As some of you will know, Savi and her brothers have a house in Umrakh, which belonged originally to her grandfather and his 3 brothers. Chittudada, the eldest of these brothers died young, leaving a widow, Laxmima, whom Savi's grandfather, then her father looked after until she died. In gratitude for this, Laxmima left her share of the house and land to Savi's father, which one of the grand daughters (Vasanti) of one of these brothers ( Bhikhudada) has contested for years. That side of the family emigrated to South Africa ( which is where an early contact was made with Gandhiji when he went there to practice law before returning to lead the "satraghan", non-violence freedom movement in India). The greatuncles died out there, and many of the next generation are in America, Canada etc but Vasanti is here, and determined to continue with the feud, because she says she enjoys conflict! The Indian judiciary system (bequeathed by the British over a 100 years ago) is such that if there is a dispute, everything is blocked, meaning you can't sell or do anything to the property until it is resolved. If one of the parties wants to, they stall the resolution of the case by not turning up, not giving the relevant papers etc. This has gone on for years, and looks like going on. In the meantime, the lovely big house in Umrakh is decaying through lack of use.
The back garden after it was cleared of weeds, and the rubbish burnt.
Savi garnered 5 women, who were willing to clean up the house, hack down the weeds and burn the rubbish which inevitably collects, as she could not bear to see her family home in such a state. -We spent over 5 hours, supervising cleaning the part that Savi's mother lived in, and it came up so beautifully, it made us realise what a tragedy it would be to let it decay
The outhouses.
Most of the original furniture still there: steel wardrobes, big, solid wood beds and "itchko" ( wooden swing). The tiles in particular, once they had been washed two to three times, are absolutely beautiful, with not a crack, with the glaze intact.
There are photographs of prominent politicians on the walls, and of course, on the right, Mahatma Gandhi, who stayed in the house, at the time of the Dandi Salt March.
A signed photograph of Vallabhai Patel, hangs next to my great uncle, as comrades in the freedom movement, which culminated in India gaining independence from British rule on 15 August 1947.
All in all, a very dusty, busy day, but satisfying, seeing the old house restored to some of its former glory. Jays here in white, with Parulbhabhi on the itchko, with Pushpskaki in the background, giving much needed moral support. We went through the family tree with Pushpakaki last night, and although the blood ties are tenuous, we have always felt like kin to the three families opposite us, closer than some of the close relatives. In fact, Savi did not realise for years that they were not her real uncles!
No time to change shower and change, we were called over to Durbar's house for the obligatory dinner. His two married daughters Kinny, on Savi's left had come especially with her husband in the pink checked shirt, as had Darshana on her right, to see us. Arjun Darbar and his wife ( whose skin is fairer than Geoff's) are originally from Rajkot in Rajasthan, and are Rajputs, a proud warrior race.
We were dropped off at Baben, where Savi's phoie lives with her cousin Damyanti, having said our fond farewells to folk in Umrakh, promising to return soon. People here bemoan that hospitality is not what it used to be, but we still find it absolutely incredible: people make time for you: are interested in each other's lives, which obviously could be cloying, but we have been made so welcome everywhere, that it's wonderful. Geoff has been made particularly welcome, not in a sycophantic "white man" novelty way, just with everyone making an effort to communicate, and letting him know that he is important as my husband. Savi used to worry about us being a mixed couple in India, but it has not been an issue at all. In fact we get more hostility and stares from the Pakistani taxi drivers in Yorkshire than here! Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Umrakh
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