Ch. Hari Ram Dalal

Tau Hari Ram was the eldest son out of all the seven brothers, who was born in the year 1901 in village Mehandipur Dabodha kalan. As the family got the first male child after many years, Hari Ram was very much loved both by the parents as well as by the grand-parents and was brought up with extra care and affection. He came out to be extremely intelligent, social and large-hearted, besides being very handsome and possessing pleasant and amicable nature.  He inherited good qualities of head and heart from his parents.  Under the influence of Arya Samaj, he developed many good qualities and became a very staunch, fearless and truthful person.  Although he knew only Hindi and Landhi languages, which were taught at home, yet his instinct for learning was really praise-worthy.

As a man, he was unparalleled in certain qualities. He possessed a remarkable memory and retention-power.  He possessed many other good human qualities.  He was known as an all-rounder and was in fact a sort of institution in himself.  He was a very well-known ploughman and very well versed in various farm operations, who won prizes in various competitions. In ploughing competitions held at Gurgaon, where the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. F.L. Byrne was very keen for rural development, Hari Ram was declared as the best ploughman.  He was also a born artist and craftsman who could make best models etc. from indigenously available raw material.  In fact, there was hardly anything which Hari Ram could not make out of raw material in the village.  His most favourite art was making of colourful Pilangs[1] and Pidhies[2].

Hari Ram was a staunch follower of Arya Samaj and practiced all the 10 commandments of He was given Yagyopaveet[3] in a special ceremony by Pandit Basti Ram.  He used to sing folk songs in the mandli of Pandit Basti Ram and remembered many of them till his death.  He was very enterprising and a widely-travelled man.

Hari Ram continued making good Pilangs and Pidhies which became his main hobby. In 1952, he specially made a very fine attractive ‘Pilang’ with many colours with map of Chakar-vihu Fort in the center.  He carried it to Delhi and offered the same to Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.  From that day, he developed very good rapport with Pandit Nehru and continued visiting the Prime Minister House frequently.  He also became friendly with Mrs. Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Mrs. Krishnan Hathi Singh and Mrs. Indira Gandhi.   Later on, he left making cots and instead started concentrating more on making ’Pidhies’ with multi coloured yarns of cotton, silk and nylon.  Pandit Nehru very much liked these ‘Pidhies’ as a good show piece for his sitting room.  On observing the keen interest of Panditji, Hari Ram started offering one good ‘Pidhi’ to every foreign dignitary visiting India at the instance of Pandit Nehru. Mr. Niketa Khrushchev (U.S.S.R), President of Bulgaria., Queen Elizabeth of U.K., Mrs. Kennedy, wife of President John Kennedy and  many Amirs of Arab countries were offered  ‘Pidhies’ on their visits to India, which was highly appreciated by all of them.

When Mrs. Kennedy was to arrive in India, Panditji directed Hari Ram to bring one ‘Pidhi’ for the America’s First Lady. Hari Ram brought two instead of one.  Panditji wanted to know why he has brought two instead of one Pidhi.  Hari Ram kept mum for a while and replied that Panditji you would know about it later at the time of presentation ceremony.  When the guests arrived, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru asked Hari Ram to present the gift.  Hari Ram first presented one ‘Pidhi’ to the younger sister of Mrs. Kennedy and the second to Mrs. Kennedy.  It was then Hari Ram told Panditji that in case only one ‘Pidhi’ for Mrs. Kennedy was brought, her younger sister would have felt it, which would have brought a bad name to the PM of India.  This was, therefore, as per custom of rural India.  On seeing the art displayed in making the ‘Pidhi’ by an illiterate villager, Mrs. Kennedy was so much pleased that she inquired from Panditji, if she could take Hari Ram with her to USA for initiating the art of Pidhi-making, in her country. Pandit Nehru promised that he would bring Hari Ram along with him during his next visit to USA. But that never materialized.

Tau Hari Ram had developed good intimacy with Pandit Nehru and his family. Each time he presented a ‘Pidhi’ to a visiting foreign dignitary, he was photographed with him/her. A copy of the photograph with album was later on supplied to Hari Ram. Panditji was so much pleased with Hari Ram that he always called him ‘a farmer friend’.  Once, he offered Hari Ram some land in the Tarai at a very nominal cost and wanted him to constitute a cooperative society of his family members.  But Hari Ram thankfully declined the offer stating that it was his principle not to ask for any favour and he died with that principle.

Hari Ram also offered ‘Pidhies’ to top National leaders including the President, the Vice President, the Central Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors. Soon he became so popular that he was nick named as ‘Pidhi wale Chaudhary Saheb’.  Realising the utility of his art and to popularize this art on the initiative taken by Mrs. Indira Gandhi a regular training class was started in his native village to train boys and girls of poor families in the art of ‘Pidhi making’.  About a dozen village boys and girls, mostly from harijans and backward communities were imparted training by Hari Ram.  However, the training programme was discontinued during the Janta Government regime. When Shrimati Indira Gandhi again came to power in 1980, the training class was re-started.  By that time, Hari Ram having become too old, one of his nephews Raghbir Singh helped him in training the youngsters under his supervision.  This programme continued and some of the girls could reach Hari Ram’s expectations.  Hari Ram, having become very old and weak, Shrimati Indira Gandhi sanctioned him initially a pension of Rs.300/- per month which was enhanced to Rs.500/- per month next year. But Hari Ram could avail that reward only for short period of about a year till he expired.

Tau Hari Ram’s contribution to the family will be remembered for years to come. He was a tireless traveller. He was past master in finding grooms for most of the girls of the family without a single faulty selection.  In the last days of his life, his sense of hearing was almost gone.  Hari Ram became very old and weak and had to give up unnecessary travelling.  He spent his last days with his elder son, Udai Singh where he expired with peaceful end of life and his cremation was performed in the village.  It was attended by a large number of people.  Such was the end of the eldest Tau, who enjoyed the highest regards till his death at the age of 82 years in April, 1983.

[1] Wooden bed knitted with bann, sutli, thread etc. as raw material

[2] Wooden structure used for sitting purpose

[3] A title given by arya smaj sect