Baasi Jaadu

In Jharia, in all the houses, there was a system of 'Baasi Jaadu'. The first thing one did on waking up was take Neem Daatun in your mouth and pick up the Jaadu (Broom) . The house and the Aangan (centre courtyard) were swept taking God's name or doing 'Jaap'.  'Baasi' is from the previous night. Baasi Moonh means when one has not brushed their teeth on waking up. Baasi Khaana was the previous night's food. People ate Baasi Roti with their morning Chai(tea) . For years, I ate Roti Chappatis made the previous night with hot tea for my breakfast and evening snack. It is still the most divine meal for me. 

Later when houses were bigger and other family members were sleeping late, then one cleaned the 'Aangan' and the 'Puja' room only. Because post the morning ablutions, everyone went to the Puja room to pray. Each family member had their own style of praying. Some bathed the Murti, one did Agarbatti ( Incense sticks), one did Dhoop, one did Arti, one lit a Ghee ka diya (lamp with ghee), one did Mala Jaap or Jap Mala, one did applied Chandan, one did tikka of Kumkum and rice and someone just sat and closed their eyes. One took the Agarbatti around the whole house and put one in every and every room. The door jamb was where the Agarbatti was fixed and no one had an 'Agarbatti Stand' in each room. For the Dhoop, we needed Goytha. which is a cow dung cake dried in the sun. The Goytha was kept on the lit 'Chulha' ( fire) till it caught fire and then shifted to the Dhoop Daani which was made of mud. Gugad and Lobaan were added to the lit Goytha and taken to the Mandir in the Puja room and all over the house. On certain auspicious days like Ekadashi, the Dhoop was a must. All of us did the Jap Mala chanting different Mantra for different Gods and never knew what the other family members were chanting as it was done in the mind or 'mann mein' :)

Our servants came early to work by 6 am types. They did the 'Baasi Jaadu' first. This system continued for all the time that I remember. There was one Jaadu in the evening which we took before sunset. The dust used to gather as we were living in the coal fields. We did not throw that outside the house. The belief is Goddess Laxmi resides in the house and in the Jaadu and we do not litter post sunset.  Servant was not a bad word. They were like family and were there to help us. 'Sewa' is a big thing and it doesn't mean charity or helping the poor. It really meant giving your time for the well being of someone else. People did various forms of 'Sewa'. Cleaning the physical space was a very important part of it. Now, it is very important that in the elite circles, we use words like 'staff' instead of maids. But for us 'Naukar' was not a bad word. A job is still called 'Naukari' in Hindi. I remember in the biting cold, the Baasi Jaadu being done by one of our house helps. Even in Mumbai, when I have a live-in house help, the Baasi Jaadu happens. It kind of spruces up the energy in the house. It clears the space and brightens it up. I feel it helps me think and plan better. Uff, New Year is all about planning and resolutions. All that is scary for me. If I plan, then I fail and that makes me feel horrible. If I do not plan, then life is haphazard and nothing gets done. That makes me feel awful. 

Time for some Baasi Jaadu.