Tharu Tribe of West Champaran Bihar in Delhi Metro
(All the images are subject to IPR)
On 9/11 that is 11th September 2018 when I was commuting in Metro for going to office, on one of the stations before AIIMS I saw some people entering into Metro . They looked like Tharu Tribe of West Champaran but I was not sure. I was very excited . I overheard their talk but I was not sure they are the same tribal people I was thinking of. In the ambiance of Metro it was difficult to find out the language in which they were conversing.
But after a couple of stops two of them sat near to me when seats became available. Again I was trying to encode their language and now I was convinced that they are talking in language similar to Bhojpuri. Now I was convinced that they are the Tharus of West Champaran district of Bihar. I broke the ice but initially they were hesitant to open up. And this was very natural also. I told them that I had done my PhD on the Tharus of West Champaran and I have been in interaction with them for more than three decades, that I had lived in the Tharu village Bakhari Bazaar on Ramnagar -Gobardhana road for months together as a part of my research, that I use to visit the village even today almost every year I go to Bettiah. I showed some of the videos in mobile also for establishing my association with the Tharus of West Champaran. They are now comfortable and told me that they are Tharus of West Champaran and living in Beghampur village in Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. Meanwhile I reached Central Secretariat and got down from Yellow Line Metro.
This was not a simple incident for me. It was an exciting moment for me as if meeting my lost brethren on a different planet. I am very attached to the Tharu Tribe and specially of West Champaran. Meeting them in jeans and T-shirts in Delhi Metro with smart phone in hand was pleasantly surprising for me. It augurs well for them. It shows that they have now started coming out of the interiors of Tharuhat of West Champaran on the Indo-Nepal border, they have been migrating to other big cities either for job or studies, becoming exposed to outside world, becoming modern & advanced in their look & attire, interacting with different kinds of people drawn from different corners of the country, and while going back to their village contributing to their family, village , society not only with money & material but also with ideas, knowledge & culture.
But after a couple of stops two of them sat near to me when seats became available. Again I was trying to encode their language and now I was convinced that they are talking in language similar to Bhojpuri. Now I was convinced that they are the Tharus of West Champaran district of Bihar. I broke the ice but initially they were hesitant to open up. And this was very natural also. I told them that I had done my PhD on the Tharus of West Champaran and I have been in interaction with them for more than three decades, that I had lived in the Tharu village Bakhari Bazaar on Ramnagar -Gobardhana road for months together as a part of my research, that I use to visit the village even today almost every year I go to Bettiah. I showed some of the videos in mobile also for establishing my association with the Tharus of West Champaran. They are now comfortable and told me that they are Tharus of West Champaran and living in Beghampur village in Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. Meanwhile I reached Central Secretariat and got down from Yellow Line Metro.
Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha with Tharus of West Champaran in Delhi Metro
Selfie Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha
This was not a simple incident for me. It was an exciting moment for me as if meeting my lost brethren on a different planet. I am very attached to the Tharu Tribe and specially of West Champaran. Meeting them in jeans and T-shirts in Delhi Metro with smart phone in hand was pleasantly surprising for me. It augurs well for them. It shows that they have now started coming out of the interiors of Tharuhat of West Champaran on the Indo-Nepal border, they have been migrating to other big cities either for job or studies, becoming exposed to outside world, becoming modern & advanced in their look & attire, interacting with different kinds of people drawn from different corners of the country, and while going back to their village contributing to their family, village , society not only with money & material but also with ideas, knowledge & culture.
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| Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha with Tharus of West Champaran in Delhi Metro Selfie Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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