Vision of a Free India: Life of My Great-Grandfather and his 'Radiola'

  

A large wooden box of around a kilo and a half, with several big glass cylinders inside, and a six-volt battery to power is more valued than a treasure box. A black plate on its front-face has the name of the company ‘Labele’ imprinted on it in golden font, along with details of frequencies and the names of radio stations in undivided India. This is ‘radio-la’ (Singh). That is what the radio my great grandfather got in his wedding was lovingly called in our village. This radio is the subject of my enquiry. Seeing the names of cities in pre-Partition India – Bombay, Calcutta, Karachi, Peshawar – embossed on its body, I feel a sense of nostalgia, even a spurt of nationalistic fervour. I turn to my grandmother, Ms Krishna Kumari Singh, and Mrs Nirmala Singh, my grand aunt, both witnesses to the successful political career of Thakur Parwan Singh, her father-in-law and the owner of radiola, to get an insight into his life. 

As a young man in his mid-twenties, Thakur Parwan Singh, hailing from the village of Mahagwan, at sixty kilometres from Lucknow, was interested in politics, society and the burgeoning wave of the freedom struggle. Moving out from the life of privileges that ‘zamindari’ that were conferred upon him at birth, he moved onto the path of the freedom struggle, fighting the Raj for Swaraj, joining the Indian National Congress in the area and gradually moving up the ladder. I feel that his choices were deliberate, not merely a matter of chance but more of the social responsibility he owed the twenty-six villages under his leadership. The politics in that time was idealistic; leadership in those decades were not a matter of the silver spoon. Rather, one had to scoop out one’s own share by serving the people, through an unwavering commitment to swaraj and humanity. That was the only way to stay afloat in the political field and in the hearts of people. 

He got married in 1939 and was lucky to be gifted with a radio, barely a few years after broadcasting began from Lucknow. Little did he know that day that what he was receiving as a gift would become the means of throwing him into bigger politics. His firmness as a party man of the congress was highlighted when he was involved in the ‘Lumamau Golikand’ in 1962 (Singh). It was a gunfight between two groups, one of the Congress party and the other of Janata Party in a meeting of ongoing elections (Indiankanoon). Radio has been crucial in the story of India’s freedom movement, as it was the most powerful means of mass communication, just after the print media. 

My grandmother, a seventy-four-year-old lady, with a shrivelled skinny body and a bent posture, is the best link to Thakur Singh’s generation. She was visibly filled with pride when she told me the story of that ‘speaking box’. She herself had joined the family in 1963 but remembers the old stories that had been narrated to her by her in-laws, the workers, and even my grandfather. Mr Singh was a man of courage, which he displayed by turning up in huge numbers at the rallies in Hardoi and Lucknow when even suitable means of transport were not available. At home too, there was always a congregation of people at the platform in front of the house, just like in a fair. “Pura jamghat lagta thha, hamesha ek mela chalta thha chabutare par”, says my grandma while detailing the hours spent by her mother-in-law in the kitchen (‘chauka’), preparing lemonade and tea for all those who had come (Singh). People would get into bullock carts and even reach the meeting places on foot, as bicycles were also rare. I can imagine Thakur Parwan Singh, flanked by his men, his hand on his moustaches, looking like a hero. 

The dissemination of nationalist sentiments was not the only thing associated with this radio. In fact, some of the social aspects can also be understood as we excavate deeper. It was mostly used by the men of the family, whether for entertainment or listening to the speeches, while the women had rarely a chance to get a feel of it. It was mostly when men were out and busy in some other tasks that they got their hands on it. There were programs on cuisine and ‘pooja’ celebrations, which were enjoyed by the female folk of the house accompanied by women from the neighbourhoods. Memories associated with programs of ‘BBC’ broadcasting and the other called ‘Ceylon’, the former for ‘accurate news’ and the latter for playing melodious Hindi songs (Singh). In the 1940s, 50s and 60s the attention of Indian viewers was on Hindi film music and popularised singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi (ABCI). The launch of ‘Vividh Bharti’ in 1957 put women at the center stage of its usage (Prasar Bharti). As the number of programs increased, gradually embracing morning ‘artis’ and ‘Ramayana’, women grew more interested in it. 

The journey of this gift did not stop with the gift of freedom. I firmly believe that this radio made a great contribution to my great-grandfather’s political career, helping him get the kind of attention that others couldn’t, turning his house into a sort of meeting point for everyone in the village – as well as from the neighbouring villages.  Even after independence, he was successful in maintaining his political clout throughout his lifetime and served as the ‘Block Pramukh’ for two periods. His immense willingness to serve people had made him a social man who cared for the public even when he was seen with all his grandchildren around him. My father is a witness to his social life and accepts to have taken many skills from him in dealing with people. Though he let go off his active political role due to change in course of politics, he conducted meetings with leaders and local strongmen to fulfil some of his wishes of local development. He lost the battle against salivary gland cancer on October 2nd, 1970 after fighting it for eight months. Though lost from the world, yet alive in the hearts of people who recognize him for the works of development that he did for the society.

Radiola went on functioning till 1975 when a big fire broke out in the area and it got tragically burnt. Luckily, it was not destroyed. But the wires and some important electrical parts, such as the diodes, were burnt and left useless. However, since it was always considered a member of the family, it has retained its place in the old house where the family still lives. The wooden frame is polished now and again, to make it shine bright, and it helps us remember the historic moments of our family’s participation in the freedom movement. It stands for the important contribution of my great-grandfather as a leader, the support of the woman who had brought the gift into his life, and the contributions of those hundreds and thousands around, simple people who withstood tremendous pressures to stand for the cause of national freedom. When I see that radio, I realise how it linked their daily lives to something very momentous – freedom. 

I hope you must have traced your link to this national cause too.                   

                    Feel the pride & Enjoy the Day.

       

  HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY