|
The ‘Cow’ is as such a much revered creature among the people who follow Sanatan
Dharma – specially
the merchants of Rajasthan. In ancient times almost every house hold used to have cow/cows in the
house for the purpose of having fresh milk for domestic
consumption. Any excess quantity of milk used to
be converted into ‘Chena’ or ‘Khoa’ or
even curd. The curd in turn used to be churned manually into butter/ghee and the butter
milk used to be consumed and/or distributed in the neighborhood.
For a new born child, the best substitute for mother’s milk is the cow’s milk. No wonder the
cow enjoys the status of no less than a Mother among the so called Hindus. This tradition
entailed the mustering and care of old/infirm cows after they stop producing milk. This gave
birth to the very concept of ‘Gaushalas’ in
almost every village worth its name in Rajasthan.
The Alsisar Gaushala was
|
|
built on the huge tract of land donated by the rulers of Alsisar
Thikana by Seth Kasturimal Gangadhar Jaliram Jhunjhunwala over a century ago. Since then
it is being managed and run by
local and non-resident populace of the village. The present
format is nothing but the same old Gaushala in a new multi-dimensional avatar (in keeping
with the demands of the modern times) having additional social agendas of a Benefactor in
general.
The earliest known migration of Marwari Merchants from Rajasthan in the nineteenth
century in search of greener pastures was to Calcutta – obviously as this was the most
happening city being the capital of British India and head-quarters of The East India
Company. As the business clan prospered in Calcutta, they established Calcutta Pinjrapole
Society – a bigger prototype of the village Gaushala. For this purpose a Gaushala was built
on its own acquired land in Sodepura
|
 |
|
suburb of Calcutta. In addition to that one of the
ancestors of our Immediate Past President Sri Kailash Prasad Jhunjhunwala(Kashi Babu),
whose name was Makhanlal Jhunjhunwala donated a huge tract of land in Liluah near
Calcutta for the same purpose. Makhanlalji was a devoted and dedicated worker for the
welfare of Cows-so much so that he had earned the sobriquet of an ‘atheist’ for his
single point devotion to Cows and no other God/Goddess!
He was nothing less than a living legend in his own right. The Marwari Merchant community
of Calcutta was also a dedicated lot for the cause
of Pinjrapole Society. Each merchant used
to donate a certain percentage of his income and/or revenues towards the welfare and
upkeep of
the same. This amount as always shown in the proper accounts books as a charity
expense and the amount was duly paid to the Calcutta Pinjrapole at regular intervals. Later
on the Pinjrapole Society distributed collection boxes among all the Marwari Merchant Firms
to regularize and facilitate the collections. The best part was that any amount shown as paid
into the accounts used to be allowed as deductible expenses
by the Income Tax Department
without any fuss!
|
