My Amazing Life: Journey Through Success

By Munna L. Sharma

Imagine being a child living in a remote village. What do you think your future will be like? Becoming an internationally renowned expert in your field might not immediately come to mind. But while it might seem unlikely, such a future is not always out of reach.

In My Amazing Life: Journey through Success, Munna L. Sharma narrates his amazing story, which began in a remote Indian village. Through his academic excellence, Sharma won scholarships and obtained masters and doctorate degrees from highly reputable universities in India and the United States. He tells of his travels through the United States and his ultimate arrival in Australia. Sharma joined Australias most prestigious research organization, CSIRO, rising to one of its highest positions. He takes us beyond his work success, recounting his family and personal experiences in rural India and modern societies, describing the cultural, emotional, and social challenges he faced.

Sharmas spiritual strength not only helped him to cope with traumatic events but also motivated him to use them as opportunities for further growth. And as his financial advancements exceeded his expectations, his spiritual development kept him balanced and allowed him to lead a satisfying life. A story of perseverance and dedication, My Amazing Life demonstrates the importance of living a well-rounded life and serves as an inspiration to others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Apr 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781482894905

Munna L. Sharma

Munna L. Sharma was a top-level, highly successful research scientist at Australia’s most prestigious research body, CSIRO. His research on water resources has been recognized and applied internationally, and he is also a successful investor and spiritualist. He and his wife have two sons and five grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2014 by Munna L. Sharma.

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CONTENTS

Why This Book?

Preface

SECTION 1: THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT

1. Background and Village Setting

2. My Family and Setting

3. Rural Practices and Traditions

4. Maternal Relationships

5. My Higher Education

SECTION 2: THE AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT

6. Stay at Honolulu

7. Traversing the Continental USA

8. My Wedding and Move to the USA

SECTION 3: THE AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT

9. Joining CSIRO

10. Family Developments

11. My Separation from CSIRO

12. Running a Childcare Centre

SECTION 4: SPECIAL ISSUES

13. My Parents’ Move to Agra

14. Investment Aspects

15. My Parents’ Final Days

16. My Dietary Changes over Time

17. Exploring Personal Relationships

18. Discrimination and Prejudice

19. Family and Social Aspects

20. Travelling Experiences

Appendix 1 (Glossary)

Appendix 2 (Frequently Used Abbreviations)

Appendix 3 Travelling Adventures

To the fond memory of my parents, Baboo Ram and Sarbati Devi; to my loving wife, Sudha, and precious sons, Sanjay and Sandeep.

Trust yourself. Create the kind of life you will be happy with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement.

Foster C. McClellan

WHY THIS BOOK?

One day, I was sitting in my lounge room, and my 9-year-old granddaughter curiously started asking questions about my past: where I was born and raised, where I was educated, and so forth. When I described some details of my early life to her, she found it amazing and fascinating. She, like my four other grandchildren, was born in Australia and had lived in Australian society. My grandchildren had made only short visits to India, the country of my birth, and when they visited India, they stayed in large cities with members of well-to-do families or in comfortable hotels with modern facilities. They might have passed through some rural villages, but they never experienced the village life.

Furthermore, as I approach the age of seventy, I am reminded that the end of my life is not too distant. On the suggestion of my granddaughter, my instinct inspired me to put my life story in writing. A desire, so far dormant, was suddenly rekindled. This is not only for me to recollect, record, and reflect on what my life has been for my own benefit but also for my family members. I hope this will also be of interest to others, especially to so many immigrants who have the privilege to change their lives by moving to often very different countries. To complete this task, the primary source was my memory bank. My memory has started fading with time, and I now realize that my memory is not as sharp as it used to be and it is likely to deteriorate more in the future. Naturally, I have been a little disturbed by the prospect of the loss of my short-term memory.

These thoughts made me determined to write a book on my memoirs. It was not intended to be an autobiography but a series of essays on stages and aspects of my life. In the beginning, I was somewhat apprehensive in taking on such a task, as I have never written material for general readership, although during my scientific career, I have authored a number of scientific research papers and a few books. Another concerning question was, Who would be interested in the life story of an academic professional like me? After all, I am not a celebrity. Even so, I justified the idea by realizing that my story would be appealing to many, including professionals who have transformed their lives and who consider that they have broadened their horizons and have achieved success not only materially but also spiritually, as was the case with myself. I hope my book might encourage others to put down their life stories on paper.

