Photo Walk Holds A Surprise

I arrived in Jamshedpur. It was a long drive from Ranchi Airport. The road was particularly good. Smooth. Excellent. But some things have not changed.

Ranchi is ahead of Maharashtra as far as road is concerned. And I am cursing all-party political leaders while admitting this status.

Early morning next day – I came out of the guest house. And saw this stump painted.

I moved ahead. It was 6.15 in the morning. Jamshedpur was still sleeping. The road did not have a vehicle.

And I stopped here. I could see the reflection of the main gate in the mirror. I wonder if the guard had seen me. Maybe yes, maybe not. It is okay. I moved on.

The city is very clean. Long back Chandrashekhar (the famous IAS officer) had made Thane clean like Jamshedpur, but Thane soon threw away that gift, it is now a dirty city. Be that as it may, Jamshedpur is also getting hoarding mania.

They say that crime rate in Jamshedpur was high. That explains why several bungalows have eight feet compound wall. A police inspector once told me that a thief rarely jumps over the wall to enter your home. (That must be the common trait between a thief and an ordinary person). He gets you to open the main door and you do it without realising that you opened the door to a thief!

I moved ahead. The sleepy town was finally waking up.

And a big banyan tree stopped me. Huge. Such trees are so common here. I envy Jamshedpurians!

And the tree lover in me did not like indiscriminate chopping off of the tree. Trees have feelings. Their hurt shows up.

Distraction! Six stray dogs!! I like dogs but not the street walking variety. They pose a threat. And at my age I have lost the muscles, stamina, and the will to run! I carefully walked to avoid getting noticed by the canine specimens. They did not bother. They know that thieves do not walk like me!

Back to trees. Forget the wandering canines. This tree stopped me. What a hug, I thought! Take a close look. Roots have hugged the stem, and it looks like a human figure hugging a tree. God creates art. We must have the eyes.

And then this Church. It is 100 years old. Nah, 108 years old!! St. George’s Church it is called.

I turned around and marched quickly; it was time to meet someone over breakfast. And I came aback to the main entrance. And a huge surprise awaited me. Nirmal Mahato was martyred here. Almost adjacent to the entrance of the guest house.

Who was Nirmal Mahato? He was a prominent leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He was shot point blank as he came out of the guest house. On one side of the entrance is this painted stump of the tree (see first pic) and on the other side is this ‘Shaheed Sthal.’

Unexpected end to my photo walk! I am speechless!!

Vivek S Patwardhan

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others./ All work copyrighted