journey, mostly sleeping, except chiding two Army Jawans not to smoke in the coach. The train services disrupted due to interlocking at Patna junction was over and my train was in time both ways.

I had been to Nabendu’s that residence at Rukanpura nahar, many years banck and reached there. Patna was cooler than Ranchi. I waited for some hours engaged in reading pages from many Maithili books he had on the rack- Sushila jha’s ‘Aripan,’, Shefalika Verma’s autobiography ,’Kist Kist Jeevan,’ Gajendra Thakur’s,’Kurukshetra antarmank,’ Kamayani’s,’ Samaysan Samvad karait,’(Seeing her village Jaydevpatti, I recalled her and I even phoned her getting number but she did not recall my hour long meeting with me in her MRM College Hostel). I did take bath and did puja in sun and restarted reading.
NK Jha of the Novelty & Co. phoned me that he had reached only previous night 10 pm by car and he would be coming and he came.
Akhilesh, working in the Aakashwani also came . He had organized a Maithili camp at his village Nanaur. Some others were present and we did a formal meeting. I stressed on membership and a good meeting in the ensuing Pustak Mela when on March 18 again I would be going to Patna though NK Jha wanted some other day later but I would require leave for that and maybe on 24-25 I am at Delhi, if a planned meeting is there, Story reading night- sagar Raati Deep jaray is ok but I would be interested in separate organizational meeting in which such writers have least interest which is the paradox of Mithila movement. Most of the Maithili teachers and or authors say they would not participate in Mithila- Maithili movement but would be only happy to reap any advantage for that- If Maithili is in the Sahity Akademy or VIII Schedule who got the monetary benefit? ).

NK Jha dropped Akhilesh and me on the highways and I thought to go to the PMCH to visit ailing Rajmohan Jha about whom Azit Azad had mailed and had also aprreared in Ranchi newspaper the Bhaskar as NK Jha told us and then to the Hindustan to meet its editor Ajay Kumar referred by Ashokjee of Ranchi and Shekhar Prakashan to put some copies of my Maihtiligita for sell. Suddenly I recalled I had also told Vivekand Thakur ,secretary, Chetna Samiti for a meet and called him(under the impression, to have a small stop in the way) but he had been at Danapur at his relative’s house and he called me. We stopped auto and returned back and reached Danapur bus stand(It was my first visit of that area) and took other auto for Takiapar where a Maithil LK Jha of Sanahpur, near Gonugram, Bharwada was waiting. He is a physics teacher and I said that missed to top in the Bihar PMT due to physics( mechanics 12 marks I could not answer and I barely missed by 9.5 marks to crate a history though I topped among Ranchi University students and was placed 19th in the then Bihar ) .
He had listened me in a Vidyapati Parv at Mithila Colony on 14.12.2008 and was eager to meet personally. I was sorry that I wasted at least 2 hours at other place which would have been better utilized there. At his sister’s house Vivekanand Thakur of Chanpura was waiting. Being in a house on providing breakfast I asked permission of evening bath and pradosh puja in his homebuilt puja space and then I ate my packed food from Ranchi( Dalpuri-karailk bhujia) with rosgullas offered from house. Suddenly I recalled Shridharjee of Andhra cyclone when he had replied a worker in 1977 though purchased from shops idly-badas he used to take chutney from the cyclone devastated that family of advocate who had lost his both parents in the cyclone and had no paddy that season though usually having 200 sacks other years and I asked for some tomatoes if he had in the house without salt and it was readily provided. At Nabendu’s house too I had not taken anything. It is an odd condition for the hosts but I am helpless as I fix up tours without considering that is my fast day or not as that is my personal problem.

There was a long talk with Vivekanad Thakur and I gave all points in favour of Mithila state(Akhilesh later told me that my talk was video graphed by LK Jha). Vivekanad Thakur said that no Maithil should oppose Mithila State movement whether say in support or not. I asked him to provide us free space in the Chetna Samiti for our conferences even if Chetna Samiti do not agree with our agenda.