In addition to my memory, I have also relied on photographs, visits to places where I have spent a great deal of time, and discussions and interviews with my family members. I was also fascinated by the ease with which my memory unfolded as I started to write about the stages of my life. Since I had the privilege of spending a considerable number of years in three different countries—India, the USA, and Australia—I was able to draw comparisons between the cultures and lifestyles. My journey started in a remote and primitive Indian village. I was able to recall how my life changed by going from living in a village to living in a modern society and what it meant in real terms.

As can be expected, the primary influence shaping my early life was that of my parents. Although not formally well educated, they were very intelligent people who provided me a spiritual foundation. Their selfless love, unconditional support, and teachings have remained with me throughout my life. My personal growth was primarily in three phases: educational, financial, and spiritual. Although to some extent, these phases happened concurrently, looking back, they predominantly occurred in that sequence during my life journey. In addition, my social development overlapped all three phases.

Many friends and relations enriched my life during my growing up; their help and generosity were very valuable in my gaining a quality education. Further recognition and expression of thanks go to the many teachers and professors whose help and guidance were invaluable in shaping my educational development. Special thanks go to the two professors who not only guided me through my research projects during my master’s and doctorate theses but also encouraged and infused into me a keen interest in scientific research, which became my professional career path. I am thankful to many scientific colleagues at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and other research organizations where I achieved scientific advancements. I would be remiss if I did not thank my dear wife and my sons who always gave me support whenever I needed it. Again, during my financial and spiritual phases, the unreserved support of my family members was invaluable. A number of my friends have read earlier versions of parts of this book, and I thank them for their suggestions for improvement. The process of completing this book has been enjoyable as well as educational, as I discovered a great deal about myself. I hope my readers might too.

PREFACE

This book provides a somewhat detailed account of my early life and takes the reader through my complex and extraordinary life. I was born in a remote village of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. There were no basic facilities such as running water and electricity in the village. I came from a lower-middle-class family. Through my academic excellence, I won scholarships and supported myself through my education in India and the USA. I completed a master’s degree from the most reputable Indian university and went on to complete my doctorate from a highly regarded American university. I then worked for a few years in universities in the USA.

This book is an attempt to describe in some detail my life as I migrated from India to the USA and then to Australia some forty-five years ago. The objective is to describe the kind of cultural, emotional, and social challenges I faced when I moved from one culture to another in search of a better life and how I went through changes in my thinking regarding the value I attached to the material and non-material aspects of life. The practical objective had been to grow intellectually, materially, and spiritually, with greater emphasis being placed in my life on those aspects sequentially. How did my personal psyche and beliefs play a role in these transformations? What was the balance sheet in terms of gains and losses? Everyone has highs and lows in life, but there were a few extremes in mine, which is what has made it extraordinary and, I hope, interesting.

This is a life account of a somewhat typical academic migrant, and it should appeal to many similar people who in recent years have migrated from developing countries to developed Western countries such as the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand in pursuit of a better life. It puts forward how, as a migrant, I adjusted to a new society, searched for people of my own culture, and attempted to make a social world of my own to make life more enjoyable.

At the age of twenty-six, I migrated to Australia with a scientific job with the most prestigious research organization in the country. I was promoted to one of the highest academic positions. My financial achievements were of even higher magnitude. Through sound investments and asset management, I became a multimillionaire by the age of fifty. We were blessed with two sons, who were highly educated and raised with Indian culture and values. My sons have also been extremely successful in their professions, and I am proud to say, they also became multimillionaires by the age of forty. We have been blessed with five beautiful grandchildren whose company I enjoy immensely.

I have been very fortunate to be able to satisfy my passion for travel, and I have been able to travel most of the world through either work or private arrangements. I have travelled extensively through the continents of Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America and through selected places in Africa, South America, and even Antarctica. These travels were both enjoyable and educational.

Although this book represents a journey through my and my family’s complex life, I am sure some aspects will be common and will be of interest to many, especially other immigrants. In order to make it appealing to a wider audience, I have emphasized the decision-making processes rather than the end results. I hope readers will find some advice to follow for a successful and satisfying life but also learn from my mistakes.

