Jain Spirit 2002 03 No 10

SR No.: 528990
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2002
Total Pages: 62
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 15 MB

Page 40

Unconditional Love
The Kharas were vegetarians because they were Jains, not Hindus like the rest of the families in Gokhlana (who may or may not have been vegetarian).
The Jain ethos of self-denial is nowhere in India more palpable than in Gujarat, a "dry" state where vegetarian cuisine is the norm. Jain doctrine has
"All of the family's food was produced locally."
count - even more than money. Motiba was born into a community that is extremely conscious of its difference from mainstream Hinduism. She was nourished as much on stories of the lives of the thirtankaras as on a strictly vegetarian cuisine. The rituals she learned, the prayers she uttered, the temples she visited were almost all distinctly Jain. After her father became a rich man, he spent substantial sums of money supporting Jain philanthropies, such as boarding houses for young religious students. Muljibhai Khara was also close to the Jain sage Rajachandra, the young Gandhi's guru. A picture of the extremely thin (from all that fasting) Rajachandra seated cross-legged in deep meditation always hung in the Khara house. In early childhood, Motiba absorbed a veneration for the teaching of Rajachandra that would last her entire life. 2
fermented rice or dal, or a combination of both. These preparations required planning a day or two ahead, so that the grains could attain the proper consistency through fermentation, producing a frothy, light batter that was then poured into molds and steamed to form square cakes of dhokla or doughnut-holed wada. Many dishes and snack foods were made from chana or chickpea flour. This also had to be ground, then made into doughs or batters, then baked on the open hearth or fried in oil. Fruits and vegetables were harvested from the family garden plot every day or purchased from the local farmers or from itinerant vendors. Every morning the women had to consider the day's menu and decide just what would be needed. Without refrigeration, nothing would keep longer than twelve hours or so. Any uneaten cooked food was fed to the servants or given to the animals. There was no such thing as leftovers.
The men ate first, served by the women, who each kept her head and face carefully covered by the paalay of her sari as a sign of modesty and respect. This practice of covering the head and face, known as laaj, is now almost entirely extinct in my family, but it was very much alive when Motiba was young. The women worked as a team, one in the kitchen rolling balls of dough into flat rounds; one grilling or frying as required; and one serving the men with piping hot fresh breads, one at a time, as they came off the fire. Then the children were fed. The women ate last, in the kitchen. All eating was done sitting cross-legged on the floor with the diner leaning over a large rimmed metal plate called a thali. Small mounds of drier vegetable mixtures would be placed directly on the thali, whereas soups and curries with a lot of sauce were served in small bowls called kachori. The meal inevitably ended with rice and dal or kadhi, a yoghurt based soup. Yoghurt (dahi) or buttermilk (chaas) was served with every meal. All meals were strictly vegetarian. The only animal product consumed was milk.
©Mira Kamdar: 2000 This is the second extract from Motibas Tattoos: 'A Granddaughter's Journey into her Indian Family's Past' written by Mira Kamdar and published by Public Affairs, New York, 1999.
influenced the policies of some of India's most famous non-Jain rulers, such as the Hindu king Ashoka and the Mughal ruler Akbar, notably, convincing them to pass edicts forbidding animal slaughter and to exempt Jain pilgrims from paying tolls when travelling to sacred sites. Because their religious beleifs prohibit them from practising agriculture - imagine the many insect and plant lives one might accidentally take tilling the soil - Jains have traditionally been merchants, bankers, moneylenders, jewellers, diamond dealers and adminis- trators. Though technically outside Hinduism, and therefore outside the caste system, most Jains in Kathiawar have been assimilated into the bania, or merchant, caste. Their influence with the ruling class has historically resulted as much from their wealth as from the legitimate attractions of their doctrine. But it was Jain doctrine alone, particularly the philosophy of non-violence, that was to have the profoundest influence on Kathiawar's most famous native son and political leader, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, India's Mahatma. And Gandhi, in turn, had a profound influence on my Jain family.
When did the Kharas become Jains? No one can say. But the community of Kathiawari Jains was, and still is, a close-knit one. It is a community that takes care of its own, and within which khaandaan and amiraat, nobility of birth and character, count - or at least used to
Motiba's Tattoos
A GRANDDAUGHTERS JOURNEY INTO HER INDIAN FAMILYS PAST
M I RA KAMDAR
March - May 2002
Jain Spirit
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