HIS words and me

HIS words … and me.

What is about the Asa Di Vaar sung by Bhai Avtar Singhji, which makes me feel that all is well in the world? Is it because it is the birth of the founder of Sikhism today or it’s the full moon today or is it because as a child, I used to listen to the kirtan with my grandfather? My grandfather was simply the best as all grandparents are. We love them unconditionally; the sense of enveloping security and the womb like comfort is duplicated by the hugs given by hem. For me, my grandfather was precious, his smile, his twinkling smile; his myopic eyes and the embrace are what I miss the most.

Asa Di Vaar, a composition of Guru Nanak Dev ji is a heroic ode that is used to inspire the people and to awaken the martial spirit. It is a positive rendition and an inspiring one.

The Chardi kala spirit is what he wants to awaken in us. The ills of contemporary life, the moral decay, the declining moral standards, and the stagnation of society led to the recitation by Guru Nanak.

His words reverberate and hold true for today when the society is caught up in the worst times of history. We have evolved to higher human beings where we treat a woman as chattel and treat her to the worst forms of torture killed gruesomely than the worst horror movie.

The Asa Di vaar holds truer today than ever before. Nanak probably would rue if He saw what was happening to in the world.

My grandfather, his embrace and the security of his hug, the mysterious kirtan playing in the background are what I miss the most today. It is times like today which make me emotional, weepy and nostalgic. Call me a fool, yes but I miss that. As a child we always take time, moments for granted but all passes away with a blink. It is these associations that are left behind. As, adults we expect the Martians to come and solve our problems but no one else is going to do so. It all depends on what kind of legacy we want to leave for the next generation. The small radio playing the comfort raag is what I remember most of yesteryears .One of the lines,’Jo maanga Thakur soye soye deva’ is true for all. We just need to callout and ask for Him. Its all about being humble and to ask, I think what is wrong is the fact that we have become cynical and lost in the age of evolution where we all are taking our personas and wealth to the next level.

The founder of the newest religion has left us many treasures and His words are what we need to follow again today where we are at the lowest but there is always hope as it sustains life and us.

Play the magic of the raag and envelop your self in the magic and the mystery of the soothing balm on your frayed soul and you will also feel the déjà vu’ that I experience every time. I know, now my grandfather is always there, in me, in the lingering fragrance and the words….

http://sikhchic.com/humour/musical_chair_grooms

Thank You Again !

This goes out to all the people who I know and cannot mention who in the last six months have overwhelmingly supported me in a dream I have. It started with a dream and the best part is that it is blossoming into a beautiful reality. One can never fathom how it starts and how the faith that is reposed in me has helped me translate the dream into a fraction of the reality that I envisage.

It is not about imparting knowledge, I don’t even know how, or what or which way to teach a class that has spiraled to 77. It is not about having a degree behind your name, which gives me a title of an educator. I am just a beggar begging for help. In fact, they are the ones who teach me with the love, the generosity, the trust they have. I actually get amazed that when one contribution is going to finish, another one miraculously comes. It’s a thank you to all those who do not want to be named, who want to be silent and don’t want any mention. Thank you for teaching me humility, no job is too small or big. It is a thank you, full of gratitude to all of you who have openly supported me, my crazy direction to help kids, who all are fierce individuals in their right.

Actually, it is another thank you to the big guy up there who knows it all who has supported me, showed me the way and somehow comes through for me always. Thank you babaji!

Do we take out time to be honest about how we really feel? Never, we all have the onion layers of society, a shy attitude, a what will people say attitude and the worst lack of confidence to spit it out. I have held back many a times thinking and procrastinating and then putting my emotion in a cubbyholes. Reminders to self, clear them away! I watched an amazing movie last night and that also because of a series of coincidences. When the Big Guy plans, then all falls in place. The movie timings weren’t right, and then the particular Hindi potboiler was not showing at that time and then the most acclaimed movie one day before the premiere, Life of Pi!

And, then it coincided all that we do has a predefined purpose in this world. We work, eat play and sleep and do all our secretive, non-secretive acts under his guidance! The movie shot beautifully, with vistas from an untouched virgin Mother earth left me in awe and humble at the beauty the ferocity of the creation, but what was real was the underlying message where one succumbs to His will, surrenders and then conquers.

Isn’t that all what Sufism all about?  A particular line in the movie where Irrfan Khan is asked that how come he is a Hindu, a Christian and A Muslim all rolled into one, so he replies tartly that he is A Jew too! So when asked that doesn’t it cause confusion in the storeys of his mind, he says yes there is but the joy is in surrender.

I wonder how many of us surrender?

Ravneet Sangha.

house full of Bride grooms!!

House full of Bride Grooms

With due apologies to Rohit Shetty, the face book police, all fundamentalists who might come and arrest me, and slap me for merely thinking aloud; I would like to shed some light on an incident that I witnessed on Sunday.

