The irony is that the story was narrated on a “ Poornima” but the experience pertained to “Bhutia Amavasya”.

There is more to the smile of ManSingh than what you might interpret after your observation during the first interaction. His honesty is also evident in his mannerism and he is arguably one of the most popular person of the village. Although he still is very popular for his ability to work for hours after galloping his favorite drink(none other than the alcohol made from Mahua).Although now a days he prefers to stay reserved but in case you do manage to approach him and talk to him, he will open his potli of stories which are quite intriguing. The uniqueness is that he doesn’t remember what he shares with people. He admits “aaj to baat mein aap se kahunga woh mujhe yaad nahi rahengi:”

His love for Dharaji can hardly be overestimated. He says “ I cannot forget the memories that I associate with this place. It is part of my skin and this is from where my life started and it remains stagnant there”. The memories of singing Bhajans just beside the Dhara are still with me.During the conversations at various point of time he would stop the flow of the conversation and abruptly ask you “ Mai jyada to bol nahi raha”. He will smile and hope that the response will be no and resume with the conversation.

The conversation was extremely insightful when started narrating how Banasur did a Tapasya for almost 14 years to please and invoke Lord Shiva. The dedication and devotion of Banasur is still unmatched as per the Hindu Mythology. He made thousands of shivlings through his own hand, did pranpratishta of each of the shivlings and submerged them in the waters of Narmada at Dharaji. His efforts did not go in vain and as a result of which he received a vardan from Lord Shiva. The vardan not only ensured that all the thousand shivlings were made pure and pious but it also meant that Dharaji become a blessed and religious pilgrimage which will constantly produce shivlings when the waters of Narmada will rush through the volcanic rocks of the Dhaudi Kund(formation of rock structure on the banks of Narmada River).

ManSingh takes a lot of pride in sharing these stories and no one can quite explain the significance of the place as ManSingh does. This is because when the Dhara was in place , he used to jump in to the kund all day to take out shivlings so that they can worshipped by the devotees. He used to do this all day and that is what made him popular. It was his source of livelihood, his reason to live and his efforts to restore the tradition of his family.

Today he seems a bit lost and disinterested. The question is not about his livelihood but also his faith. His faith has been shattered on a tradition in which he took pride in and carried on his shoulders.

The irony is that the story was narrated on a “ Poornima” but the experience pertained to “Bhutia Amavasya”.

Mangilalji has many interesting stories to share

He has many interesting stories to narrate and that too in many ways, Humour and intensity are two of the traits which is evident in every story that Mangi Lal Ji narrates. So the first interesting story starts from his father. His father was the Patel(elected representative) of his village(Nayapura). It is one of the cluster of villages which is under submergence owing to construction affected by Omkareshwar Dam along with seven other villages.

He recounts “ may father was the Patel of the village and he enjoyed absolute powers in the decision making process pertaining to the village. The interesting aspect of his true story is that the day on which his father passed away, the officials of NHDC(Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation) made a visit in the village in order to undertake a survey.

He remembers “I vaguely remember the day. May father was showing them the village. That was his last day. Soon after the officials left my father passed way. Today when I look back I often think was it indicative of something”.
Mangilal Ji is extremely popular in the Dharaji region and one of the reasons of his popularity is his association with the Bhajan and Natak Mandali which was set up in Narsingpura(One of the cluster of villages of Dharaji). He elaborated” Every Monday we would gather to sing Bhajans, perform Natak along with Lal Singh Bhai and Bhagat Singh Bhai. As he was narrating the story he couldn’t stop himself from singing his favorite bhajan.
“
Bhagwan Tumhare mandir mein
Ek naya pujari aaya hai
Haatho mein lota jal ka
Jal charane aaya hain
Haatho mein thali phoolon ki
Aur phool charane aaya hai “

The conversation with Mangilalji made me realize that he has tremendous confidence in his own abilities and faith in the Andolan – Narmada Bachao Andolan and he confidently stated “ Hume to ladna hai. Aage mushkil hain par kya kare , hume to ladna hai ya phir marna hai. He is not one of those who will give up easily. He will fight right till the end.
That’s not it. He seems to be only a person who has learnt from experiences. It all started when he used to observe his father resolving the conflicts of the village and from thereon he has never looked back. He Acknowledged : Hum to anpad hai, sirf itna aata hain ki apna naam lik sake , par bacho ko padana hai “.

