Many years ago I was visiting a museum in London where many kinds of old utensils were arranged in a systematic manner. These are the utensils, which we throw them away in a grand way. People were coming in large numbers to see them. As I was smiling on the appraisal of the Britishers towards utensils, I caught sight of a “lota”(spouted jug).
It seemed as if I had seen it earlier. I was thinking where did I encounter this “lota” earlier. When I applied pressure on my mind, I remembered that a “lota” similar to it was my companion during the days when I was in a hostel. This was the time when I was appearing for Matriculation examination. I told my British friend “This is my “lota”. Thirty years ago, it was in my possession. As soon as I saw it, I started recollecting the dates of Panipat wars because I used to fill water in this “lota” and I used to sprinkle it on my face from time to time. I used to learn by heart the dates of Panipat wars. When I saw it, I started recollecting the dates of the war of Palasy.
My British friend told me “You have got misunderstanding. This “lota” belongs to the period when, leave alone the wars of panipat, the causes of these wars were also not generated. This “lota” which you think belongs to you, is two thousand five hundred years old and it does not belongs to India it belongs to Egypt. It must have been in the palace of a Pharaoh. This well experienced “lota” has seen many civilizations and now it is taking rest in the museum”. I told, “I don’t know why I am recollecting my textbooks on seeing it. It seems to me that this “lota” was included in my syllabus thirty years ago and this “lota”is persuading me to write an article on “lotas”. I presume that the earliest utensil which the man made must have been a “lota” because we can’t think of a man without “lota” and “lota” without a man. When man thought of preserving something for a while, he must have invited a “lota”. Although science progressed wonderfully in the twentieth century but because of this progress,”lota” is losing its individuality and importance. There was a time when a person used to be identified with a “lota”. Nowadays, in place of “lota” new utensils are being manufactured. I have seen many kinds of brass, copper, clay, zinc, plain and carved utensils, with spout and without spout etc. Man used to select a “lota” according to his status and the “lota” used to select a man according to its value. By seeing the “lota” of a man one could judge his status as to which sect of the society does he belong to. The “lota” of a capitalist used to be of a different variety. The individuality of a poor man’s “lota” used to be of a different kind. The characteristics of the “lota” of a staunch ascetic used to be separate from others. The splendour of the “lota” of a sinner used to be very strange. I had become an expert in identifying a “lota” to such an extent that by seeing a “lota” I could guess the behavior of a person and by seeing a person ,the characteristics of a “lota” and its movements.
People, therefore, used to protect that ego like a “lota” because in those days they used to have an “ego” in addition to a “lota”. For the sake of protection of an “ego” a person used to get his name engraved on the “lota’. Not only this, he used to get the date of purchase of “lota” engraved on it. Some people never used to be contented with these details but they used to enter many other details as well, such as their parentage, temporary address, date of birth, date of manufacture of the “lota”, qualification (not of his but its mater’s) avocation etc. on seeing such “lota” one would feel that they are not “lotas” but they are the job application of an unemployed person. In such a case, there was no need to submit a separate applicant for job. Present a “lota” and get the job. I remember there used to be an elderly and a venerable Urdu poet in our locality. He spent his entire life in the service of Urdu but he had a complaint that in spite of such a service he was never invited in poets’ gatherings (mushairas). When he was disappointed by poets’ gatherings and the favorities of literature. In principle, he should have been disappointed from his poetry also he was not disappointed with his poetry because he had a “lota” with him on which he had got his four favourite ghazals( poems) engraved on it (the condition of four ghazals was that he had composed only four ghazals ). In a sense his ‘lota” was the collection of his poems. The slight difference in “lota” and the collection of poems is that it didn’t have a preface of a famous critic but in the ghazals engraved on it there was something unique because all the concluding couplets were engraved on the bottom of the “lota”. It was not possible to reach the concluding couplets unless the entire water is empted. His couplets seemed to be free from meaning when “lota” was full of water. With empty “lota” the weight of his concluding couplets used to get reduced. He used to carry his “lota” everywhere, from toilets to the gallery of poets’ gathering. During the daytime it used to become a tumbler of water and during night it used to function as a peg of wine. I haven’t seen such a multipurpose “lota”. I remember, when vexed with his service for poetry, the organizers of a mushaira invited him. He went there with the “lota” in his hand. He recited all his four poems with the help of his commonplace book (bayaaz i.e., “lota”) in an excited mood. Later, when audience started throwing rotten eggs after getting influenced by his poetry as a gesture of hooting. He protected himself with the help of the same “lota”. It is the same as homoepathy.
The association of poetry with a peg is very comprehensive and unbreakable. He did an excellent thing by establishing a link between poetry and “lota”. Where is poetry and where is “lota”. Those who know ‘lota” don’t know poetry and those who know poetry don’t know “lota”. I remember, in a gathering Hazrath Jigar Muradabadi was introduced to a millionaire businessman saying that meet him, he is Hazarth Jigar Muradabadi”. He excitingly said “I am very happy to meet you. Well! You are a native of Muradabad the “lotas” made in Muradabad are very famous.”
In those days, “lota” used to be not merely a “lota” but it used to be much more than this. Some “lotas” were so embellished with floral designs that the man used to forget the purpose for which he had carried “lota” with him. When “lota” used to become old, it used to generate a hole in it. The man, then, used to realize the importance of time. In the presence of such a “lota” a man never used to waste the precious moments of his life. All the time he used to have a feeling that this life is only of four days and the water contained in it will also last for four or five minutes. Whatever work is to be done, do it quickly. Don’t postpone today’s work for tomorrow. Finish it off in two to three minutes. Whatever habit of doing things on time efficiently I have, it is the gift of using such “lotas” with holes.
Some “ lotas” looked very big and heavy but very little quantity of water used to be filled in them. Those “lotas” were counted as the utensils which were devoid of magnanimity. Sometimes “lotas” used to function as a musical instrument. A “lota” of tin is made for the purpose of playing music on it. In my hostel days, I had gained mastery in playing music on “lota” to such an extent that most of the tabla experts used to admire me greatly. These days, there are no such “lotas” and not even the lovers of “lotas”. The old varieties of “lotas are not to be seen these of “lota” which is famous and which is a bottomless “lota”. This “lota” is something different from others. The beauty of these bottomless “lotas” is this that it turns to its right and also to its left. It is difficult to guess which side this bottomless “lota” is going to rest. There was a time when a bottomless “lota” was seen with contempt. It was not seated on elevated chairs. Be it politics or literature, whether it is society or civilization, the bottomless “lotas” create their own places everywhere. Many intellectuals are also of a kind of “lotas” which are bottomless and they derive benefit from the Govt. according to their might. This is the reason that people put in hard work to become bottomless “lotas”.
Mera Column The Siasat Daily (24-07-2011)
By Mujtaba Hussain