CHINAR SHADE : FOOT PATH DENTIST BALDEV SINGH AND HIS DAST E SHIFA ( HEALING HAND )

(DAST E SHIFA OR THE HEALING HAND OF BALDEV SINGH, THE FOOTPATH DENTIST)

We know that Sikligar Sikhs were poor, landless and illiterate. They were something like Gadia- Lohars or a gipsy type community that had origins in Rajasthan, wherefrom they moved to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra and some other states. Sikligar Sikhs were ironsmiths/blacksmiths who once specialised in making and polishing weapons. The Sikligars were in great demand for manufacturing spears, swords, shields and arrows. Associated with the Sikh Gurus, most of the Sikligars converted to Sikhism during the period of the tenth Sikh Guru. Based on their oral tradition, the Sikligars embraced Sikhism either during the time of Guru Hargobind or Guru Gobind Singh. They may have encountered Guru Hargobind on his return from Gwalior or met Guru Gobind Singh on his travels to the South in the latter part of his life. After embracing Sikhism, many families from this community took up various other vocations, while some continued with their traditional professions or roaming artisans who were skilled in making agricultural tools, locks, keys, knives, scissors, etc. Many among this community became footpath dentists.

In Kashmir, there was a street dentist, Baldev Singh, who belonged to the Sikligar community. He had informed us that his community used to manufacture weapons for the Khalsa fighters during the Mughal rule. Baldev Singh and his son, Pappu, would do business from the footpath in Srinagar city. Baldev Singh would sit mostly near Naaz cinema. While the father claimed to be a dentist, the son would be seen on a bicycle sharpening knives and scissors.

After the new Amira Kadal Bridge was built, the old bridge was not demolished for some years. It was a market of ramshackle shops selling cheap goods. In this market, one could buy a caged parrot, ready-made garments, locks, sandals, cheap toothpastes, combs, toothbrushes, used clothes, fake perfumes, cheap cosmetics, cloth, dry fruits, shoes, pens, electric goods, music cassettes, cigarette lighters, torches, imitation jewellery, Saande ka Teil( lizard oil) and many so-called ‘sex power’ tonics and herbs. Some pickpockets were also active on this bridge market. To cross this bridge, one had to push his way through a crowded and narrow passage. Pappu had shifted to a spot on this old bridge and was seen paddling the bicycle kept on a stand. He kept himself busy sharpening a knife or a pair of scissors to create centrifugal sparks from the rotating wheel fitted to the bicycle. This was done to attract attention and customers. He also sold self-made knives that appeared to be sharp razors. Sometimes, I would see Pappu near Palladium cinema. Sometimes near the ‘Little Sons’ petrol pump or sometimes inside the KMDA bus stand. I had opened his savings Bank account at the Amirakadal branch of our bank. He would save also. Both father and son would move to the plains of the country in December every year and return to Kashmir sometime around early May of the succeeding year. Both father and son had picked up some Kashmiri words. They would bring these words into their conversation with Kashmiri customers. A close friend of mine would always look for Baldev Singh whenever we went to Tagore Hall or Jawahar Nagar. He would say:-

“Valaa taam karov shogul.”

(Come, let us go for some entertainment.)

He would force me or other friends to go via Naaz cinema, and if Baldev Singh was there, he would take us to visit him. He would guide us to keep a hand on our cheek and make a frowny face to give the impression of a severe toothache. Once Baldev Singh saw us, he would declare:-

“Hum paardarshi hai. Rab ki mehar hai .Hum ko sab andhar ki khabar hai . Koyi dekhene ki zaroorat nahin hai .Yeh to maamla khatam hai.Koyi baat nahin. Nikaale ga dandh. Concession karega .Nahin aayega rath (blood). Pataa nahin chalega. Koyee dard nahin hoga. Pakh sa beh (come and sit). Dekho Baldev Singh ka 'daste shifa’.”

(I can see all inside out. God is kind to me. Without any physical inspection, I know the story of your gums. These teeth are all gone. Don’t worry. I shall do the extraction. You will get a concession. No bleeding. You will not know what I did. No pain at all. Come, dear, sit. See Baldev Singh’s hand that heals.)

It was a skill to free yourself from Baldev Singh. Our friend would guide us to say:-

‘I have no money this time. ’

“Sardar Ji, I will come tomorrow. Will you be at the same spot? Are you sure you are coming tomorrow?”

Sometimes we would engage Baldev Singh in secondary talks like seeking the price of dentures, fillings and crowns supposedly meant for parents. Simple fun was intended. My friend would visit Baldev Singh quite often for fun and entertainment. And Baldev Singh was not a foo,l as our friend understood. He had come to understand that his time was being wasted. He repaid this in his own style.

One day, Baldev Singh came closer to my friend and started inspecting his gums. He suddenly cried, “Khatam-Khatam, iss ko dast e shifa se theek kar dega eik do aur teen or, finish–finish, I will remove this problem with my hand of cure, one two and here it is three. “ . And he actually extracted teeth that had no problem. As time passed, this extraction cleared the road for further extraction of some more teeth that caught the painful infection from Baldev Singh’s Daste Shifa.. A trouble that had been invited. And finally, this friend had to visit Dr Koul, a dentist from Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, for about three months to get free from Baldev Singh’s ‘ Dast e Shifa ‘.

(Avtar Mota)