It was going late to go to press and LK Jha saw us off at the auto stand when incidentally a Maithil from Thadhi SN Jha was introduced. I told that Akhilesh was from nearby Naanur and we had gone there (on 1.9.2009 and then again on 22.9.2009) on Vachaspatideeh for its renovation and had a committee ; later on Tarakant Jha visited the place and government sanctioned money though I had talked villagers for one day salary or labour and the land owner had also agreed to donate. I remarked that his named other Maithil, a journalist had not helped me(though I had gone to him with a concrete data of Gangawater of Mithila gifted to Bengal and Bengladesh without Mithila’s consideration). He was sorry that anyone named SNJha was useless(for Maithili work), for the first time. I wish this SN Jha relaces that (or one more other though a Maihtilipremi had not liked First International Maithili Conference).
I told Akhilesh in the way as to why I had taken tomatoes in that house though by the time if any Panchkoshi house, the housewife must have insisted on hastily cooked item for Paran! That is the beauty of Panchkoshi but all said and done that journalist was from the great village on which Mithila has pride from this panchkoshi( Five kosh=10 miles radius of Saurath ).
I also told Akhilesh that if one goes to the fringe zone of Mithila there is much respect for Mithila worker and they come to listen(for core Darbhanga-Madhubani, Mihtila is a normal thing).
When Akhilesh asked me to have some help in his job(listening to one IPSs posting in Jharkhand) I told him that it was incidental as I was a doctor and not any leader yet if he put my name in the referee, maybe some persons Maithil/non-Maithil knowing me can give him a weight age as recently one Bengali in one of the Central University had said to a Maithili that he had read my article somewhere(maybe on the management on ‘leadership’ as he was a management expert).
I also told him that if I was in any panel on any board for prizes I delivered justice and when I find that one among named by me was awarded felt satisfied that justice was delivered by me. I also feel in such prizes like we doctors feel cost as a prescribing factor to medicines, poverty of the author, if empanelled be a last criteria(if any award is a good salaried like me, I will donate that for the cause for which the award would be).

It was going late and was not possible to visit PMCH and though I thought to postpone even going to the Hindustan(as the mobile number I noted from of the Hindustan Delhi who had talked to him had responded from a lady not the the editor) and meet Shardinduji, Akhilesh couldnot understand and changed the street for going to Hindustan Press and the editor first asked was I from Darbhanga. I replied though was coming from Ranchi referred by the person who was at Darbhanga in recent past. I was called and I went to the press with which I was familiar since it was The Searchlight.
The Editor welcomed me and I explained that I came to meet him because Mithila state movement though going on with its pace was not given due attention by the press simply because we were non-political persons unlike other state movements. I also explained that the press all over the country is showing a dismal picture of the creation of Jharkhand though datas were against that and I showed him the TOI 20.11.2011 where every data was showing Jharkhand had progressed in past one decade much better than Bihar though that too has developed. Even the reporter has there wrongly interpreted his own data. I also gave him Outlook’s Feb.6,2012’s pages showing 2040’s Indian states where Mihtila was prominently marked in Bihar and Jharkhand(Santhal Pargana including as the AMP demands)
The Editor had a busy time and some meetings in between yet he talked and took my mobile no. for further query. I requested him that to have a Maithili page at least for whole of the north Bihar, if not a separate paper as a paper from Kolkata was having circulation and if the Hindustan take up it would be commercially advantageous to it also.
I saw the different editions of the paper had delivery time printed with 15 mts difference 14 editions, the last for Patna mahanagar 0045 am.
We were also hesitant to have train at 21.45 pm and meeting Shardinduji was out of question;he must have left by that time. Still I had a darshan of Lord Mahavir and had Tirupati laddoss( money is siphoning to Telugu sweet maker!) and giving 15 copies of my maithiligeeta to Akhilesh for giving to Shardinduji for sale, I went inside the station and then platform 9 where my train came a bit late around 10pm and I slept on upper berth soon. I was awoke at Gomoh and then at Kotshila and then when my eyes were open almost everyone had already got down at Ranchi junction. I changed coach towards rear side and got down at Katharkocha, on the outer of the Hatia station, near to my residence and was given a lift by a SAIL employee.
It was again a fast day of Mahashivratri and after a quick bath and puja I took a sankalap of 14 yars’ Mahashivratri fast(that now Mahadev will have to lease me a life of 14 years for fulfilling Sankalp for His puja! And, may get other extension of 14 years then…whether can see Mithila in this 14 or that extension is a matter of conjecture but the lesson is working on this module is utmost difficult.
This journey to Patna cost me only Rs.414 and I also slept maximum because I have no work in trains and there you cannot even read after 10 pm for other’s convenience nor there is TV to disturb you but whether my time is utilized- I met Nabendu and Akhilesh and NK Jha surely and Vivekanad Thakur and LK Jha and SN Jha and the editor Hindustan,Patna. However, once at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal a medico I had seen a perfect worker who tried to make me introduced to as many students in the day and night (and teachers in the evening) when I had suddenly dropped there retuning from Udaipur.I was not knowing there anyone but when Mahesh Bapat knew my work he took that as an opportunity for spreading the message.
I as a person may not be important but the movement for Mithila is important for many regional and also national reasons that I am working for it and in fact as a doctor I should have least interest in such affairs (and even as social activist friends of my school of thought know my position and I would have get any national position by this age) but I an working as a humble worker not for setting any unbreakable record of meeting Maithils but for a cause which is dear to all of us.