SECTION 1

The Indian Environment

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1.

Background and Village Setting

I was born in a very remote village called Shahgarhi in the district of Etah, in the most populous Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The village is located about 4 kilometres from the main road that goes to Etah City. The closest town on the main road from the village is Berni, where there was a Hindu temple, and there were a number of shops. Etah City, relatively unknown, is about 35 kilometres from the village. The village is about 45 kilometres from the famous city of Agra, where the eighth wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal, is located. Buses and other vehicles travelled on the main road, but there were only dirt tracks that went to the village, and these were inundated during the rainy season. Thus, access to the village was very limited most of the time. There was an irrigation canal that passed within about a kilometre of the village. There were tracks on both sides of the canal on which vehicles could travel, but then access to the village from there was only possible during the dry season. The dirt tracks were only suitable for bullock carts and possibly horse-driven carts called ikka or tanga. For very basic items, there was one shop in the village, but for most things, one had to travel on foot or bike or locally owned transport to Berni.

There was not even a primary school in the village. We had to travel to Berni on foot to attend the school, which catered for children from several surrounding villages. For any major shopping, people had to travel another 8 kilometres from Berni to the town of Jalesar towards Etah City.

My village, Shahgarhi, had a population of about 200, of which approximately 60 per cent were Brahmins and the rest were Jatabs or Sudras (untouchables). There was one nai (barber) family, one bhangi (untouchable, cleaner) family, and two badhai (carpenter/blacksmith) families. The dwellings of all the Brahmin families were located on one side of the village, while those of the Jatabs were on the other side, almost parallel to each other. The barber and carpenter families were within the Brahmin side, while the bhangi family was with the Jatabs. In the Indian Hindu caste system, Brahmins were considered members of the top caste, and they usually worked in religious studies, teaching, and the priesthood. The Jatabs were of the untouchable class, and they usually worked serving the upper castes, but traditionally, they did leather work (i.e. removing and cleaning leather from dead animals). The bhangis were the lowest of the untouchables, and their job was to clean toilets and do tasks that nobody else was prepared to do. In the hierarchy, the (descending) order of the castes was as follows: Brahmins, nais, badhais, Jatabs, and then bhangis.

In the village, only the Brahmins owned agricultural land. They cultivated the land and, when required, hired the Jatabs to work on the land and to work in house construction or as general assistants. Thus, the Jatabs were mostly hired seasonally except a few who had almost permanent employment with our family. As there was no full-time employment in the village, the Jatabs used to go for temporary labour-type jobs outside the village, mainly in road construction and so forth. The other castes (e.g. the barbers, carpenters, and bhangis) were small in number and were almost fully occupied with the work available within the village. Most Brahmins had animals (bullocks to plough the land and buffaloes or cows for milk), while most Jatabs did not own any animals. Jatabs were also hired to look after some of the animals and to maintain farm equipment.

There was one pokhar (talab: low-lying area where water stagnates) that was used as a source of drinking water by animals in the village. When the irrigation canal was running, most people took their animals there, as the canal water was much fresher. During very harsh summers, sometimes the water in the pokhar was reduced to a minimum or dried up, and people had to draw water from the wells for their animals. Animals were one of the villagers’ main assets. One’s status in the village was judged by how much cultivable land you had and how many animals you owned.

Supporting People

Dhobi: There was one dhobi (washerman) who lived in a nearby village and used to visit our village once a fortnight. He used to collect dirty clothes and return after a week or fortnight, whatever suited him. He was paid in kind (i.e. in the form of food, clothes, or anything else that could be used by his family).

Sunar: There was a sunar (goldsmith) family in the nearby village, Berni, who primarily performed repairs on gold and silver jewellery. In some cases, people purchased solid gold from the market in the city and gave it to the goldsmith to manufacture the jewellery of their choice. This happened only on special occasions such as weddings or other celebrations such as the arrival of a son. He had a monopoly and could charge whatever he wanted. But his real income came from withholding part of the gold and introducing impurities while making, repairing, or cleaning the jewellery. How much he would take out was a trade secret, and nobody would have ever known. But there was a saying that ‘a sunar would not even spare his mother when it came to stealing gold’. In the case of my family, they used to purchase readymade jewellery from shops in the cities, mainly Agra. But again, the purity of the gold in the jewellery was never really known, as there was no way to test it, and the market was not regulated. For Indians, purchasing jewellery was a necessary evil. For most, it was a matter of family prestige to show the community how much jewellery you could afford at the time of a wedding. My family used to go to Agra, as the variety was much greater, and there were also special shops that were considered reliable by my maternal uncle and other family members.

