Who is Illiterate Father Or Son?

                                              By Arjun Bhojane

             
           

                      My native place 'Ekdara' a tiny village located in Nanded district of Maharashtra state. All the villagers do farming only. As they don't have other source to run their livelihoods. They have to fertile land but lack behind in proper water harvesting management.  A very tall, bald headed, having long moustache, dark complex, white turban, gruff voiced and quite respectable man in the village, Govindrao, my father, son of motherland.
               He is in his 70's now but still wakes up at 4:00 am and go to field to water the crops and fetch the milk from cattle. My father though he was illiterate but very well knowledgeable person. I was really amazed when he talked about Indian politics, government policies, finiancial planning, agricultural planning, calculation of maths on his fingers, weather prediction, Indian festivals, rituals and many more things. I am post graduate but don't have  even 20% of his knowledge.
             I remembered an incident, when I was in hostel in district place. On the weekend I went to my native place, it was harvesting time my father asked me to calculate, how much expenditure and benefit we got from the crops  for that year, I was searching calculator to do it but before that he told me answer. Really I felt very small how he could do it so easily, even he had not attended school.
            Politics was his favorite topic to talk on.  As if he could be the member of Parliament and  presenting his view with minute details. Few years back when it was time of Polling of Maharashtra Assembly. Many political leaders and their followers visited to our village. In front of 'Hanumana' temple  our village has big open ground where all the villagers used to assemble for general gathering or festival time of village. As it would be announced through loudspeaker of temple, it was quite every political leader was convincing to villagers, how their party could be suitable to be elected.
                 Most of the villagers were very happy this time because they would get money and liquor for voting, night time party in the farm of Sarpanch of the village. Even my father was also called for party but he denied as usual . He always told to the villagers, 'If you want our village should get basic facilities, water and light for farming and proper education for children in village, then villagers ought to stop such malpractices in the village'.
           When I was in the 7th class at village school. History teacher taught us lesson on 'Indian Festivals' where he narrated about Holi, Diwali, Pola, Vijayadashmi etc. I asked my father about Pola festival so he gave me detail information about it.  As he said, it is a special festival in Maharashtra where all the farmers worship bulls on this day. On this special day farmers give bath to the bulls, decorate them with ornaments and their horns are painted with different colors. Bulls given royal treatment, they are worshiped in front of Hanumana temple of village and farmers showed their gratitude  towards bulls(Baliraja).
                 This is how my illiterate father always literates me with his knowledge and wisdom. He learnt all lessons from life experiences. His depth of knowledge, sense of timing, state forwardness and many more things, that I have to learn from him. I have read many books, completed B.A., M.A. Degrees but still lack of that perseverance and potential like my father. Then I questioned myself, who is illiterate father or son?
 
                       
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