A picture that has changed...
Last month Jat quota stir was all over the news for all the wrong reasons. The cities of Haryana such as Rohtak, Jind, Bahadurgarh were all held hostage for the violent protests by the Jat community. My family had spent a few years in Rohtak and I had always admired the simplicity of the city. It was a peaceful small town where people used to grow vegetables in their kitchen garden; they would own a cow or a buffalo for their dairy needs. People were really fond of dairy products; you go to somebody’s house they would serve you milk full of cream or some milk based sweet like kheer. I felt it reflected the purity and simplicity of their feelings.
Rohtak as a city was covered with greenery; everywhere there were parks or green belts, which is a rare site today. Mornings and evenings these parks would be full of people, doing yoga, jogging or simply sitting and enjoying nature. These people knew the importance of healthy living.
My stay in Rohtak is full of several such memories which would amaze any person who is living in so called “developing cities” of the country. I remember my mom had to add water to the milk that we used to get from the dairy for we were not used to drinking such rich quality milk.
On one of my visits to a fruit juice shop in Rohtak- there they had 3 different rates based on the quantity served-Rs. 20/-, Rs. 40/- and Rs. 80/- and in Rohtak things were not as expensive as in most of the tier 1 and tier 2 cities. So out of curiosity I asked the shopkeeper to show me the glasses for each category to get an idea of the quantity. Trust me and I am not exaggerating that the Rs. 80/- glass was more like a jug only in shape of a glass. It could serve an entire family and individuals were actually ordering it. Money was not the luxury, healthy and pure lifestyle defined the luxury for them. And that was what mattered the most.
If not for the television then you are left with very few choices of entertainment such as, gardening or pursuing any of your hobbies, socializing- the city screamed of keeping in touch with yourself and with others.
The whole environment was so relaxing nothing like what we had seen in recent times. I wonder how a city that had best of the basic amenities and was content with it, turned into a battleground of a discontented community. The images of Rohtak that were shown on television were a stark contrast of what memories I have of Rohtak.
Rohtak as a city was covered with greenery; everywhere there were parks or green belts, which is a rare site today. Mornings and evenings these parks would be full of people, doing yoga, jogging or simply sitting and enjoying nature. These people knew the importance of healthy living.
My stay in Rohtak is full of several such memories which would amaze any person who is living in so called “developing cities” of the country. I remember my mom had to add water to the milk that we used to get from the dairy for we were not used to drinking such rich quality milk.
On one of my visits to a fruit juice shop in Rohtak- there they had 3 different rates based on the quantity served-Rs. 20/-, Rs. 40/- and Rs. 80/- and in Rohtak things were not as expensive as in most of the tier 1 and tier 2 cities. So out of curiosity I asked the shopkeeper to show me the glasses for each category to get an idea of the quantity. Trust me and I am not exaggerating that the Rs. 80/- glass was more like a jug only in shape of a glass. It could serve an entire family and individuals were actually ordering it. Money was not the luxury, healthy and pure lifestyle defined the luxury for them. And that was what mattered the most.
If not for the television then you are left with very few choices of entertainment such as, gardening or pursuing any of your hobbies, socializing- the city screamed of keeping in touch with yourself and with others.
The whole environment was so relaxing nothing like what we had seen in recent times. I wonder how a city that had best of the basic amenities and was content with it, turned into a battleground of a discontented community. The images of Rohtak that were shown on television were a stark contrast of what memories I have of Rohtak.
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