– Prof. PB Sharma

Going back to memory lane of my childhood at Danadapura, Vidisha in MP, I recall with great pride the life divine that we all lived and led at that time in the 1950s and 60s.

The day used to begin early in the morning around 4:30 AM, popularly referred to in those days as Brahma Mahurta, the most auspicious time of the day for prayers and meditation. This was also the time to greet the early dawns of the day that brought immense happiness, good health, and cheers all around.

The early morning each day was also greeted by the ringing bells in the temples, reciting divine music complemented further by the musical orchestra of lovely birds. The cool malyagiri breeze that used to be the hallmark of the early morning life divine, brought pran vasu to nourish our mind body, and soul.

Soon after in the morning, once we settled for the day the ‘Dalia Waali Baai’ used to come calling for fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits. He carried on her head a large Dalia full of fresh green vegetables and fruits for us to buy for our daily needs of fresh and green vegetables. She used to download her green vegetables Dalia in the courtyard of Prof Badrinarayan Sharma who lived opposite our house. The goodness of nature and nourishment for the health and well-being of the people was brought to our doorstep by the Dalia Waali Maai with great delight each day.

We all used to congregate around her and buy fresh vegetables for the daily needs of the family. The beauty was that rich and poor all used to get what they needed from the Dalia Waali Maai who used to sell these vegetables for nominal profit. What more, she would add a little bit of green chilli and dhaniya patta from her side to each of the purchases. Such was the caring love of the Dalia Waali Maai that she would come always cheerful and smiling and pour her heart into serving her customers, we the people in the locality.

Such local vendors were in fact, the ambassadors of a divine rendering a great service to the community, nourishing their good health and serving them with sacrifice and delight.

We, the children were greatly attached to the Dalia Waali Maai who would often part away for us slices of fresh fruits like papaya or guava or mango or black berries as the season may be. Her only desire at that time was to see that we the children pay attention to our studies, do our daily prayers to God Almighty, and obey our parents with great respect and reverence.

The Dalia Wali maai for us, the children, was no less than our caring mother and we all respected her. On special occasions, like a declaration of results if anyone topped in school or scored a perfect 100 she would present a gift of a plate full of vegetables and fruits to such meritorious children.

The Dalia Waali Maai was not the only one who cared for the society. The safai waala, the tailor master, and the kabadi waala were all intimately connected to the society and each one of them commanded great respect for all of us. They all cared for us and always poured their abundance of Aatmiyata and in return, we sowed our greatest respect and considered them as our extended family. They all worked for us with a great sense of responsibility toward nurturing a happy healthy and cheerful society that also in turn cared for them and their well-being.

The priest in the temple was no less a blessing to society as a whole, some were very rich, others economically weak, but all happy and healthy. The prayers of the divine and the temple bells always echoed the sentiment which we collectively echoed in our prayers to the Divine for the good health and happiness of one and all. “Sarve bhavantu sukhina, sarve santu niramaya, Sarve bhadrani pashyanti, na kashchit dukhbhaa bhawate”_ was the DNA of India’s social spiritual and philosophical life full of the bliss of divinity.

The business in those days was Business with Aatmiyata, the Government was for the people and the people in society were both law-abiding and caring for each other. They all, with utmost responsibility, maintained a peaceful and healthy environment all around.

Such was the India of my childhood in the early 1950s that I wish to see one day returning to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren and to the people of India who deserve a life full of divinity, good health, happiness in abundance and cheers all around. After all, we are the descendants of a great spiritual civilization on planet Mother Earth, the Vedic Sanatan Sanskriti of which we are so proud.

*The author Prof PB Sharma is the Founder and Vice Chancellor of DTU and RGPV and past President of AIU currently Vice Chancellor of Amity University Gurugram. The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author.