Guchhiyan

Guchhiyan

Gharu had a peaceful life. He lived in remote village in Himalayas where his father was a teacher of Mathematics in local school. They didn’t have everything yet they had everything. There were apricot trees blooming, birds chirping and fresh air to breathe.

They were poor, but poor in resources but rich in their knowledge of the world.

His father was a Dogri poet. He would write poems about his simple life, charming valleys and Dogra warmth in sweet language of Dogri.

He would read aloud poems of Dinu Bhai Pant and Padma Scahdev and also tell them stories of ghosts in the mountains. He would scare them, kindle their curiosity and then put them to bed.

 One day his father complained of constipation. They trekked to local Vaid ji who gave him some medicine but it did not work. They went to nearby town to meet the doctor after walking several miles.

Doctor gave them some medicine but his condition went from bad to worse. One day he passed away, making Gharu the breadwinner of the family.

 

He decided to go to Jammu to earn livelihood. He had already known about Jammu from the poem “Pehlo Pahal Jammu aaye”. He started getting used to hustle and bustle of the city which he found to be too hot for his comfort.

One day a patron at the Dhaba he worked suggested him to move to Srinagar instead. There were lots of tourists and he during tourist season he could make a quick buck by being a ponywallah. He wanted to anyways escape heat and grime so he made a beeline to Srinagar.

 

He had known some English which was taught by his father and he kept learning more by speaking to the tourists. Soon he became a tourist guide.

 He would look at the opulent houseboats and his own penury and would remember the poem “Ae Raje Diyan Mandiya”.

 Months melted into years and the boy became a hardy young man.

 He came back from his village carrying few Kgs of his favourite wild vegetable called “Guchhiya”.  That day he was showing around Prof Smith who was a renowned botanist.

 He opened his potli in which he had wrapped his lunch, his favourite Guchhiya.

He offered some to Prof Smith who really liked them. He asked them what it was and Gharu told him about local vegetable. Prof Smith’s eyes lit up. He was researching about them for years. He knew it is a highly protein rich herb. He offered Gharu 100 Rs/Kg for this, a princely sum at that time.

 Gharu asked him few days time. He went back to his village and came back with 20 Kgs of Guchhiyan. He got profit equal to what he would earn in 2 years.

 Prof Smith was very happy and gave Gharu his address of London and asked him to keep selling to him. He agreed to pay 150 Rs / Kg if he ships atleast 10 kgs.

Gharu went back to his village and collected enough Guchhiyan which grew in wild. He then came back to Jammu and found a businessman who knew another intermediary who could ship it from Bombay.

 As seasons passed on he became quite rich. He purchased a Jeep which enabled him to go to remote parts and collect Guchhiyan. He would purchase it a dirt cheap price and send it to Prof Smith and at huge profit.

He went to one such village to purchase Guchhiyan. Soon the word spread about a rich businessman who has come on Jeep.

Jagga and Kaala who were local goons also heard about Gharu.

As Gharu was going back they intercepted his Jeep and asked him for money. Gharu had already spent money buying Guchhiya and had very little cash left for the journey. He handed over whatever he had in his pocket but Jagga was very angry about getting such little money.

He took out his knife and asked for more money. Gharu pleaded that he has handed over all he had. Jagga then killed Gharu and his associate and took possession of the Jeep.

 

He noticed a few sacks of Guchhiyan lying in the back side of the Jeep. He took half Kg and cooked it for lunch and fed the rest to his horse.