A PINCH OF PRIDE

 Isn’t it interesting how a phrase, few random words revoke childhood memories of a lifestyle followed without questioning our parents for the reason behind it. I experienced it this year when relaxing after dinner on 2^nd October and watching a news item on Shastriji. 

2^nd October is a special day in India, celebrated in the memory of our Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Also, lesser reminisced but equally important was our slight built 2^nd Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri. A very capable statesman, he led India though a troubled phase of the 1960’s.

He encouraged the White Revolution, the Green Revolution and the much-touted slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan” for he realised the importance of both. During his tenure, India fought the 1965 war which naturally led to war related issues such as shortages of food. To help overcome this, he suggested that every Indian give up one meal a week. Most Indians responded, few for the war phase but others for long after it was over. 

Born well after the 1965 war, I grew up accustomed to having a small cup of milk with a slice of bread with my parents having a cup of tea every Sunday evening.

Even if there was an action-packed day planned like a movie, picnic or day at the club, we always came home to this simple meal. As a child, I never questioned it as this was observed even by my extended family. Just assumed that every family in India did the same, ie not having a cooked dinner on Sunday nights. Hence, grew up unaware of the logic for doing this. 

Till I grew into a young teenager and went for my first evening out. It was actually a Sunday lunch which got extended into a dinner at a close friend’s house. Imagine my shock at the lavish dinner laid out: I innocently asked her, You people eat “proper” dinner on Sunday? She in turn looked stunned at my query! “Don’t tell me, you guys don’t!?” She turned to her mum and related the same info to her.

I still recall the scene like it was yesterday. Her mum looked at me and I could see a change come in her eyes. It was a bit of surprise tinged with awe and wonder. She asked me if nothing was cooked on Sunday evenings and I said no.

It was then she related the 1965 story, the one-meal sacrifice which was popularly called the “Shastri Vrat”. She said that most people followed it for a few years and gradually gave it up. She didn’t know that people were still doing the same nearly 20 years later!!

My puny sized chest swelled with pride; I knew my parents were patriotic, but to see this respect for them in the eyes of a stranger was a beautiful feeling. I wanted to run back home and hug my parents; to tell them I was so proud of their nationalist sentiments and so glad they had inculcated the same in us without making a big deal out of it. Over the years, we moved onto soup with bread, but it was never a full-fledged dinner on Sunday nights for years to come.

We and our subsequent generation are really a privileged lot, having grown up with more haves then have-nots. The only reaction to 2^nd October I have heard over the years is, “Must stock up on booze, it won’t be available” (I believe it’s the only dry day in the Bangalore calendar).

Maybe its high time we take a few steps back. While we need to keep both our eyes on the future we need to keep our senses tuned to the past. Tonight, I will educate my progeny about the “Shastri Vrat” lest they forget to be grateful for the small sacrifices made for their future.

Tid Bits about L B Shastry

5^th Oct 2020