Traditional Panchayat System

Traditional Panchayat System of Dharaji

The traditional system of governance at Dharaji comprised of three important post. These were Tehsildar, Patwadi and Patel. Patel was the elected representative of the villagers and was appointed by the tehsildar in consensus with the villagers. The process of selecting a patel was also quite unique. The tehsil dar will visit the respective village/ villages and ask the villagers “ Who wish to be the patel of the village/ villages”. The people nominating themselves will come forward. On the spot itself an election will be conducted wherein the villagers will raise their hands in favor of the nominated representative after the tehsildar loudly calls out the name of the nominated representative.

The Patel was the key personnel of the village and would play an integral role in resolving the issues/ conflicts in the village. The other elected person such as tehsildar or patwadi were more or less involved in financial matters such as tax, revenue generation, revenue collection etc. This system has been gradually replaced by the three tier panchayat system.

The Drum Song

Dimli Tipli Dhulia Baje
Nachle puria chake mein
Nachne wala nachi re
Arsa puria dekhi re

Meaning
Dhulia : drum
Puria : girl
Arsa : Mirror

Another small but sweet folk song

Panchira re panchira
Re ud ke jayo pava garh re
Mar mahakali lene garbo
Leni re

Marriage song of Dharaji

Uchli woh tekdi par
Nana pacha khel
Maro Bhayo
Tari wat dekh Nani tari wat Dekh

Meanings

Tekdi : Foothill
Nana pacha Khel : funny game
Bhayo : brother
Nani : Sister

Dayaram

Name of the villager: Dayaram

Occupation: Fishing

His story

There was a time (5 to 6 years back) when Dayaram used to sell around 25 kg of fish in one day. Now the quantity has been reduced to 2kgs. During the six years the prices of the fish in the market has increased substantially. However still the fishermen is at a huge loss of earning.The income of Dayaram some six years back was approximately Rs 1000 a day. On a average he used to sell 25Kg of fish at Rs 40 per kg. However now his income is reduced to Rs 100 a day. The reason been that he only able to catch and sell approximately around 2Kg of fish. These days he sells 2Kgs of fish at Rs 50 per Kg.

Thus the income of the Dayaram has been reduced by almost Rs 900/- in a day. A conversation with Dayaram also indicated

• From the time the dam has been built(Omkareshwar Dam) there has been a significant impact on the availability of the fish in the region. It was easy to catch 25 Kg of fish in one day some 5 to 6 years back since the water was flowing. However the construction of reservoir has made the water stagnant leading to a reduction of the availability of the fishes

• Now the contactors has been employed the Government of Madhya Pradesh in the region and it is quite possible that the fishermen would have to start working under them. The contractors are at profit and not short of manipulating the situation. They have asked the fishermen to form a committee and approach them. It is quite likely that the fishermen will be hugely under paid.

As submergence of Dharaji nears the question that needs to be raised is
“Was there enough though given to the Rehabilitation and resettlement measures for a fishermen “

The question is not confined to the amount of the compensation that the fishermen would receive. One needs to understand that there is a culture associated with it. Dayaram learnt the art of catching fishes near Tez Dhar(The waterfall at Dharaji) from his father and happily shared the skill to his son. It is unjust and unfair to expect him to learn skills of growing crops or doing manual work. He knows the variety of fishes at the tip of his finger and he told us an interesting thing about the one of unique breed of fish available in the region. Its local name is Sua.

Sua : is a sleek looking fish and has a nose which resembles a pointed needle. The fish was generally caught , kept in a pot and carried over to a well. From there on the fish is thrown in a well. The reason behind doing this is that Sua is known to eat away the insects, and algae present in the water and thus it is an indigenous way of purifying the water.