Everlasting memories of ‘sawan’

SINCE childhood, I have developed the notion that rains during the month of ‘sawan’ bring life and lustre to thirsty crops. Even humans feel saved from the scorching heat of the sun. But the heavy rains devastate. The recent rains and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh have taken away many precious lives.

As a child, I would hear that ‘sawan’ is inextricably linked with the culture of India. Monsoon is a specific season which inspires artists, writers, poets, musicians and actors. As a teenager, as rains would start, I would often hear the folk song on loudspeakers, ‘Arhi ve arhi, lagee saun dee jhadi, dudh pee le jalma ve mein kadon dee khadi….’ The lines still ring in my ears.

Almost every year, I would enjoy celebrating the tradition of guddi phookna (cremating a doll). It is a tradition to bring rains so that the crops could be saved.

Young girls would make dolls out of cutouts of clothes. They would select the best one out of those dolls, decorate it well, and then set it afire. The girls would then cry, beat their breasts, and shed tears as if their dear sister had died. The naive folks would keep watching and enjoying how the prayers of the little girls would be heard by God. And it would virtually rain, sometimes in torrents!

I feel pricked when I read the news and see the videos about how heavy rains have devastated crops, collapsed buildings, and ruined so many lives. Alas, had there been some safely valve like guddi phookna to take care of this. But those were the days when hearts were pure, and wishes were self-sacrificing!

During ‘sawan’, when rain would make the weather cool, my mother would prepare mahl puras (thin, sweet chapatis made of gur). We teenagers would relish this delicacy to our fill. But these days, instead of preparing them at home, women prefer to bring ready-made stuff from the market. That distinct taste that those home-made puras would provide now is all but lost!

Then would come the long-awaited festival of Tiaan. This festival is celebrated on the third day of the lunar month of ‘sawan’. It is also the day of Hariali Teej. In those days, girls were preferred for marriage on the basis of their performance during Tiaan. It is a festival of singing and dancing to the tune of popular folk songs. We teenagers would keep preparing for the best songs and dances.

I vividly remember young girls did their best to perform to the tune of the folk song, ‘Tiaan da teohar aa gia, kade bahud ve amma dia jaaya’ (The festival of Tiaan has come, now do come to take me to our parental home). The applause still rings in my ears. It simply makes me nostalgic!