Nai: There was one nai (barber) family in the village. Apart from doing haircuts as required, he had other very important roles to play. He used to carry messages and deliver gifts to relations and friends. In earlier days, the nai was also given the very important task of arranging engagements for boys and girls. This used to happen for people of little influence. Thus, the nai could make or break one’s reputation outside the village and in the community. In most cases, at the time of engagement, the nai used to go with the party and carry the gifts and deliver them to the nominated party.

Badhai: There were a couple of badhai (blacksmith/carpenter) families, and their job was to make/repair agricultural equipment and household items (e.g. tawa (chapatti plates), knives, sickles, toys, etc.).

The hierarchical position of these supporting people in the community was as follows (in descending order): sunar, badhai, nai, dhobi, Jatabs, and bhangi.

Religious Practices and Ceremonies

Our village was exclusively Hindu. The majority of the people were of Brahmin caste, and the second largest group was the Jatabs. There was no temple in the village, although there was one Hanuman temple in the nearby village, Berni, but that was too far for regular visits.

In Hinduism, there are a large number of gods, and they are supposed to reside in your heart; thus, the heart is the true temple where gods live. This applies more so when you do not have a regular physical temple. But most people needed a concrete temple to go to on a regular basis and to do their rituals, give their offerings, and get their blessings. So in our village, somehow, a couple of stones were put under a tree, and most people started visiting it to offer water and flowers, considering it a place of god (Mata Parvati (consort of Lord Shiva)). That place became a sacred place, and most considered it a substitute for a temple. I remember as a child, when passing through that special place, I would automatically bow my head. This shows the significance of faith in the Hindu culture.

My mother was a very religious lady. She had Hindi versions of the Ramayana and the Bhagavad-Gita, and she used to read parts of these on a daily basis. Others also participated in readings of the Ramayana on special occasions. Religious discussions were very common, especially when sadhus (Hindu priests) visited our village. They used to give public talks at our Dharamsala (place of charity), mainly from the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The emphasis was on the devotional aspects so that average people could relate to the books themselves.

Puja (worship) ceremonies were performed regularly at our family home by a priest who used to travel to our village from another village about 5 kilometres away. Most would fast for that day and participate in the Puja, which started at about 11 a.m. and lasted for about two hours. The priest performed the Puja and the associated rituals. One of the most popular types of Puja was Satyanarayana Katha. This was a story emphasizing faith in the Puja and respecting and believing in it, and you did not go away without the blessings of the God. You were rewarded if you followed the proper rituals; otherwise, you were punished. The priest was given some gifts, and after the Puja, there was a feast for the priest and the family members.

There is a story about a Brahmin resident of our village (I call him Mr C), who was of relatively large build and known for his big appetite. In a nearby village, some people invited a regular priest to perform the Puja. But that priest did not turn up nor could he inform them (as there were no telephones). After waiting a couple of hours, they realized that the priest was not coming. But according to the tradition, they could not eat until the priest or an equivalent had eaten. Suddenly, they saw Mr C passing through the village on his way to the market. They approached him and explained to him how they had been waiting for the priest. They then asked him to eat some food so that they could also eat. Mr C told them that he had already eaten, so he could not oblige them. But the family pleaded with him to have just a little bit to eat so that they could also eat. So Mr C sat down and kept on eating until he had finished more than 80 per cent of the food prepared. Basically nothing was left for the family to eat. As it usually happened in Indian societies, the females were much more emotional, and they were the ones who usually initiated the Puja. Now, the man of the house was very furious with his wife, and he told her, ‘You should be glad that Mr C had already eaten before he reached our house; otherwise, he would have eaten us all.’

