Sir,
This has reference to the write up’ Ghrats- A Vanishing Heritage'(Sunday Magazine DE,June 26, 2016.)
The writer has beautifully brought back the memories of the yesteryears when the gharat used to be an important place where people from far and wide would converge to get their grains ground into flour and the gharati would be paid some flour for his labour .He has also highlighted the plight of Gharatis in the modern age of mechanisation and fast life.There used to be a time not long ago (about 30- 40 years back) when people would throng the Gharats for having the grains of wheat, maize,etc.ground.In Udhampur, people would carry grains on their heads and backs or on their mules and visit gharats located on the banks of river Tawi,Duddar Nallah,Jhajjar and other small streams to have the grains ground to make flour or ‘daala’ for the cattle.One would generally had to visit the gharat twice, once for handing over the grains to the gharati and secondly for collecting the flour after three -four days.
In those days, there used to be plenty of monsoon rains and sometimes, the people had to spend the night at the gharat itself as the streams/ rivers would be in spate.In that case, the gharati would offer the stranded people some flour and vegetable/pulses to cook the food which all would savour as he generally lived away from his home.The floor, especially of maize, obtained from the gharat would generally be preferred for having more ‘cohesion’than that obtained from the flour mill run on electric power as the rotis made from that floor would be thinner and tastier.
Then came the time when rural areas were also electrified and small flour and rice mills run by electricity were installed almost in every village.With fast life and paucity of time coupled with lack of patience and unseasonal rains,people began to prefer electric flour mills for grinding their grains, rather than gharats which have now almost passed into oblivion, except in mountainous and farflung areas. Similar has been the fate of the Kohlu owners who used to harness oxen ,buffalos etc. to crush mustard seeds to produce fresh and pure mustard oil.There is need to revive gharats, especially on the bank of canals in order to provide employment to the people as also to save electric power.The gharatis ought to be provided training to improve their skills and modernise their gharats to provide high quality and hygenic atta as ‘Chakki Atta’ is already gaining popularity with the people and is preferred for its high content of bran and nutrients.The writer has rendered a great service by highlighting the plight of the gharatis and he deserves appreciation for his noble effort.
Yours etc….
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur
Follow our WhatsApp channel