The Story Of The Takhat

By Kakul Hai

It had been a gloomy few weeks for the marble-seller. Even though his flourishing marble business, which for decades had been considered the pride of the small town, had not yet begun to lose the luster of the bygone years – of the days in which the marble-selling shops of his ancestors had been the central-pulling attraction for all kinds of people: the well-doing businessmen of the times, the big-scale as well as the small-scale artists and artisans, not just from the town but also who came from neighboring districts to visit the marble shop occasionally. It was also a place that provided for a gathering of people with interests and concerns that had nothing to do with the marble-business. In the evenings, after the businesses of the day had been conducted, one could find people from different walks of life, gathered around in the front yard of the marble shop, engaged in conversations over cups of tea, and enjoying each other’s company. Thus, the prestige of the marble shop had been sustained over the years.

In the past few days, the marble-seller had seriously begun to think about the future of his fast-growing children, and had been considering how he could remain a part of their future, even after his days were over. He realized that the future generations might not live the life that he and his predecessors had, and although he welcomed the thought, it was nevertheless mixed with a slight tinge of sadness about the loss of the family legacy that had been carried through the generations up until him. Standing at a transitional junction, he wanted to give the next generation, the sons and daughters of the marble-seller, something that they could take with them as a symbol of the long-held family tradition of marble selling, a tradition that would eventually come to an end with the aging marble-seller. Through that symbol, the history of the family tradition would not be completely lost or forgotten. It would serve as a reminder to the future generations of what had once been a source of immense marvel and pride for the family of the marble-seller, a reminder from which his children, grandchildren, and so forth, could derive a sense of enormous pride for being a part of the wondrous legacy that had been personally experienced and reveled in by the marble-selling family.

Not wanting to burden his children with carrying on the pride of the family tradition by selling marble, for the sake of maintaining the family legacy, the marble-seller wanted to make a creation that would be so beautiful and wonderful that it would be loved and cherished for its priceless worth. He knew that for some of his children it would evoke the wonder of the past generations, and appreciated for that all the more, but for those of his children for whom it did not evoke the same, it would be a creation that would be appreciated and admired for the craft that it was, for what had gone into the making of it, and most importantly, for the fact that it had been made for them. And even if some of those children were unable to see the family legacy enfolded within the creation, it would nevertheless be a carrier of it because the maker of it had gathered the entire legacy that he could carry and put it into the creation while making it. And as long as the creation was there, present in the midst of the generations to come, that legacy would never be lost.

After thinking for a long time about what the creation could be, the marble-seller decided to make a takhat/chowki. He decided to handcraft the most beautiful, wondrous and intricately patterned takhat that anyone could imagine, using the best marble that was available in his shop. And what would make this marble takhat a symbol of the legacy that he wanted his children to inherit and pass on to the future generations, would be that it was made by the marble-seller himself, by his very own hands, and especially, and only, for this purpose – to provide his children with a personal creation, a representation of the family’s past legacy.

So the marble-seller set about his task of making the marble takhat. Since he didn’t want anyone to know about his creation until it was complete and ready to be unveiled, he worked quietly in his personal workshop. Everyone in his family wondered what the marble-seller was up to, working in his little workshop day and night, not allowing anyone else to come in to take a peek. However, even though his family would have liked to clear the mystery and suspense of what the marble-seller was doing, they quite enjoyed it nevertheless, and were happily willing to wait until the moment when the marble-seller would come out of his workshop and tell them, “It’s ready.” On the other hand, inside the workshop, shrouded in this sense of mystery and suspense, and rightfully loaded with heavy expectations of what it was going to reveal, the marble-seller was working on what would be his most prized creation and possession. And it was not just the beauty and perfection of his creation that would make the marble-sellers heart and head swell up with the utmost pride and respect. What was equally, and maybe more, important for the marble-seller was that in the process of making this creation, along with the intentions behind it, it was what the marble-seller himself had become – from being a mere seller of marble, he had become a MAKER. He would consider that the best achievement of his life. Out of a creation that he was making for others, the elation felt from that sense of achievement he would keep for himself.

Finally the day arrived, the day of the unveiling of the gift of the past generations of the marble-sellers’ family to the future generations, delivered by the marble-seller himself. He realized that as he was making it, he had utilized all that had been given to him by the past generations of his family, so this most precious gift could not be just from him. The entire family of the marble-seller gathered around the porch of their ancestral home as the marble takhat was carried out for all of them to see. And the reaction from them, when they first sighted the takhat, was just what he had been hoping for, though could not have entirely imagined. Huge gasps of wonder and amazement went all around the group, there was awe in their eyes, for the takhat itself and also for the marble-maker for having created it, as well as tears rolling down their eyes as an indication of how deeply touched they were for the gift that had been bestowed upon them. Nothing of what they felt, the marble-maker included, can be accurately described in words. And none of them tried to do so either, which was the most appropriate reaction and response for the marble-maker, because that is how he himself felt in the moment. A moment that he did not want to be captured and taken away by what could be said to describe it.

The euphoria and excitement of what had just happened was felt for several days. The marble-maker’s family wanted to share the pride they were experiencing with everyone else by putting the takhat in the front yard of their home for all to see and marvel at. The marble-maker himself was slightly averse to the idea since it was a special present only for his family that he did want displayed for the entire world, but he also did not want to dampen his family’s happiness. The takhat, after all, had been made for them, and they could do whatever they wanted to do with it. And so, the takhat, in all its glorious wonder, was placed outside their home. The marble-maker’s family’s happiness and joy was infinitely multiplied at each and every praise they received from the hundreds of people who had the opportunity to witness this most wondrous creation. All this time, while his family excitedly reveled in the heaps of praise showered upon them, the marble-maker stood at the doorstep of his home with a slight smile on his face, cherishing the happiness felt and expressed by his family in his own quiet and humble way. 