After-death Ceremonies: In the Hindu tradition, when a person dies, he/she is cremated using certain rituals. Then the ashes are collected and taken to be disposed of in the pious River Ganges. In the towns near the Ganges (e.g. Benares), there are cremation places at the edge of the river, and soon after the cremation, the ashes can be disposed of in the Ganges. In those areas that are close to other major rivers, the ashes are disposed of in those rivers. But in the case of our village, there was no major river nearby; they were disposed of in the canal that came out of the Ganges. In some cases, the ashes were stored and disposed of later in the Ganges or some other major river.

The dead body was first washed with regular water and then with some water from the Ganges (most households kept a small quantity of Ganges water). After that, the body was dressed in appropriate attire and placed on a stretcher made of wood. It was then taken to a specially allocated piece of land. A dried woodpile was then prepared, and the body and the stretcher were placed on the woodpile. In certain ceremonies, the pile was lit by the closest family member (the son was the most desirable person). After the cremation, the ashes were collected and were either disposed of in the river immediately according to a ritual or ceremony or stored to be taken at a later date. In those days, only men would go to the cremation ground, as women were not allowed.

Children under twelve and infants were wrapped in clothes, and after some rituals, they were buried in an allocated field. In the big cities on the edge of the river, such bodies were discharged directly into the river. From a hygiene viewpoint, cremation was probably the best practice.

Wedding Ceremonies: The wedding ceremonies were performed with great pomp and show depending on the person’s status. For men, a wedding party would leave the village and arrive where the girl and her parents resided. There would usually be some pre-wedding ceremonies at the groom’s home where the priest would perform rituals. This was to be followed by a big feast (madhava) to which members of the village and other nearby villages would be invited. The number depended on the size of your circle of friends. After that, a wedding party consisting of friends and relations would depart to the girl’s village where the girl’s parents organized a welcoming party. Before the wedding party departed, there was a Bhaat ceremony, in which the maternal uncle of the groom (brother of the groom’s mother) would give gifts to the bride and groom as well as the family members. A similar ceremony was also performed at the bride’s home.

The wedding ceremonies were performed at the girl’s house by two priests (one from each side). There were many steps to go through, but the main ceremony involved the bride and groom walking around the fire and taking certain oaths according to the Hindu traditions in the presence of people from both sides. The ceremony details could differ based on region. The groom and the bride would go around the fire seven times (sat phere) and promise each other to be faithful and to look after each other in all situations (good as well as bad). The members of the wedding party were considered guests of the whole village, and thus, the village people would look after the party. The girl’s parents would take care of the living arrangements and the food while the wedding party was there. After a day or so, the wedding party would return to their village. The girl’s parents usually gave gifts to all those who had attended the party but certainly to the family members of the groom.

If a son were born to a couple, then the grandparents or the parents would also throw a large celebration party to welcome him to the family. This mostly applied to the first son, which shows the preference for sons in Indian society. In some unusual cases, it was reported that some girls were killed at birth, because the parents considered them a burden, as they had to spend a large sum of money on the dowry for their wedding.

Entertainment and Pastimes

Obviously, people of different ages had different entertainment requirements. Adult men would usually chitchat with each other, discussing local politics, whatever was happening in their families (especially their families’ health issues), their children, education, their success in their studies and getting a job, and so forth. Those who smoked would share smokes at each other’s houses and would continue the chitchat. During the winter, they would gather around a fire and continue chitchatting for hours. Some occasionally played sports such as kabaddi but only those who were relatively younger. They also had discussions on epics such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and many other religious topics.

There were also a number of stage performances during the year depicting religious epic stories such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the stage (platform) of our Dharamsala. The acting was done by the local artists from the village; only male actors were used, even for the female roles. Sometimes, a team of professionals from outside used to visit the village for the same purpose. These were open to all the people of the village irrespective of their castes. Sometimes, these stories were told in song.

Some well-practised singers also used to come from outside and perform Dhola, telling in song the famous life stories of the two characters of Nala and Damayanti. This was usually done by two people. These performances were rewarded by the villagers in cash or in kind. My father was very keen on singing Dhola on his own for the entertainment of our family members, especially during the summer months when we used to sleep outside in the yard.

The younger generation, in which I was included, played many sports, including kabaddi, wrestling, swimming, primitive ball games, walking, jogging, etc. Boys also helped in the fields during their vacation time. Some even decided to work full time on the farms.

