When godman Asaram was tongawala Asumal of Ajmer
People
who knew him Asumal never expected him to become a godman. He was just
like any other youngster who left Ajmer on finding the place not worth
his while.
AJMER:
Self-claimed godman Asaram rode a tonga for a living for at least two
years in Ajmer before reinventing himself as a spiritual man. As young
Asumal, he carted pilgrims on a pony cart from the railway station to
Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Others of his ilk still remember him as Asumal, the
tongawala with cushion seats - most of them had wooden boards.
After partition, Asumal's father, Taumal Harpalani, had come to Gujarat from Pakistan's Sind. Asumal was seven and the family lived in acute poverty. He worked in different cities of Gujarat before the family came to Ajmer in 1963 invited by relative, Dodhi Ustad, who too had crossed the border and settled in Ajmer.
Asumal lived with an uncle in the Kharikui locality. "He used to sit with the tongawalas on Kharikui Chowk and would also have hair cut from a shop in the corner," said Charan Jeet Singh Oberai, an advocate. He added, "Asumal had a tonga and we saw him frequently."
Asumal would take passengers up to Dhanmandi at the gate of the Dargah. "We would meet him after he dropped his passengers. He would then sit with us. He once participated in a tonga race from Ajmer to Sarwar during the annual Sarwar Urs," said 75-year-old Heera Ustad, general secretary of tonga union. "Much later, we came to know he had become a godman," he added.
Veterans of Kharikui remember Asumal would not sit on the tonga until he got passengers and would walk all the way with the horse to the railway station. "He used to come to Diggi Chowk tonga stand. I heard a lot about him," said Gul Badshah, 82, now a retired tongawala.
People also said Asumal loved children and whenever he failed to get passengers he would take children out for a ride. "We were small and attracted by Asumal's tonga because he kept the vehicle in good shape. It was popular for its cushion seats," said another advocate.
People who knew him Asumal never expected him to become a godman. He was just like any other youngster who left Ajmer on finding the place not worth his while. "He was ambitious and wanted to get rich. He went back to Ahmedabad and we never heard anything about him until he became Asaram," they say.
After partition, Asumal's father, Taumal Harpalani, had come to Gujarat from Pakistan's Sind. Asumal was seven and the family lived in acute poverty. He worked in different cities of Gujarat before the family came to Ajmer in 1963 invited by relative, Dodhi Ustad, who too had crossed the border and settled in Ajmer.
Asumal lived with an uncle in the Kharikui locality. "He used to sit with the tongawalas on Kharikui Chowk and would also have hair cut from a shop in the corner," said Charan Jeet Singh Oberai, an advocate. He added, "Asumal had a tonga and we saw him frequently."
Asumal would take passengers up to Dhanmandi at the gate of the Dargah. "We would meet him after he dropped his passengers. He would then sit with us. He once participated in a tonga race from Ajmer to Sarwar during the annual Sarwar Urs," said 75-year-old Heera Ustad, general secretary of tonga union. "Much later, we came to know he had become a godman," he added.
Veterans of Kharikui remember Asumal would not sit on the tonga until he got passengers and would walk all the way with the horse to the railway station. "He used to come to Diggi Chowk tonga stand. I heard a lot about him," said Gul Badshah, 82, now a retired tongawala.
People also said Asumal loved children and whenever he failed to get passengers he would take children out for a ride. "We were small and attracted by Asumal's tonga because he kept the vehicle in good shape. It was popular for its cushion seats," said another advocate.
People who knew him Asumal never expected him to become a godman. He was just like any other youngster who left Ajmer on finding the place not worth his while. "He was ambitious and wanted to get rich. He went back to Ahmedabad and we never heard anything about him until he became Asaram," they say.
RANJAY KUMAR
P G D M
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