The Man from Dolcha

This is a saga that unfolds in the time space of my life, beginning from Dolcha, the place where I was born. Meandering through memories, I touch upon Jabalpur, Jalandhar, Sonepat and string other places where I worked, lived and grew up. A rebellious streak has persisted in me in spite of efforts to moderate it, as though it came along with the genes I inherited. My advice for unconventional eating and integrated approach to treat the sick and the ailing bear testimony to this. All worldly beings are privy to struggle on 2 fronts. One- struggle with one's own mind and body. Another - struggle with the outside environment. The struggle inside is reflected in my quest for physical and mental health. The struggle outside is manifest in my questioning of prevailing norms and customs. As one passes through life the inside and outside mix up and distinction between the two is increasingly blurred. I lost my two friends to alcoholism, and my niece to drug abuse. My maternal sister was done to death by her in-laws long before the gruesome rape of Damini/ Nirbhaya in Delhi happened on 16th December 2012. Her death found no place in print or electronic media. Jai Singh, a relative of mine was iconic in his simplicity. Dharambir, a poultry farmer, was no more alive when I visited his village in Panipat after 20 long years. He too was consumed by alcohol. Death is mysterious and unpredictable. On two occasions in my childhood, I had a narrow escape from death. I was too young to remember one accident, but the other, of drowning in a river, is live in my memory. Why do accidents happen? And why accidents keep repeating themselves? I have dived deep into these questions. Having grown up as a film aficionado I note with concern that cinema may have done more harm than good to society. Could it be that films have proactively promoted a culture of terror and corruption that prevails in India today? Yes, if infusion of slush money in cinema and patronizing of film stars by the mafia dons are anything to go by. I was privy to the rise of Rajesh Khanna as first superstar of Indian film industry. His slip into oblivion baffled. Rise of angry young man and heroes pining for negative roles baffled me equally. This I guess was part of larger design to denigrate Indian Culture. Films are not innocent time pass. Their impact on mind is too significant to be ignored. Omkumar was an acquaintance of mine who killed himself by shunning food and boozing till end. Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto shared much in their life, as well as in their tragic end. Death of my father, grandfather and many others happened with striking similarity. It isn't Gautam Buddha alone who pondered over inevitability of death and ways to conquer it. I too did, as a growing lad. Browsing through book stores I tumbled on a book that seemed written just for me. I read it page to page and was never the same man again. Nor was the world around me same ever again. That was the book on nature cure. It made me eccentric of sorts. Why do we eat cooked food? Why not raw? What are medicos doing and why? Journey into the domain of health was fascinating. How can I up my health, eat as per idealistic norms and yet be part of mainstream society? How can I avoid mistakes which seemingly every other person around me seems to be making? Notable among such mistakes is use of bathing soap. Our skin would be better off without bathing soap; is a point made in the pages of this book. Why families, especially the joint families, break up? Yes there is always a something called generation gap. Bridging this gap is difficult, very difficult. It is easy to point finger at elders, but we forget that we ourselves will soon be elders and face same problems as they face now.