Girls played sports among themselves. Their other activities included embroidery, fan making, sewing, making clothes, and learning to read and write. Girls were expected to help around the house. In those days, girls were not expected to go to school, as there was no school in the village. Girls were also involved in outside work, such as taking food to men working in the fields, fetching water from the wells, and making external purchases from places within the village. Married women hardly left the house unless they did not have daughters.

Facilities in the Village

In the village, there was no electricity, running water, medical facilities, shopping facilities, school, or temple.

Light: Oil lamps, mostly kerosene lamps, were the only source of light at night. Sometimes, open lamps with vegetable oil were also used. Kerosene lamps with glass shelters (lanterns) were preferable, as they provided protection from the wind. These are the ones I used when I was studying in the night during my school days.

Water Supply: Groundwater wells were the source of water for domestic use. There were two types of water: one was suitable for drinking, while the other could only be used for bathing and cleaning, as it was too salty. There were five wells in the village. One of them was within our phantak (family yard), which was salty; three others in the village were also salty. There was one about a half a kilometre from the village that had water suitable for drinking. Ladies or girls used to go and fetch water daily from this well for drinking. This water was stored in earthen pots at the house. There was one separate well for the untouchables (Jatabs and bhangi), as they were not allowed to go to other wells. I remember once when the Jatabs’ well became non-functional, they were allowed to use one of the wells. But during that time, people from higher castes did not use that well. This was evidence of the discrimination based on caste.

Medical Facilities: There were not even primitive medical facilities in the village. Even in the next village, Berni, there was only one person who used to give primitive medicines based on the knowledge he’d accumulated over the years from some Ayurvedic teacher. But he did not have formal training. For ailments such as coughs, colds, malaria, stomach pains, headaches, general body pains, and so on, he had some standard medicines that he used to give for a nominal fee. There was not much choice, since he was the only person available. If the symptoms continued, then people would go to Jalesar, where there was an Ayurvedic doctor (vedhya). There was also one small, primitive government-run clinic where people could be treated by a nurse and occasionally by a qualified doctor who visited only on certain days.

Jalesar was about 10 kilometres from the village. But because of the primitive transport facilities, making the trip to Jalesar was a major problem, especially when you were sick. In very serious cases, people went to Agra City where there were many qualified doctors and a large government hospital with qualified nurses and doctors. But surprisingly, few people went to Agra, because they were not used to spending money on their health, and it was very inconvenient to travel the 45 kilometres by public transport, transferring at least twice. While being treated, patients and the family members had to find a place to stay in Agra. Also, unless they had connections, patients from outside were given the lowest priority in the government hospital. Many poor people ended up dying, waiting in the corridors of the hospital. Unfortunately, that was the way it was in those days; it has probably improved by now.

Almost all deliveries of babies were done by elderly ladies who had no formal training; the techniques were passed on from one generation to another. If the delivery was normal (i.e. without any complications), the chances of success were good for both the mother and the baby. Yet because of the lack of general hygiene, the chances of secondary infection were high. Mothers were allowed to rest for a considerable period of time while their chores were being done by other members of the family and friends. In cases with complications, there were no answers, and therefore, the mortality rates were very high for both mother and child. Although the recognized hospitals were about 45 kilometres away, because of the poor and slow public transport, it was extremely rare that the patient could make it to the city alive. Most people could not afford to go to a private doctor or to a private hospital.

The same applied to all kinds of serious sicknesses in the village. Tuberculosis was prevalent in the village. It was considered highly contagious. Unless treated properly in a good hospital, people used to lose their lives. The same thing happened in the case of complicated flus, malaria, diarrhoea, and other common diseases.

There were many myths among the village population. One elder used to say that ‘stomach upset’ was the root cause of most sicknesses. Therefore, too much importance was given to what to eat and what not to eat during sickness. Sometimes, fasting was practised to recover from some ailments. Most foods were categorized as having a cold or hot effect. For example, yogurt was cold, but milk was warm. Therefore, drinking warm milk was recommended in the evening before going to bed. These kinds of traditional concepts were planted in the heads of villagers early, and it was very difficult to get them out. For minor sicknesses, an elder would give a jhada (blessing involving the shaking of leaves). Certainly, this used to have a placebo effect, and many used to feel better after the treatment. Antiseptic plant (neem) leaves (or its extract), commonly available in the village, were used on infected parts of the body.

