Grandpa’s Hookah

A far cry from the fancy, stylish, exotic and ornate hookahs or hukkas   now available in a number  of varieties  and designs to choose from, my grandpa’s hookah was  a simple mundane affair , a non-fussy wooden structure , about 18 inches in height ,  with a   brass bowl  as the base. The brass bowl had an opening on one side from where to  fill it with water  and also to insert the wooden pipe with a brass end. One the top of the hukka was placed an earthen katori  , which had to be filled with some dried tobacco and  burnt charcoal taken right from the kitchen chulha. .

  Grandpa, in his  eighties  some 45 years back was   agile and alert , would walk straight, though he needed a stick for support due to poor eyesight. Having served under the British, he had travelled up to Kabul. . His hukka was very dear to him, beedis or cigarette  being only a poor substitute , if need be.Whenever we visited our village during vacation or for some ceremony,  I took special pleasure in filling his hookah and readying it for him to puff. Before handing him the open end of the rod or the नड़   to him, I would blow  into it as the gurgling sound of water always  fascinated me. It took me quite some days to understand that smoking hukka was all about drawing in instead   of blowing out. , and when once out of mischief, I drew in, I was coughing continuously for quite sometime, which showed, smoking was no fun !

One or two oldies in the village , though much younger to him were offered the same  hukka  for a puff   as a token of love and goodwill . After all Hukkapani was a means of showing respect, closeness and intimacy that the people shared  and it was also a symbol of brotherhood.

These days, in metros and all big cities, one hears about   hukka-bars on the analogy of other bars and restaurants, a spot for get-together and fun-making.

सआदत हसन मंटो

आज  एशिया  उप महाद्वीप  के  एक  महान कहानीकार  की जन्मशती है। कोई आश्चर्य नहीं कि   इन दिनों   हिन्दी और  अंग्रेज़ी के   अधिकतर  समाचार पत्रों व  पत्रिकाओं में किसी न किसी रूप में  इस महान  शख्सियत  को  याद करते हुए  कुछ न कुछ लिखा  गया है। अपने  जीवनकाल में मंटो  अपनी रचनाओं के कारण विवादों से भी घिरे रहे और उनकी कहानियों पर  अश्लीलता  के आरोपों के चलते  कई मुक़द्दमे भी चले। ऐसा उन लोगों के कारण हुआ जो या तो  prudish मानसिकता के थे  या उन्होने इन रचनाओं को केवल  सतही तौर पर पढ़  कर ही  अश्लील करार  दे दिया था । प्रसन्नता इस बात की भी है कि   ‘ नया ज्ञानोदय ’  पत्रिका का  मई   अंक  मंटो को ही समर्पित है तथा  उनकी कुछ चुनिन्दा कहानियों के साथ साथ उनसे  जुड़े   कुछ लोगों के संस्मरणों के समावेश के कारण  पठनीय भी है। टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया मे आज उनके जन्म स्थान समराला  के  लोगों द्वारा उन्हें बहुत  प्यार से याद किए जाने की भी खबरें हैं।   

 समाज में व्याप्त बुराइयों तथा शोषण का बेबाकी से  चित्रण   करने वाले इस महान  लेखक को  विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि  !

Indian Coffee House-II

I have written in   one of my earlier posts that    sometimes my small wishes  are   granted and I consider myself lucky to that extent.  Strangely   for the last two months, I had harboured a wish to   be able to   gorge on  South Indian    delicacies like Dosa, Vada, Idli, Uttapam etc   at affordable rates  as  I am not used to having a regular lunch.   I had been a regular visitor to the  Indian Coffee House on the Mall, Shimla,  when it was near my work place , but  for many years I have been out of Shimla, and  when I did return, none of my offices was near the Mall , so I could binge on my favourite stuff.  These days my office is in Kasumpati, a suburb of Shimla, which has emerged as a hub of most of the offices of State Government  as well as Central Govt  and some corporations.

No wonder, it came as a godsend when someone in the office informed me that The Indian Coffee House society had opened an   eating joint at Kasumpati. The very next day , I visited  the coffee house, conspicuous by its sign board or the signature board which is the same through out   the Country.  There are about sixteen tables laid , sufficient to accommodate   sixty plus persons  at a time . The stuff offered   is  of the same  quality  as is served on the Mall  and  about  40   items  are  listed on  a board  mounted  on the wall .However, I found  that it  lacks the ambience  that one finds on the Mall , as there is a narrow road running through the bazaar,  on  vehicular   traffic goes on  throughout the day. May be, one would feel better when, the upper storey   also becomes ready to accommodate more people. It is a welcome development for the public especially the employees who want to savour the delicacies   without getting a hole burnt in the pocket.  

Happy Baisakhi

Happy Baisakhi, Bishu, Bihu to all !