A FAMILY INTRODUCTION OF SHRI ACHARYA KISHORE KUNAL

The ancestral village of my father is Baruraj which is situated 35 kilometers away from the world’s first independent republic, Vaishali. The village was in the district of Muzaffarpur but right now Vaishali has become an independent district in Bihar. In past, it was one of the parts of Muzaffarpur district. My Father was born on 12th June 1950 at his maternal grandfather’s house in Kotwa Gram. Then, he came to Baruraj after staying at Piprakothi for few days. A few years ago, he had visited his maternal grandfather’s house.

After that he received his secondary education in the village school. In fact, the elementary school is situated at 3 meters, Jagdamba Temple at 5 meters, a beautiful pond at 7 meters and a Shivalaya at 10 meters from his house.

According to Kishore Kunal, he did not have food without worshipping Lord Shiva, since he became matured. But his mother used to say that little kunal had started writing on the slate only at a tender age. Actually, he was a perspicacious child. But he did not become so popular in the village school because it was not a matter of pride to excel among few students.

There was a middle school near by his village where he used to study. Here, there was always a competition between Kapil Dev Rai, a student of other village and Master Kunal in order to stand first in the class.

Once a saint appeared in the village who could predict many unbelievable things after putting his holy glance on the face of the children. One thing, Kunal still remembers that the saint had predicted about Master kunal that he would be highly intelligent, would serve either as a Police or as an Army officer and above all, would definitely sink into the water in his life. The Saint also added that God might protect him. As a result kunal was not allowed to take bath in the beautiful pond situated near his house. Prudently enough, all the family members and many friends similar to his age knew how to swim and took bath in the pond, but kunal was strictly prohibited in doing so. Consequently he remained the only man in the village who does not know how to swim in the water.

At home, his grandmother was the head of the family because his grandfather had passed away when he was an infant. His father served as a sugarcane Inspector at Balram Sugar Mill in Uttarpradesh. His uncle was another guardian who was so strict that everybody was afraid of him and his discipline. His grandfather's name was Braj Nandan Prasad Shahi and his grandmother was Jai Rupshree. He is the second child of his parents- Ramchandra Prasad Shahi & Vindyeshwari Devi. Acharya Kunal has two brothers and two sisters. The name of the elder sister is Ramsnehi Devi, Younger sister is Gayatri and younger brother is Ramchand kumar. Besides, the names of his uncle and aunt are Ramashankar Prasad Shahi and Lalsha Devi. They have four offsprings- Premlata Devi, Satish Kumar, Shivendra Kumar and Sumit Kumar. Among all his ancestors, he only knows the name of his great Grandfather - Late Sri Rajendra Prasad Sahi.

Moreover, three centuries ago, many families settled in Baruraj offer migration from Kamalpura village. Among them; there was one of his ancestral families. Indeed, the family was not happy and prosperous, but because of his father's service and some ancestral land the Family was contented and cheerful. The family in highly cultured and believes in the remarkable words of the eminent Hindi poet- Kabir Das- " Sai Itna Dijiye, Ja Mein kutumb samaya, Main bhi bhukha na rahun Sadhu na bhukha Jaaye"

His Father used to say that according to ancient traditions, guest are to be honored here as God. Ganesh Choudhary and Ramshish Choudhary used to take lunch at his house. Both were Pasis by birth. They often came to his house as friends or well-wishers. They were never discriminated. They were served meal in the same category as his family were given.

Males in the family ate non-vegetarian food while females were vegetarian in his house. Only his aunt was an exception as she had to cook meat. There was a custom of having fish and meat in his house but having chicken was considered a sin. Kunal was offered meat frequently and he had to take a little bit of meat for one or two times but he protested by weeping because he felt that it is a sin because on e had to assassin an animal. Once he learnt in a Sanskrit book- "Ahimsha Par Mo Dharma ".

During his childhood, master Kunal did not visit his maternal grandmother's house. But he went to the father-in-law's house of his uncle - Raidhurwa twice a year. The main reason of going to Raidhurwa was that that there was a red-castle at a distance of 8 kilometers where Lal Saheb used to live. Kunal thought that Lal Saheb was an English Man. But later he came to know that he was a renowned landlord of Lal Kothi. When Kunal visited Raidhurwa, Lal Saheb used to send a cab the next day for him at 10.00 am. He used to spend the whole day with Lal Saheb. He used to ask various questions from General Knowledge. And Kunal used to answered him correctly which delighted and bewildered Lal Saheb. He often said about Master Kunal that one day he would be a great man because he was very intelligent at such a tender age. So he always awaited his restitution. Actually, his talent was enifiely erupted and manifested at high school in his village. After that, he was accustomed to read various types of books.

- Saayan.