The next stage of treatment involved going to an untrained vedhya in Berni. I remember this man we used to go to sometimes. He would ask if you had a fever, if you had a cough, if you had constipation or loose stools. Then he would mix up a number of medications (different colours for each of the symptoms) in a glass bottle and divide it into the number of required doses. At that time, I used to feel that his medication worked. But now, I feel that he didn’t know what he was doing. I remember he had a couple of beautiful daughters. We used to go to see him so that we could get a glimpse of his daughters. Maybe that was partly the reason for our cure. If the fever or the other symptoms continued, we used to be taken to a partly trained Ayurvedic doctor at Jalesar. He would examine you, ask for your symptoms, and give you medications made from natural products. People had considerable faith in his treatments, but he had no surgical skills or facilities.

Many villagers never got sick (or did not admit that they did), except for minor colds. I assume they must have developed immunity. I remember my father and one of his brothers used to boast that only weaklings got sick. They had never taken any sort of serious medicine in their over eighty years of living and had never fallen ill enough to be taken to hospital. My father came to Australia at the age of seventy-five. He smoked most of his life in India, but he gave it up just before he came to Australia. He lived with us for about ten years and never got sick there either. The only time he got sick was at the age of eighty-five when he had to be taken to the hospital for severe chest pain, and that is where he passed away. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

On another spectrum of thinking, there were people who were very superstitious and believed in ghosts who would make people sick or make them act in certain ways. According to them, they needed to be treated in a certain way as directed by the ghost who would speak through certain people who had to go through certain rituals to get the ghost to enter them. In one family, they used to perform these specific rituals that would make a family member start shaking, saying that the ghost was there on him/her. This was done to predict the future for other people. Only very few believed in this. One of the villagers challenged this and said that he would perform the ritual, but in the end, the ghost never arrived. Since then, most people considered this practice to be all hocus-pocus.

Shopping: Families in the village used to be self-sufficient, making minimal external purchases. But still, there were always some items that had to be purchased. Agricultural produce was home grown; it did not feel as if you were paying for it. Most of the small local purchases were done using the barter system, in which grains were exchanged for goods. Families used to get cash by selling their farm produce. The produce was usually sold to a middleman who would purchase the grains at harvest time when the price used to be the lowest, as most people wanted to sell because of the excess supply. This was because most did not have storage facilities, and in many cases, they needed the money. My family had reasonably good facilities to hold back the sale of the grains. They used to sell at a much better price during the off-season. This cash was the only source of money for doing any shopping. The items purchased included food (e.g. sugar, fruits, vegetables, sweets, nuts, etc.), clothing, and jewellery.

I remember there was only one merchant in the village who sold gur (non-purified sugar) and a few other items such as some sweets in exchange for grains; you could not buy anything else. Close to our village, there was one family who used to grow vegetables that could be bought again on the barter system. Occasionally, some merchants would pass through the village at fairly irregular intervals, and they used to sell fruits, vegetables, sweets, ice cream, makeup, and clothes. Most of this was done on the barter system. For big items like clothing, cash was used. Berni had a few shops that stocked many more items, including sweets. But for most clothes and specialized things, you had to go to Jalesar. Once a week, there was a penth (temporary market) held about 7 kilometres away. This was the most popular market for farmers, as you could buy seasonal fruits and vegetables and various household items, including spices, sweets, and clothes; you could also sell some home-grown products.

Every six months, sometimes more frequently, there were special melas (temporary markets) where merchants from surrounding areas would get together and sell a variety of things (including sweets, fruits, and many other practical items). Entertainment was also available at such gatherings. This was a place to treat yourself if you were twelve or younger. Older people also used to have their own kind of fun. Most young children were accompanied by elders. I remember we used to get an allowance for the mela, and we used to spend every last bit of it before returning home. There were many more restrictions on the girls, as they could go only in groups and used to be under strict instructions concerning what to do, whom to talk to, etc. These were the places where adolescent boys and girls could get involved romantically, and therefore, they needed to be kept under close supervision.

Clothing: Men’s clothing usually included the dhoti (one piece of cloth wrapped around the waist, covering the legs), kurta (Indian loose shirt), topi (cap), angoncha (a large piece of cloth that hangs around the