HUKH , HATAB , KOSH AND STOVE

“Bobu Ji Hukh Chhu Aamut. Patta mokalee . Buthee chhuyee Krooth Vandhaa ”



“Pandit Ji Hukh is available now . It shall be sold immediately . You have to face severe winters” .


said Ali Mohd MuttHanz to my father .

We went to Kraalyaar Maar ( Canal ) and Purchased two quintals of Hukh for the winter. Hukh was collected from rivers by a group of Boatmen and then brought to city for sale in big boats called Bahach. Hukh consisted of pieces of wood collected from rivers and loaded in boats for burning in Kitchen during winters . It made the kitchen warm when burnt in DHAAN ( CHULHAA ) by our womenfolk .I would sit in the kitchen only to have my food when my mother burnt HUKH for cooking food in the Kitchen . She would also burn a stick of Willow or Conifer or Deodar along with HUKH pieces .Seeing the Hukh in the DHAAN ( CHULHAA ) gave a very good feeling to me . We would come to the kitchen repeatedly to fill our Kangris . The kitchen turned cozy and warm with HUKH burning .Some families used cow dung in place of Hukh .I also noticed how skillfully my mother used to make Coal from the Burning HUKH or firewood in the kitchen. She had kept a LEJJ ( earthen pot ) with a lid in the Kitchen .She would be removing Burning Coal heaps from the DHAAN ( Chulhaa ) and throwing them into the LEJJ and then immediately replacing the lid . The burning charcoal would cool down and the coal so prepared would be used by her to make the afternoon or evening Tea for the family.

In so far as the timber was  concerned , its procurement from the Government Timber Yards spread all over the city was  a tough job. You had to get up in the morning and keep your CHENDHEE ( Timber cards supplied to each family by Forest department ) near the window of the Zeun Ghaat ( Timber depot ) to procure timber on government rates. Generally milk selling families supplied the labour force at these timber depots . A labourer would even carry 100 Kgs of Timber log on his shoulders . Then he would suddenly  throw the log with a bang in the courtyard making windows rattle . Now the TABARDAAR( wood cutter ) would come and cut these logs to pieces for ultimate use in the kitchen . We would then carry the pieces for storing them at a safe place .HATAB ( A Variety of Timber used for burning ) was a preferred stuff  by kashmiris. I vividly remember kashmiris keeping a vigil on arrival of HATAB at timber Depots to buy it . It produced a quality heating fuel for the Kangris .

Another fuel with kashmiris was the saw dust popularly known as KOSH. They would use it in kangris and more specifically for boiling water to wash clothes . Every sunday we would use KOSH  DAMCHULAA ( special mobile chulhaa made of iron for burning saw dust ) for boiling water to wash clothes . It produced irritating smoke . The burnt saw dust was also used in kangris . For bathing we had  a special iron HAMAAM which used to give instant boiling water once firewood was burnt inside it . Timber from POPLAR trees sold by band saw mills was  burnt in this HAMAAM .. This timber was called MOCHAA or left overs ( scrap ) of the Band saw mills where POPLAR logs were sawn to  sheets ..

Many families  had Kerosene stoves . My father  had  also purchased two Kerosene stoves for our kitchen   . Triloki Nath Pandit  whom every one called as Treyaa Pandit or Treyya Tsoor  and   who reportedly had some criminal past ( in plains of the country) had opened a stove repair shop in Jogi Lanker chowk . His shop was near police station Rainawari  just opposite to  the shop of Chuni Lal Watloo.  Chuni lal watloo had a small  drug and medicine shop where pandits would sit for gossiping  . These gossiping Pandits made Chuni lal Watloo lose all customers .When Newer Drug and medicine  stores   opened in  Jogi lanker  Chowk , Chuni lal Watloo  shifted his activity    to a newer trade and started working  as an  agent of the Police officials   in  the nearby Police station . Any person who had to lodge an FIR or needed Police assistance had to come to Chuni Lal watloo's shop  for  direct or indirect help from the police  . 


Now coming to Treyya Pandit's shop of stove repair ,Every time I went   with our  stove to him, he would just change the burner . He did it to all stoves coming to him . For him change of burner perhaps solved all problems of a stove .He did  so even for Minor Blockage  in the kerosene passage of the burners which could be easily   cleared by a   stove pin.  Perhaps he knew nothing else  and also it made him earn instantly.  His customers paid without any arguments.

Then came the LPG Era . Kashmiris immediately shifted to LPG DHAAN (CHULHAAS).  We had to face Long queues at Jawahir nagar office of JAKFED wherefrom we would purchase the gas  Cylinder refills . Kashmiris  quickly forgot the age old trsted and tried fuels like HUKH , HATAB , COWDUNG AND KOSH ( saw dust ) .

 I end with a quote of camus :

 “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
 (Albert Camus )

So Long so much .

visit me also at     http://yemberzalkashmir.blogspot.com/

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