Tag: memory

<मेरे हिस्से की विरासत> This yellowing envelope, together with the postage stamps on it, was found in one of the books left behind by my father. Dad was a passionate letter writer; writing and posting dozens of letters each day. I can imagine him having forgotten the envelope in the book mid way to writing a letter within the folds of the same book. Having finished the letter an hour or so later, he would have used another envelope to post the letter, leaving that moment and memory behind. But how he came to acquire this particular envelope of a ‘bone’ mill in Hapur is a bit of a surprise with no clues. I dig, that the year 1966, for Hapur (then part of Meerut district), was marked by significant legal and political developments. It was a period of political transition, with general elections for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha happening concurrently. Discussions related to a “Family Planning Camp at Hapur” are recorded in the official debates of the Rajya Sabha in May 1966. Same time, a long strike by sugarcane producing farmers and other mill workers of this belt resulted in Sugar Cane (Control) Order, 1966, to be enacted in parliament — a pivotal regulation that is still referenced in modern-day disputes regarding timely payment of dues to sugarcane farmers. Being a trade union leader, dad may have visited Hapur in support of striking workers. There is no sign of this particular mill now but even today there are still a few bone mills in Hapur which supply bone meal for poultry feed. Dad, is my inference right!!