“Not all wars are won by bullets and
cannons! Some are also won by conviction and reason! And
some are won with… JACKFRUIT!”. Indeed, the power of conviction is so big
that it can move an entire generation. At this stage of my disease, I too need
to hone up this power and thus I am noting down this story today. I strongly
believe that with my strength of belief, I shall be able to regain my
personality through the contents noted amid the pages of this journal. But JACKFRUIT?
Yes, indeed, this is an interesting story that I must remember!
****
I understood the value
of the above statement from my beloved uncle Major Dr. Paramveer Singh. Yes,
uncle Singh was my father’s childhood buddy who often visited us in Mumbai
during his vacations. I loved his company especially because of the bouquet of
interesting stories he used to garner. Being a soldier, uncle Singh had seen many
places and had been through many difficult situations from which he had been
able to gather wide experiences that he weaved into interesting stories. I
remember spending entire afternoons listening to his discourses. Today I am
noting down an incidence that happened when I was in the middle of my teenage
and uncle Singh had just returned from his commission from Kashmir.
Baba was overjoyed to
play host to his old pal while Maa and Aunt Padma were thrilled with the
arrival of their lovable brother. I was happy because I would be able to
extract my share of adventure stories from uncle Singh over the next few days.
Major Dr. Paramveer Singh was single and had his home in Delhi, where his old
parents lived. However, he himself preferred to roam around the stretch of the
country and dreamt of becoming a globe trotter one day. He was a doctor in the
army and had been with the troops through thick and thin. He had treated ailing
soldiers and had also held the rifle to counter the enemy. Still, he strongly
believed in the philosophy of peace and harmony.
That monsoon, Major Dr.
Paramveer Singh arrived like a gust of wind, with a dash of freshness, and
filled our house with an energy that all of us savored. The trickling drops of
rain were in harmony with the vibrancies that he carried. Maa and Aunt Padma
ensured that the best recipes are served and Baba took a leave for three days
from office, to spend some quality time with his old buddy.
It was a Saturday
morning and I came up to uncle Singh, who was sitting on the couch and reading
a newspaper. I sat beside him and said, “Uncle, where is my quota of your
collection of stories this time?”
Uncle Singh folded back the newspaper, sat
back with an air of relaxation and said, “Pravin, my boy, not all wars are won by bullets and
cannons! Some are won by conviction and reason! And
some are won with… JACKFRUIT!”
“Uncle, is this the
topic of our story today?” I asked enthusiastically.
“Yes! Today I will not
tell you an adventure story. Instead, I will relate to you something I did a
few years ago. I am sure you would enjoy it and also get a good lesson from it.
Trust me, JACKFRUIT can do wonders!”, he added.
I nodded my head in
agreement and sat back on the couch while uncle Paramveer Singh began, “My
ancestral village Bikrampur in Madhya Pradesh is one of the remotest villages
that exists in this country! I don’t think anybody has ever heard of Bikrampur
and I don’t expect anyone to do so in future also. The location of the village
is so far away from modernization that the residents of the village have
maintained their rural beliefs from time immemorial. Yet, I, Major Dr.
Paramveer Singh, managed to come out of that abode with my parents and made my
place as a doctor in the Indian Army! I have seen many wars, fought amid
valiant soldiers, provided treatment to ailing men and had trotted across
remote lands, as part of my duty to the Indian Army!”
“A few years ago, when I
visited Bikrampur after many years, I was surprised to see that the villagers
had developed a kind of respect and high regard for me, which made me feel
somewhat godly!” uncle Singh continued, “Even though I was a bit uncomfortable
with this treatment, I refrained from protesting. One thing that I observed,
was the sedentary lifestyle of the aging men and women in the village, due to
lack of any inspiration. Most of the elderly folks preferred to stay within the
premises of their houses and hardly engaged in a healthy and hygienic
lifestyle. I understood that the reason for a rising trend of lifestyle
diseases was due to this routine. However, there was no manner in which anybody
convince them, who were more engrossed in their daily chores and respective religious
activities. The modern amenities of urban India had not creeped into their
lives and the sentiments of the folks remained rural. The younger folks worked
in the fields, while the middle-aged and the elderly remained mostly inactive.
This was truer for the women, compared to the male population, and thus the mortality
rate sharply degraded due to slithering diseases.”
“My childhood friend
Vishnu was a fruit-seller in the village and lived a life of destitution. His
income was low and he had to feed his wife and three children with that meagre
earning. One item that he grew in his garden was jackfruit. I must say,
Vishnu’s jackfruits were the sweetest and the tastiest ones I had ever tasted.
But, unfortunate only a handful of the residents of Bikrampur bought them!”,
said uncle Singh.
He continued, “So I
hatched a plan. Since the elderly folks in the village held me in high regard,
I called a congregation of all the villagers, one evening. They considered me
as a great doctor and I used that bait to fulfil my intention. I told the folks
that through my medical research I had invented a superpower within dried
jackfruit pulp that has the capacity to give enormous vitality within humans,
especially women, and can triple their life expectancy!”
I chuckled on hearing
the story while uncle Singh said, “At first the people were skeptical but I
convinced them that after eating the dried jackfruit pulp for a few days, every
person would be able to walk ten rounds along huge playground adjacent to my
house! I had seen the perimeter of the playground remains mostly barren
throughout the day and used it as part of my plan.”
Uncle Singh continued to
speak animatedly, “Even though suspicious, the villagers agreed to my proposal
and since Vishnu was the only jackfruit seller in the village, everybody flocked
in front of his house for one! Within just a few days, the conviction yielded
fruit and the men and women came out from their sedentary lives and the
playground became vibrant with activity! The perimeter of the playground
gathered human momentum and soon my plan succeeded.”
“So, did the jackfruit
pulp indeed have a superpower?” I asked uncle Singh.
“I don’t know Pravin.
But the power of conviction helped in two ways. The lifestyles of the elderly
men and women changed and made them more mobile. This resulted in higher life
expectancy and lesser diseases. On the other hand, Vishnu was able to increase
his earnings almost tenfold!”
“The war against
illiteracy and superstition was won with the power of belief! I indeed won that
war!” finished uncle Singh.
****
Today, after so many
years, as I recall that story which uncle Paramveer Singh told me, I make a
promise to myself… it is a
conviction that I impose on myself that I shall never lose hope. Every time I would see a JACKFRUIT, I shall remember the story and I
am sure that it will give me strength to fight all odds that would come in
front of me.
Inspiring story
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the encouraging words!
Delete