Kashyap Bandhu As I Knew Him

D. N. Parimoo, Ahmedabad

This fraternity had a zeal for certain reforms, and principles like early rising, taking long morning walks, vegetarianism, non-smoking besides directing its cumulative energy towards social reforms which were the need of the day.

All the members named above, excepting Shri Mohan Kishen Tickoo, ex-Minister and Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council, and myself, are no more living.  We both are in 89th year of our life.

One fine day this group of the Fraternity found being addressed by a "Return of Native" bearing the name of Kashyap Bandhu.  Soon after his addressing the members of the Fraternity it was revealed that this awe-inspiring and forceful personality was no less than a person of Geeroo village of Tral in Pulwama district, originally named Tara Chand with his Poet's title 'Bulbul'.  He was looking no more a villager of Geeroo village where he had been a Patwari of Kashmir Revenue Department, but a robust personality, clad in Kurta, Swadeshi jacket, Dhoti all of Khadhar with a thick stick in his right hand, bare-headed unlike a common Kashmiri Pandit of the yore.  His main theme of the social reform movement was change of dress in our womenfolk who wore Pheran a long robe standing on both shoulders down to feet with no trousers or even underwear.  The head dress was white bandage Tarang with a number of turns round the head over Zooj, a sheet of white mulmul covering the head and extending to cover the neck overlapped by Pooch, a long white piece of white mulmul stretched down backwards over the Pheran.  Sheikh Abdullah's Muslim Conference Movement in 1929 which opened the eyes of Kashmiri Pandit Community to the dangers of physical onslaught of Panditanis; their overall dress being vulnerable to induce foul actions by the invaders, caused the immediate need of drastic change in the dress of our womenfolk.  So there was Bandhuji with his ready formula of a change of dress in our womenfolk from Pheran without underwear, which induced lethargy and procrastination, to Kurta and Shilwar or Dhotti with an underwear.  The latter prompted the wearer to be more active and prepared to face any physical onslaught or attempt of molestation.

Kashyap Bandhu pioneered this movement of change in dress and that too not without stiff resistance from conservative Pandits as a whole.  In this struggle of his for a change of dress, he was nicknamed as Kaesh Bandhooq which means a rifle filled with sawdust.

But he did not care a fig for this resistance and helped by the members of the fraternity mentioned in the beginning of this write-up, he carried on his campaign with all sincerity of purpose.

Stiff resistance from hard nut Pandits was met by the group meetings in different localities organised by the members of the fraternity.  Propaganda in favour of change of dress was carried out by speeches from zealots of the fraternity besides by forceful speeches of Pt.  Prem Nath Bazaz and Pt. Jia Lal Kilam an influential advocate who retired as judge of the J & K High Court.  Hon'ble justice Kilam turned to be an influential social reformer of the community who even courted imprisonment when Roti agitation by the Kashmiri Pandits was launched against Maharaja Hari Singh's Government in 1930-31.

This movement for change of dress brought to fore some singing birds out of their nests.  They would coin slogans and songs to support this movement of Kashyap Bandhu, affectionately known as Bandhuji.  One of these singing birds and bards was Shri Dina Nath, a teacher in Govt.  School under his pen name 'Dilgir'.  I remember some lines of his outburst in favour of this change of dress which I reproduce as under

1. Travee Pheran lo lo
2. Zooj, Pooch tye nariwar
3.Yim chhi Shikasik Sardar
4. Mala barhaiy gardaen
5. Travee Pheran lo lo
6. Pooch Pathkun Pakan
7. Walna Yiwan Zangan,
8. Chanda Sadkan doovan
9. Travee Pheran lo lo !
10. Tarang Chhuee akh khara
11. Kalas Peth bodh barah
12. Vank Panuk Soodh Kyah ?
13. Zethem ziuth lotah
14. Asan Janvaran
15. Travi Pheran lo lo

1. Give up Pheran, 0 dear
2. Zooj, Pooch and narizvar
3. These are agents of degradation
4. These have filled your neck with dirt
5. Give up Plieran, 0 dear
6. Pooch drags you backwards
7. It envelops your legs
8. The hanging pocket (attached to your Pheran) is sweeping roads
9.  Give up Pheran, 0 dear
10. Your head wear tarang is as heavy as a ton
11. It is a great weight on your head
12. What is the use of long hair tail hanging through your back ?
13. It is a very long tail appended
14. Which is attached to animals
15. Give up Pheran, O dear !

To keep 'Martand' alive and so also other social and political activities of Kashmiri Pandits, he organised Moachhi Phol enterprise.  Moachhi Phol means a handful.  Rice measuring a handful was supposed to be laid aside everyday by a Kashmiri Pandit family and after a week to be delivered in 'Martand' office at Sheetalnath by a Collector appointed by the 'Martand' office.  This rice from whole of Srinagar Kashmiri Pandits was, sold to sustain the organisation partly.

When Sheikh Abdullah converted his Muslim Conference into National one, influenced by exhortations of Pt.  Prem Nath Bazaz, Kashyap Bandhu was taken as one of the founder members.  Later when Sheikh Abdullah became Prime Minister, he offered Kashyap Bandhu the post of Director of Urban Development.

I had personal contacts with Bandhuji and so had my friend Shri Mohan Kishen Tickoo.  After a gap of three decades I incidentally met Bandhuji in his own village Geeroo where I was on a visit to a Basic school in the capacity of Chief Basic Education Officer, J & K. He heard about me and invited me to his home where I found him resting on a Kashmiri bed as a tired and sick man all alone without Smt.  Bimlaji, his wife.  Last I had the good fortune of meeting him with an embrace in 1982 in the office chamber of Shri Mohan Kishen Tickoo, the then Minister of Law and Forests in Sheikh Abdullah's Cabinet.  Shri Tickoo, who had invited me from Bombay where I lived, to Kashmir, to be for a month with him as my friend and my host.

A pale and physical wreck Bandhuji entered the chamber of our common friend Shri Tickoo.  Yet he looked happy, as according to him, he had consulted Dr. Ali Jan, the most popular doctor of the valley, who had assured him that he would live for some years more.  He expressed this news to both of us with a glimmer of happiness on his face, This was the last time that I happened to embrace Bandhuji in our friends' ministerial chamber.

Very few know when and where he died as is the case with a lot of a number of great personalities, like Bandhuji, who die unknown, unsung, unwept and unheared.

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