Amitabh
Shukla
Last
fortnight, I was travelling to Jharkhand, which many say is the younger brother
of Bihar, from which it was carved out as a separate state in the year 2000. I
was present in the function at Raj Bhawan when Shibu Soren took oath as the
first Chief Minister of the state at the stroke of midnight. But that’s a
different story for some other time.
Travelling
from Chandigarh to New Delhi is fast and convenient by Shatabdi Express. It’s a
different matter that the food in the train has shown no signs of any
improvement over the months and years. Instead old timers insist that the food
served was much better and tastier a decade ago than the industrial and bland
food served by bored waiters now.
From
New Delhi Railway Station it’s a breeze taking the Airport Express Line of the
Metro. It’s truly world class. In fact, you could check in your baggage here if
you are travelling by Air India or Jet Airways from Terminal 3 of the Indira
Gandhi International Airport. As I was headed to board a low cost carrier’s flight
from the Terminal 1, getting down to the Aero city station and then taking the
AC feeder bus service was a much better option than taking a taxi which
invariably gets lost in the well known Delhi traffic jams.
So
far so good. But the problem started at the Airport itself with the Indigo
flight to Ranchi delayed. Initially, it was delayed by half an hour, then an
hour and finally two hours. In fact, all the flights from T 1 were delayed by
several hours due to what I was told by the airline staff was “unusual
congestion due to bad weather” over Delhi skies. Anyway, my eyes couldn’t find
any bad weather.
Due
to the delay in most of the flights, there was an unusual rush inside the
departure area. The shopping area near the departure after security, was full
of people and all seats were taken. An equal number of people were standing,
waiting for the opportunity to get a seat if someone’s flight was announced on
the screens in the voice free airport. Two gentlemen were playing old Kishore
Kumar songs on guitar, a few passengers listening, others amused and most
looking at the screens for new flight timings.
The
situation near the departure gates was worse. A sea of humanity had converged.
Irate passengers were arguing with the airline staff about the ever changing
timings of their flight. There was hardly any place to stand, forget getting a
seat to sit. Passengers were sitting on the staircase, in fact any possible
area where they could relax for a moment. Isn’t it time to have another airport
near Delhi when passenger traffic is at its highest and air fares have come
down to second AC fares of train if purchased in advance?
After
waiting at the airport for over 4 hours, finally the flight left for Ranchi, a
little over 1000 kms away with a flight time of 1.30 hours as the Captain
announced.
Ranchi
has been a familiar city as I had worked here at the beginning of the
millennium for around 17 months when the new state of Jharkhand was created.
But those were different days. A lot of water has flown down the Subarnarekha
(a well known Jharkhand river) since then. Multi storied buildings and flats,
fast moving vehicles in the four-lane road connecting the Secretariat to the
areas where the VIPs reside, a five-star hotel, international cricket
stadium…some of the obvious signs of what we call “development” in the modern
parlance. So much so that I could not even recognize the area where I had lived
in Ranchi years ago.
But
the more things change the more it remains the same. On Sunday, I borrowed a
friend’s car and went to Rajrappa to pay obeisance to Chhinnamastika temple,
known for its tantric cult all over the region. I have been to this temple,
known for animal (goat) sacrifice for ages, three times in the past and this
was my fourth visit. I’m not sure if Maneka Gandhi is aware of the prevalent
goat sacrifice in the temple which could be at least two dozen on a routine day
and much more during festivals. The goat, which is always garlanded, is offered
to the deity as a “Prasad” and taken inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple
for blessings. Then it is taken to a courtyard for sacrifice and the meat is
distributed amongst non-vegetarian friends and relatives as “Prasad”. As I was visiting the temple after a gap of
16 years, a lot had changed. The Bhera River had become dirtier,
commercialization was rampant, shops had sprung up all over the place for
pilgrims from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. But then, there was also an
occasional tantric, deep in meditation on a rock which abounds in the region. A
different kind of a spiritual experience all together.
While
crossing Ranchi on the way to Rajrappa, I saw tribal women in different groups,
dressed like men with iron weapons slung on their shoulders or in their hands.
Initially, I thought that this must be some demonstration, may be of the
extreme Left parties which operate in the inaccessible parts of the state. The
women, of all ages—from teenage to septuagenarian—were dressed identically.
They had tried their best to hide their female identity by tying their hair in
a head gear or a baseball cap. The dress was pant or Jeans with a shirt. There
was no male in their group and they wore menacing looks as they moved in the
streets of Ranchi in their group of 15 to 50 women each. The weapons which they
had included Swords, spears, Gandasa, big daggers, iron roads and all its
variants. Fortunately they did not carry guns.
Despite
having an inquisitive mind and the instinct of a Reporter, I did not ask the
women what was the purpose of this entire exercise and where were they headed
to. I got the initial answer from a
local driver. This was a tribal ritual which happens once every 12 years and
was called Jani Shikar. The tribal women dress as males and get hold of any eatable
animal or bird and either kill it or carry it home. Goats or hens were easily
available and this was what they were looking for.
On
the way to Rajrappa, between Ormanjhi on National Highway and Gola, I was on
the wheels when a group of these tribal women waylaid our car with hills on
both sides of the road. Carrying weapons, as they were, it was terrifying for a
moment as they could have hit the windscreen of the car or even one of us. But
when I downed the window, all a tribal women asked was some money. Promptly, I
gave Rs50 note which was lying on the door jacket of the car for payment of
toll tax. She took the money and waived to her colleagues that this car has
paid and need not be troubled again. There were around 15 vehicles stuck there
in the crowd of the tribal women and all of them paid. The local explained to
me again. Hunting in forests has been banned or even if these women force their
way in the forests, there are hardly any animals to hunt. With this money
collected, they will buy chicken or a goat and have a feast which would only be
for women. That’s feminism and militant one at that.
While
coming back from Rajrappa in the late afternoon, back to Ranchi, I saw the
group of tribal women again. This time some of these groups had managed success
in their hunting campaign. In one of the larger groups, I found two dead goats
and 4 Hen, tied to a bamboo pole and being taken to their hamlets for a feast
in the evening. In another small group, comprising of 15 women, the catch was
only one goat which was tied to a cloth and taken alive. In the third group,
all they had managed was a hen, its legs tied up and being carried. Again, I was told that whatever animal came
their way and could be eaten, was killed or taken alive, depending on the mood
of those who were on the hunting mission.
The person who owned the animal or Chicken had no right to protest as
this was a ritual and he better watch out if he said something.
Back
in Ranchi, I was informed how this tradition developed. A group of tribal women
had managed to defeat a local Mughal warrior in the medieval period during the
tribal festival of Sarhul when the men were drunk and not in a position to
fight the aggressors. Since then, Jani Shikar is celebrated by women to
remember that occasion, reinforce equality in the tribal society and also to
assert their rights in the fast changing environment around them. (May 8, 2017)
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