Word of the marble takhat got around like lightning. On hearing about it, several people from the neighboring districts, and some also from distances further away, came to have a look at the marble takhat. One of those people happened to be a descendant of the ruler of the district. This descendant himself was a man who was attempting to preserve and carry on the name of his royal line, which although was not realized or regarded as royalty anymore, was nevertheless still recognized as such owing to his family’s past royal legacy. Upon seeing the marble takhat, the royal descendant decided that it was a creation that was worthy of being displayed in the royal ancestral home, in a place where it would be displayed as a part of the wonder of the royal family and the royal name, and would receive the accolades that it deserved to receive for the creation that it was. The royal descendent accordingly propositioned the marble-seller, offering him a huge sum of money as payment, along with the honor of the marble takhat being placed in the royal ancestral home, for all to see, with the marble-seller being credited as its architect. Everyone in the town, and also some of the marble-maker’s family, considered that to be the highest honor of its kind, and several people were in approval of this proposition. The marble-maker, however, was not one of them. He had not made the marble takhat so that it could adorn the royal home and become a part of the history of the royal line. The takhat had been a special creation for his family only, and all the effort that he had put into making it could not be given away to anyone else, even if it was royalty that wanted it. Furthermore, he could not imagine putting a price to his creation, to all the intentions and emotions that went into the making of it. So even though he recognized the honor in the proposition, the marble-maker refused to give away the marble takhat, for a price or not for a price.

The royal descendant, however, was not one to easily take no for an answer. He waited for a little while, hoping the marble-seller would change his mind. When that didn’t happen, the royal descendant began the chase for the marble takhat in most earnest, sending several insistences the marble-seller’s way for why he should give the marble takhat to the royal line. The royal descendant was a respectful man, and even though he respected the reasons behind the marble-seller’s refusal to sell the takhat, he nevertheless wanted to acquire the takhat due to the immense amount of worth he perceived in the creation. However, each time the royal descendant sent an offer, one increasingly more attractive than the other, the marble-seller sent back a refusal. Finally, the royal descendant decided it was time to offer a compromise. He once again made a proposition – this time he sent a request to the marble-seller to make for him another marble takhat, exactly like the one he had made for his family.

This time around, the marble-seller did not refuse. He did not refuse because he had felt the royal descendant’s sincere respect for his created craft, and also because he had begun to feel a little bad at his refusals, especially keeping in mind the earnest insistences of the royal descendant. So the marble-seller accepted the offer of the royal descendant to make a replica of his most precious marble takhat. He immediately set about the task of doing so. This time, however, there was no secrecy surrounding the making of this second creation. The marble takhat replica was ready in a few weeks, this time the making of it did not take as long as the making of the original takhat. When the replica was brought out, a huge gasp went about the group again, this time expressing the marvel at which the marble-maker had exhibited his artistry once again. It looked exactly like the original; no one could spot a difference between the first and the second marble takhat. It was a true replica. Or so everyone thought. 

The second marble takhat was exactly like the first marble takhat in all ways except one – unknown to anyone else, the marble-maker had inserted a piece of a differently colored marble in the underneath of the takhat, in a place where it could not be easily spotted. This differently colored piece of marble is what separated the marble takhat that had been made by the marble-maker as a symbol of his family’s legacy, and for his family only, from the marble takhat that had been made for the royal family line. That one differently colored marble piece would serve as a symbol of the exclusivity of the marble-seller’s family legacy, and would also serve as a link of his family to the royal family, as the replica takhat was placed in the royal home among the various other royal ancestral properties and possessions. 

So now there were two marble takhats: one that remained in the marble-maker’s family for generations to come, as a symbol of the family’s pride and to be reveled in by the family alone, while the other that was in the royal ancestral home, as part of the royal family’s history, where it was viewed and admired by hundreds of people. The marble-maker received a lot of accolades for his creation that was displayed in the royal home, which he received with humility and graciousness. His real pride and happiness lay in the original creation, the one and only for him, that was in his home, in the midst of his family.

Several years later, after the marble-maker had passed a peaceful and contented old age, his great grandchildren were moving some of their things from their ancestral home into a newly-constructed home for the family. Since they would be spending more of their time at the new home than at the ancestral home, the great grandchildren decided to move the marble takhat into the new home, because none of them wanted to part with it. The marble takhat was to be transported to the new home in a moving truck. The movers carried the takhat out of the ancestral home to place it into the truck for it to be taken to the new home. Since the truck was carrying several other items that were being transported, the marble-maker’s great granddaughter, who was overseeing the movers’ work, instructed the movers to turn the takhat on its side and place it along the side wall of the truck, so that it would fit inside the truck along with the other items and carried safely to the new home. The great granddaughter went to put a protective covering on the marble takhat, so that the takhat would not be damaged or scratched while it was being transported. It was when she was putting the cloth cover over the takhat that she saw it… in the left hand corner in the underneath of the takhat, a piece of marble that was slightly differently colored from the rest.

The royal descendant, apprehending the hesitancy of the marble-maker, had secretly ordered his men to pick up the original marble takhat, instead of the replica, when they went to the marble-seller’s home to carry away the takhat to the royal home…   

By Kakul Hai