मेरी ताज़ी झारखण्ड यात्रा

I AM REALLY PROUD OF MY PROFESSION WHICH HAS BEEN GIVING ME ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE THE HUMANITY.WAY BACK IN 1986,WHEN I HAD BECOME A LECTURER I WAS SO HAPPY THAT I STARTED FEELING AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD.MY FRIENDS WHO WERE PREPARING FOR CIVIL SERVICES WERE NOT ABLE TO COMPREHEND WHEN THEY FOUND THAT I WAS CONSIDERING TEACHING IN A COLLEGE OF DELHI UNIVERSITY MUCH MORE WORTH THAN ANY THING ELSE.MAY BE I WAS FASCINATED TO THIS PROFESSION BECAUSE I HAD SEEN THE PRESTIGE AND SHRADDHA ENJOYED BY MY FATHER , A GREAT TEACHER TOO ,SINCE MY CHILDHOOD. TODAY AFTER BECOMING AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND ASPIRING TO BECOME A PROFESSOR (IF THE PROFESSORSHIP IS INTRODUCED IN THE COLLEGES OF DELHI UNIVERSITY) I FEEL MUCH MORE PROUD AND CONTENTED SINCE THIS PROFESSION HAS BEEN GIVING ME CREATIVE SATISFACTION IN THE REAL SENSE . BUT MORE THAN A TEACHER I STILL FEEL LIKE A STUDENT , AS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF MY STUDENT DAYS ,I HAVE BEEN CURIOUS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PLACES I VISIT.MAY BE MY HISTORIAN BACKGROUND IS PLAYING SOME ROLE BEHIND THIS .SO WHEREVER I GO ,ALONE OR WITH MY FAMILY,THE TRIP USUALLY BECOMES MEMORABLE.
DURING THE LAST SUMMER HOLIDAYS WE VISITED OUR NATIVE PLACE , DEOGHAR-DUMKA IN JHARKHAND. DEOGHAR-DUMKA ARE THE TWIN CITIES OF SANTAL-PRAGNAS REGION OF MODERN JHARKHAND. DEOGHAR IS A WORLD FAMOUS RELIGIOUS CENTRE. THE FAMOUS BAIDYANATH JYOTIRLINGAM -ONE OF THE MOST WORSHIPPED DWADAS JYOTIRLINGAMS OF LORD SHIVA , IS SITUATED THERE.EVERY YEAR LAKHS AND LAKHS PEOPLE FROM ALL PARTS OF INDIA COME TO DEOGHAR , SPECIALLY IN THIS MONTH OF SAWAN.THE KANWAR MELA WHICH ONE CAN SEE IN DELHI IN FACT ORIGINATED FROM DEOGHAR.KANWARIAS WHO TAKE THE HOLLY WATER OF GANGA AT SULTANGANJ IN BIHAR DELIVER IT TO THE LORD BAIDYANATH.IT IS A VERY OLD TRADITION OF THIS PLACE.. DURING THIS VACATION WE WERE HENCE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE STAYED IN THIS CITY.WE VISITED NANDAN- HILLS-AN ATTRACTION OF THE CITY AND ALSO CLIMBED TRIKUT PARVAT–WHICH IS ABOUT 15 K.M. FROM THE CITY.PATHROL,AGAIN A HOLY PLACE AND ONE OF THE SHAKTI-PEETHAS,WHERE GODDESS KALI IS WORSHIPPED ,WAS ALSO VISITED BY US.MY DAUGHTER THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE PATHROL VISIT .
HOWEVER MY SON LIKED THE DUMKA VISIT MORE.DUMKA THE SUB- CAPITAL OF JHARKHAND ,WHICH IS A HISTORIC PLACE IS ALSO THE HEAD QUARTER OF SANTAL PRAGNAS.SANTAL PRGNAS WAS CREATED IN 1855,AFTER THE WORLD FAMOUS – SANTAL REBELLION TOOK PLACE..MARX HAD ALSO CALLED IT THE FIRST PEOPLES-MOVEMENT OF INDIA.AND THE FAMOUS REBELLION STARTED ON 30TH JUNE IN 1854.SIDHU,KANHOO,CHAND AND BHAIRO—-THESE FOUR BROTHERS WERE THE HEROS OF THIS REBELLION.EVERY YEAR THIS EVENT IS CELEBRATED AS HOOL-DIWAS IN DUMKA.WE WERE VERY EXITED TO BE THE PART OF THE CELEBRATION . BUT 30TH JUNE OF THIS(2009) YEAR WHICH ALSO WITNESSED A GREAT EVENT AS THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF LATE.ACHARYA JYOTINDRA PRASAD JHA PANKAJ - ONE OF THE GREATEST FIGURES OF THIS REGION ,WAS CELEBRATED WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM.SCHOLARS,ARTISTS,JOURNALISTS,SOCIAL-ACTIVISTS,TEACHERS AND POETS FROM ALL PARTS OF SANTAL PRAGNAS HAD ASSEMBLED AND PAID THEIR HOMAGE TO PANKAJ JI.ON THIS OCCASION A NEW WEB-SITE NAMED www.pankajgoshthi.org/ WAS ALSO LAUNCHED TO COMMEMORATE PANKAJ JI AND OTHER GREAT PERSONALITIES OF THE REGION . EVEN AFTER 32 YEARS OF HIS DEATH , HIS REMEMBERENCE AT SUCH A LARGE SCALE , THAT TOO WITHOUT ANY STATE PATRONAGE , BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE STUDENT OF HISTORY AS IT TELLS US ABOUT HOW THE PROCESS OF CULT-FORMATION TAKES PLACE.SINCE PANKAJ JI HAS BECOME A PART OF THE MEMORY OF THE MASSES OF THE REGION,THEREFORE HE IS REMEMBERED EVERY YEAR.THIS YEAR WE ALSO BECAME PART OF THIS GREAT EVENT.THE 90TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF PANKAJ JI PROVIDED A SPECIAL OCCASION TO MY SON TO UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF THE AREA.MY ENTIRE FAMILY FELT FORTUNATE TO WITNESS THESE EVENTS AT DUMKA.
WE VISIT JHARKHAND ALMOST EVERY YEAR BUT THIS VISIT WILL BE ALWAYS SPECIAL AND MEMORABLE FOR US , BECAUSE THIS WAS VERY CLOSE TO OUR HEART,SPECIALLY WHEN MY SON AND DAUGHTER KNEW THAT PANKAJ JI , THEIR GRAND FATHER WAS SO GREAT.MY WIFE STARTED CONSIDERING ME TOO LIKE MY FATHER BUT I KNOW I CANNOT REACH THE HEIGHTS OF MY FATHER WHO CREATED HISTORY IN SEVERAL WAYS . HOWEVER TO BE TRUE I HAVE ALSO BEEN ASPIRING TO BE A WORTHY SON OF MY GREAT FATHER.THIS HOLIDAY VISIT RE-INSTILLED MY CHILDHOOD ASPIRATION ONCE AGAIN IN ME . THAT IS WHY THIS HOLIDAY TRIP HAS UNDOUBTEDLY BEEN THE BEST TRIP OF MY LIFE.