Even in their intense poverty, they do not allow a holy man to go away from their place without having something. A poor tribal man o ffers merely grains of salt from his household as food to an eccentric character in the novel called Gandu fakir and others but he feels honoured when all accept his of fering. He believes that a holy
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pilgrim should not be sent empty stomach from his h ouse. People like Bittubanga prepare resting place for eternal mythical travelle rs like Ashwatthama or Vyas Muni and women put an earthen bowl with oil every night outside their home thinking that if any traveller passes by the oil can help them to massage their tired feet. An aged …show more content…
In another incident of a performance by school students, nobod y watched it for free. Everybody offered something or the other like corn or jowar e tc. to the young performers. Going through all these experiences, the narrator feels t hat he does not have any right to change these simple minds whom he had considered as uncultured tribal and for which he was pro-active. But with the passage of ti me, he starts believing that the straightforwardness, simple understanding of what i s right and what is wrong in these people is probably one of the reasons which keep th e ancient culture alive. And he admits that even if he spends his remaining life tr avelling in this country just to know the finer details of the vertical and horizontal th reads of this culture, it will not be possible to understand the people completely. That is why probably the narrator starts taking part in their activities more rigorously tha n finding faults in them.
In A River Sutra the forest life around the river Narmada is portray ed …show more content…
This riv er is such a record of human presence in the same place as it finds its referenc e in ancient scriptures as well as contemporary literary works – proof of the immortal ity of the river. The tribal folk living on its banks also believe that the river cur es all ills, and by word of mouth this is passed on to others. That is why an Executive, N itin Bose who was considered to be possessed was brought to the river banks to complet e the rituals of a goddess at a shrine overlooking the river to free him from the c lutches of the evil spirit. According to the river’s astrology, it is believed that it di spels the malevolent effects of Saturn and so all who suffer from epilepsy, depression, an d other psychological problems are
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rushed to her banks. But the river is equally a mag net for scholars. The Narmada is full of myths and cultural beliefs. Forest dwellers believe the presence of an Immortal on the river banks. The Bandits thus reside there a nd try to seek the same immortality.
Even if somebody commits suicide like a girl did by drowning herself, it is believed that their souls would be purified of all sins by t he holy river. The music-