Many a times I feel people take the things very lightly. The problem of Mihtila is not so light- it is a question of subjugation some 2500 years back(of Ajatshatru) or say since 1326 by Giyasuddin Tugalaque and Maithils have taken solace in the condition in whichever they are however there are some youth and some seniors who are not placated with the status quo and are eager to make Mithila separate from the clutches of Bihar.

I explained the editor that the time is soon coming when national party like BJP would like its space independent form a feudal shatrap and Congress has nothing to loose- If Rahul can go to Bundelkhand why not he comes to Mithila having a great potentiality of 28 seats in Mithila and (due to high migration 68 seats in other states). I also said to the editor that Koshi high dam is a dream and we (Dinesh Mishra of Jamshedpur and me ) do not think it would be complete rather we should learn to live without high dams. (I also informed him my small talk with the then PM , Nepal, Prachanda for solution of it we needed Mithila states in both countries and he declared one for his country).
I also pleaded before him that Mithila was a must for the national security(and hence, Vajpayee Koshi Mahasetu was initiated).

This type of visit is important at Patna and Delhi, if workers have time. They should go above poetries and stories, I told Akhilesh though those are also important ingredients of the culture, I admit.
My next visit to patna (in Pustak mela ) will be on March 18th , 2012 when a seminar on, “ Relevance of Smaller states’ in India : In the context of UP and Bihar,” will be held in which Dr. Boochroo Paswan, GSecy. Mithila party, Sri Sudheernath Mishra, President. Mithila party etc. would also speak.

I know March 23rd is Bihar Day again bit I do not care. Last year in Bihar Anthem they lieft Mithila and there was protest; I saw this time in a big hoarding in way to danapur for the Global Summit and I pointed out Akhilesh there the Vidyapati was portraed bigger than anybody else, including LordBuddha . However, we should not be placated by such emotive things- ekahi sadhe sab sadhe- we need Mithila state in India for any number of our problems solution is that …and for this work at Patna and Delhi are must. If planning goes and we may get some more workers maybe by Dec 22-23, 2012 Silver Jubilee of the Antarrashtriy Maithili Sammelan would be there(XXIV at Forbesganj on May 13-14,2012 as per talks going on).