हान का त्यौहार

Summary

The text describes a family celebrating a festival, likely Diwali, in a rural village. The narrator, a man who has been living in the city of Kolhapur, returns to his village home. His wife, Shanta, is unfamiliar with the local customs and is embarrassed while giving him an oil massage and helping him bathe in an open washroom, as people pass by. The narrator finds her discomfort amusing. His father, however, is frail and detached, bathing only as a ritual, his body reduced to bones. The narrator’s elder brother is a respected figure in the village, having brought development like streetlights and tap water. After the rituals, the narrator decides to visit the old farm. On his way, he observes the village’s pervasive dirt and poverty. He sees children playing with firecrackers while poor, naked children watch from a distance. He passes by filthy streets with cow dung and flies. He visits the home of a laborer named Shankar, a poor hut with a thatched roof. Shankar’s wife is bathing outside in a torn cloth, using a tin can for water, with no soap or oil. Inside the dark hut, Shankar’s children sleep on rags, their stomachs sunken. Shankar explains he cannot take a holiday from work, as he needs the wages to eat, and that water is scarce, only available when the landlord allows it. The narrator tells Shankar to take his time bathing and that he will go to the farm ahead.