Ganga Prasad used to live in Guruwa a village in Gaya District in Bihar, with his parents and a sister. He was in his teens. Studied up-to third standard. His life style was no different from an ordinary peasant in India, before independence.
His father had a shop and a small plot of agricultural land. He used to buy paddy, wheat, cereal and pulses from the farmers. He then bundled them into jute sacks. Load into a bullock cart and then sell it at the grain market in Gaya, a major town. This was the primary source of income.
Life wasn’t difficult. They had at least three meals a day, till plague struck the village. Out of a total population of 900 almost 150 people lost their lives. Ganga Prasad’s father lost his life as well. Most of the families fled. There was no one left to perform the last rites.
Ganga Prasad after several months returned to his native village Guruwa with his mother and a sister. Shop remained locked. He had a small plot of land but was too young to cultivate. There was no business, no work, no money. Often three of them slept without food. For several years they had only one meal a day. Life was miserable.
With the passage of time Ganga Prasad matured into an adult. He had a spark in his eyes. He never ever dreamt of being a millionaire or billionaire. His concern was to provide a decent living to his family and to have three meals a day. To improve his life, he thought mobility is essential. Bought a bicycle.
There was a small town Guraru about 12 km from his village. On a fixed day in a week, there used to be a local market where villagers brought agricultural produce. He worked under a Trader for three years. He used to work for the entire day. His primary job was to weigh the grain, accounting, loading and unloading. After three years he asked for remuneration. But he was denied even a penny. He was told that he was compensated by the lunch that was provided. Ganga Prasad didn’t utter a word. He returned with an empty hand to his village, on his bicycle.
Ganga Prasad got married to Kaushalya Devi. His wife wasn’t used to sleeping with an empty belly. She often had nightmares of living in utter poverty for the rest of her life. She had sewing skill. She could stitch blouse by hand, referred to as JHULLA. Those days there were hardly any sewing machines. She used to get the cloth and the dimensions from the local tailor. Stitched the blouse in two days and hand it back. She never dealt with the customers. She used to earn one Rupee per piece. Life moved on.
Ganga Prasad was frustrated in the village. No opportunity for him. He was toying with the idea of moving out, temporarily. He met the village priest early in the morning and solicited his advice. The priest advised him to head out in the northern direction and the right date is this day. But there was a problem. There was no money to start a business. The poor priest didn’t have money either. However the priest recollected that he was offered five rupees for a ceremonial function, the previous evening. He took out the money, without any hesitation and offered it to Ganga Prasad.
He walked down to Gaya. Took a train to Varanasi, the nearest city in the north. On the steps of the ghat (bank) in Varanasi, he used to sell cotton towels, for one year. He was not the only one selling towels. In the night all the towel sellers collectively cooked something at the ghat. He then used to spread a few towels, and slept at the ghat itself. In the morning he ate the left over. No place to cook. No place to live. This was the daily routine for one year. He was still hand to mouth. He realized there was no opportunity for him at Varanasi.
He returned to his village. Discussed with his relations. There were a couple of peasants who had moved to Daltonganj an adjacent town and flourished. He thought to try his luck. Worked for two years. Disappointed one again. Returned to his village. He was advised by an elderly man to stick to one business. Initially there will be loss. He has to sustain it. At the moment he is like a pendulum. He should go back to Daltonganj. Remove the wheels from his feet and anchor it firmly.
He came to Daltonganj once again, with a determination not to return. Continued with his business. Initially there were hiccups. However he made little profits. At last the lady luck smiled. Brought his wife to Daltonganj and raised his family. In his entire life he never fought with anyone, even for his rights, whether he is a customer or client.
He educated all his children. All of them completed their high school. I know Ganga Prasad well and his family. My elder sister is married to Ganga Prasad’s third son. One day I was woken up with the sound of “A for Apple, B for Ball, C for Cat, D for Dog”. I went to the rooftop and saw him learning. I kept watching and admired till he completed Z for Zebra. He asked me if I have seen a Zebra. He was seventy years of age. But I couldn’t understand why he is leaning English at this age. Later in the afternoon, I saw him teaching his grandchildren English Alphabets.
In the course of my profession, I came across President to Peons. I once met a poor man and casually asked him as to why he was poor. He preferred not to reply. I asked once again.
“ Because I was born in a poor family. My father was poor. “
“Why your father was poor?”
“Because his father was poor? “
“Why your grand father was poor?”
“ Because his father was poor.”
He was agitated. He thought I am stupid. I then changed my question.
“ Do you think your children and grand children will also remain poor… ?
Will you ever come out of the poverty line?
Ganga Prasad raised himself out of poverty line. Today most of his grand children are doing well. In-fact doing very well. Half of them are settled abroad. Education combined with migration worked wonders. Some of them are earning in a year what Ganga Prasad would have earned in his entire life. Today Ganga Prasad is no more to see the progress of his grand children.
Sanjay Agrawal's Blog 