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Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Syncretic development: Kathak dancers from Lucknow demonstrate chakkars that evolved from a mix of cultures during the Bada Mangal festival at the temple, and Hindus manage sabeels (stalls) of sherbet and water during Muharram in reverence for Imam Hussain. Not far from Lucknow, the rulers of the Hindu holy city of Kashi (also known as Benaras or Varanasi) observed the Azadari (the mourning) during Muharram, wearing black on Ashura. Ustad Bismillah Khan, the renowned Shehnai maestro, began his career as a shehnai player in Vishwanath temple, Kashi. In fact, many of the musicians, Hindu and Muslim, who play in the temples, fast during Ramazan and also observe Vrat during the Hindu Navratras. Even today, Muslim artisans in Kashi/Varanasi who make Taziyas for Muharram also make effigies of Ravan for Dussehra, a friend tells me. Hindus too participate in Muharram processions and make Taziyas in many cities, notably Lucknow. Similarly a Sindhi friend talks of the centuries-old peace and harmony between the Hindus and Muslims of Sindh. Adherents of both faiths revere and pray together at the shrine of Jhuley Lal, she says. The shrine walls are inscribed with Arabic verses as well as Hindu names of Gods. An age-old common greeting of Sindhi Hindus and Muslims is Jhulelal Bera-HeePaar. Karachis 150-year old cremation ground for Hindus has a Muslim caretaker, although there are many Hindus in the city. This caretaker is responsible for cleaning the statues and lighting the lamps in the temple, and takes care of the urns that contain the ashes of the dead after cremation, until their loved ones immerse the ashes in water. Cultural practices in Sindh are a fusion of the two cultures. If the Hindus, fervently use Allah as the reference to God, the Muslims touch the feet of their elderly as traditions borrowed from each others cultures. The contribution of Sufi poetry towards this peaceful coexistence, from Kabirdas and Amir Khusro, to Bulleh Shah on the other side, is well known. Beyond faith, at the cultural level, the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb has seen some beautiful creations like the Ghazal style of singing and the classical dance form Kathak. Kathaks journey from ancient times to its present form merits a walk-through. The word katha comes from katha or story telling. It has its roots in ancient times, when storytellers narrated epics or mythological stories like Shakuntala, and the Mahabharata through dance forms in temples. However with the arrival of Mughals, the dance, enticed to come to the courts, developed into a more Persianised form. The Kathak dancers adopted the whirling from the dervishes to the chakkars. The rhythm of the footsteps found harmony with the beat of the tabla recently discovered by Amir Khusro. The female Kathakaars (storytellers) abandoned the sari of ancient times for the angarkha and churidar pyjama. The language of narration also transformed from Sanskrit to Brij Bhasha and then Urdu. There may be more examples of such coexistence and development in other regions of the subcontinent too. Those who propagate conspiracy theories and narrate stories of hate and disharmony need to know that even with the physical separation between India and Pakistan, the spirit of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb lives on. The lack of communication between the two countries, particularly after the 1965 and 1971 wars, has not managed to
dampen the natural instincts of sharing these cultures. Farid Ayaz and Abu Muhammed, the renowned Qawwals from Pakistan continue to sing Bhajans which their gharana has been singing for the last 300 years. On the other side are Wadali brothers who sing Bulleh Shah Kaafis and Naats with the same devotion. Despite all odds, Sheema Kermani and her students in Pakistan have continued to keep the dance forms, not only of Kathak, but also Bharatnatyam and Odissi, alive and known in Pakistan. The recent collaboration between Zeb and Haniya from Pakistan and Shantanu and Siwanand Kirkire of India yielded the soft melody Kaho kya khayal hai in a beautiful blend of Dari and Hindi. I could not help relate it to the Zehaal-eMiskeen composition by Amir Khusro which was a beautiful fusion of Persian and Brij Bhasha. And now another peacenik in the form of Shahvar Ali Khan makes a music video titled No Saazish No Jang (No Conspiracy, No War). It is heartening to see the visuals, and hear the voices of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Bapu Mahatama Gandhi together in the backdrop. It is not possible to list all collaborations between the two countries and across religious divides, particularly in fields of films, music, health (the most significant being the Heart to Heart initiative by Rotary and Aman ki Asha). But all these initiatives testify to the desire for peace, not hate. As for me, convinced that each of these efforts towards peaceful coexistence is based on foundations going back centuries, I slide into my bed, comforted by the faith that peace, not hate, will ultimately prevail. Its just a matter of time. Dr Ilmana Fasih is an Indian gynaecologist and health activist married to a Pakistani. Her blog is Blind to Bounds http://thinkloud65.wordpress.com/
n December 18, take out just thirty seconds to Pray for Peace Between India and Pakistan. The prayer can take any form you choose. Some expressions of support for this initiative include: The Pentecostal Church in Bihar and Jharkhand, with a membership of 20-30,000 people has pledged to participate. The Lahore School of Economics is providing a free space for students and their friends to gather and pray for peace on Dec 18. On behalf of Pakistan Youth Alliance and Khudi Pakistan, I express full endorsement for the initiative Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi, Chair & Founder Pakistan Youth Alliance, a youth based not-for-profit organisation and Central Executive Committee Khudi Pakistan, a counter-extremism initiative. We have different groups in Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Jhang, Gojra and Toba Tek Singh. The areas have Christian & Muslim population. We are organising programmes with both communities on December 18, 2011 Ashfaq Fateh, Toba Tek Singh.
Those who are not participating through an organised group are of course also welcome to join. Five ideas to share and work on: 1. Make and display a sign in different languages saying Pray for Peace Day! Pray for 30 seconds for peace between India and Pakistan. 2. Tell ten people you know about this initiative family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, anyone. 3. Do fun things like make mock coffins or toilets out of chart paper or cardboard to show where you think the issue of hostile Indo-Pak relations is or should be, ie. bad relations should be flushed down the toilet or buried for good. 4. On Dec 18 or before that as part of awareness raising, include a yoga or pranayam section. For those looking for a bit of guidance on basic yoga postures you can try with the crowd, email a request for this to: swati sharan <swatimagic@yahoo.com> 5. Talk to NGOS, teachers, parents and get children to do arts and crafts to show their support. They might like to do drawings or origami of a dove or whatever. Any kind of creative expression is welcome. See article by Swati Sharan on Why India and Pakistan need Peace, introducing the idea of Pray for Peace Day, published in Aman ki Asha on Sept 7, 2011: http://bit.ly/su33YO Like the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PrayPeace and post your comments. Like the Aman ki Asha facebook page and send feedback: https://www.facebook.com/amankiasha.destinationpeace
A legacy of peace: Rehmat Ullah Khan I decided to uphold my fathers legacy, regardless of the odds. I began with a simple step. It was giving my firstborn, a name, which originated in India: Suhani, meaning pleasant pleasant enough to win hearts, that is. It was a conscious decision, premised in a tribute to all those people, wherever they may be on this planet, who have gamely in the face of huge odds fought for peace between India and Pakistan. If charity begins at home, so does goodwill. Im struck by what a gesture even as small as this has done: our little Suhani is the apple of all
GRAVE INJUSTICE Many on both sides of the divide suffered the pangs of partition but long after the wanton bloodshed, I still shudder at the grave miscarriage of justice where a son was not allowed an opportunity to visit his fathers grave either by THE FIRST STEP LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
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