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Saturday 31 March 2007

The Gallant Bhaus from Majhas

The gallant Bhaus from macho Majha
by Punam Khaira Sidhu

Don’t go by their somewhat pejorative title: the “Bhaus” are as macho as they come. In fact there’s a theory that does the rounds of Punjab’s university campuses, where there is usually war between the “Kakaji” (Malwai) group and the “Bhau” (Majhail) group, that this epithet was coined by a disgruntled Kakaji.

You can spot a “Bhau” by the set of his square jaw — it’s their signature feature. Clothes, footwear, etc don’t matter, because they wear their attitude. Their ideals light up their gallant hearts, and their hearts; well naturally, they wear them on their sleeves. Flamboyant and quick tempered, they can be braggarts who love to show off but can morph into passionate crusaders and even visionary statesmen of which Kairon is a luminous example. Their tragic flaw is that they think with their hearts rather than their heads.

Majhails live in the shadow of the border. The daily strutting and shadowboxing of troops on either side, a la Wagah and Hussainiwala, sustains the fear psychosis of border life. This cocktail of fear and excitement imbues the Bhaus with the restlessness and craving for adrenaline, which is almost a part of their DNA. They have a fatal fascination for causes.

With so much angst, repressed energy and idealism at large its not surprising that almost every meaningful movement or cause has originated in Macho Majha. The Bhaus have always been the strong, zealous crusaders at the forefront of these, fanatically committed to whatever cause they subscribed to at the time.

Most adults living in Majha have seen the screaming sirens of at least two wars and the subsequent cold war ending with the Kargil faceoff. Many have seen their lands cut off in the process of cobra fencing by the BSF to secure the porous borders. Several have actually sneaked across the border and engaged in some clandestine smuggling of contraband and opium. Many a prosperous trader family has at least one Blackiya or smuggler to thank for the infusion of capital into the family business.

Land holdings in the Majha are shrinking and lack of meaningful investment in industry has meant that jobs are scarce. The young Bhaus seek education as a means to a professional career, preferably in the uniformed services.

Considering that even little ones as young as 10 are taught to hold a gun and aim straight at the Dushman, that’s not too difficult. Many an illustrious soldier of the Indian Army, police and the BSF can lay proud claim to a Majhail Bhau’s heritage.

Good food and drink is the key to the Bhaus’ simple rustic hearts. Bhaus are known to have stomachs lined with steel and can drink anyone under the table. Barrels of homebrewed liquor and contraband are washed down with gallons of lassi and milk the next morning.

But that’s back home in the Village. In the cities they bring business to the Paranthewala Dhabas. Not for them pizzas or KFC but Kake da Chicken. On campus, the Bhau is the Sir Galahad, offering to do chores for the fairer sex who are uniformly and respectfully addressed as Behenji (sister) and the men as Bhaji (brother).

This invokes the wrath of the Kakajis who have coined some dirty rhymes to jibe them.

The Bhaus stick together when out of their home territory but back home they can fell a brother over an argument. Tough, uncompromising yet conservative they are truly the Punjabi Knights, trying to preserve their own Camelot.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you on almost all points. Being a bhau myself living among malwais as a result of partition i know how bhaus think from their hearts nd trust everyone very easily nd go out of his way to help and stand for them. . This was a huge advantage in the past for various reasons but now this trait of a bhau has been taken a for a ride by many people.