Sunday, was a day of joy, cheer where lakhs of (un) suspecting couples were joining themselves in holy matrimony all thinking of a life full of bliss and happiness. This was all due to the fortunate planetary alignment of the stars that were most favorable. My niece was also getting married; we were a bag of mixed emotions, happiness, cheer, sorrow, and all straight out of a Bollywood movie. The star cast was all present; we had drama, sophisticated women in their finery, dripping diamonds, beautiful kohl-lined eyes hidden behind mafia-esque glasses to shield one against the merciless sun. The men were all dressed to kill, handsome resplendent in their suits, and a rainbow of pastel colored turbans. All ready for the ceremony, in a fairy –tale sitting with the flowers still touched by the dew gently.

We all were ready for the ceremony that was performed beautifully; the music traditional sung piously keeping in mind the sanctity of the ceremony. A Sikh wedding is simple, sung to the raags all of them taken from the holy book pure, simple and honorable all sacred and holy.

Well the fourth phera took place, we all were teary and glazed eyes, the sniffing had started and the groom’s side was all smiling and congratulatory. And suddenly there was a silent rumble, a stirring of noise and commotion happened. Not one, two, or three but seven other grooms who were in line for their ceremony bombarded the ceremony. It was so comic!

Satte pe Satta and the jostling by the women folk. We forgot whether to cry, smile .In fact; in the chaos and confusion that ensued we forgot to cry for our niece. The sanctity and the purity of the occasion diluted with a fat women jostling behind me, trying to edge into the place so that her son could be the next groom! We had two on the right side where the men sat and one peeping Tom from the side door. It was as if we were playing musical chairs so that one groom could quickly take the place and rush in! The solemn moment all lost, with the movie man trying to take pictures that would exclude the extra grooms to be! We had my aunt (a darling) up in arms with a frown to battle it out to ensure that the moment be preserved for us, but it was alas lost with all the extra baraatis trying to edge in. The bhaiji (caretaker ) had a tough time to distribute the Prasad among the righteous first wedding wallas.

I have heard of traffic, and traffic jams and people queuing in serpentine lines for kerosene and other ration items; but never ever have I seen a queue of grooms all lining up to get married! It indeed was an explosion and a comedy of errors, with our desi Shakespaeare wallah laughing away due to an alignment of stars all wanting to get married at the same time.

Ram..Ram!

Ram…..Ram!

These two historical words made world –famous by Gandhi when he was assassinated have now been resurrected by the recent controversy by a man who was christened by his parents Ram, who never knew that one day he would commit the biggest gaffe’ of his career. Quote,” Lord ram was not a good husband…” un quote.

The, lines have been read by all us again and again and I don’t need to mention them again. I just wonder as a part of the  90% of the population that when we have other pressing problems which if I started enumerating would be the death of me, why would  a responsible upright citizen bring it up? Why should someone bring up something so volatile?

India, is a country which mysteriously survives on two things, faith /religion and hope. The country and its inhabitants are not bothered by 2G / 3G/ Mummy G / CWG / or any other G which holds the country’s strings. They just worry about the next meal or the fact that something as mundane as the aloo being more expensive! They also worry about how are they going to afford the shoes for the kid or how will he afford the schoolbooks or the next dose of medicine.

Ram is the ideal husband, the ideal son, the ideal king and perfect man the complete avatar and not to be trifled with by pointing out the folly. In that, also tradition holds him strong and it can be explained. Is what Ram Jethamalani’s  did a man’s last shot at fame? Does he want the media to exploit it or raise the issue, making him the eye of the storm?

How and why would one bring it up, and belonging to a party that  is extremist and primarily Hindu in nature? I would , just want caution and  common sense to be shown by men of such high post in a world which is fragile and any way held together by threads which threaten to unravel by the slightest provocation ? We need sense and not vocal aggravation .

Do not throw caution to  winds , instead put your acumen and intelligence to a good cause, Sir.

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

Diwali - spread some light

What happens when you get carried away and do not realize that un-knowingly you hurt someone’s feelings? I wish I could rewind and take back my words that were said in keeping with the spirit of the upcoming festival. In our evening school, with Diwali coming up, we are holding a diya competition; you know the childhood pleasures of buying an earthen pot and painting it and decorating it with little pieces of colored string, buttons and other odds and ends. It is what we do, normal people who do not have I-pads, or the latest tech gadget or the fancy –schmancy outing planned where you would burn senselessly rupees for instant temporary gratification.

To cut the story short, I asked them all to wear new clothes or nice clothes as we were going to vote for the best diya- maker and then it was going to be displayed in the Panchayati office. For, the 60% odd rural school going children this is akin to recognition for them and their families. Consider, the scenario they all belong to backward classes and other backward classes and then this bright spot.

I being an idiot, and insensitive to the point of a rhino (a female one) thick skinned uttered this again. In front of me sat a young boy, called Harpreet class 2, studying in Government School of my village, the brightest of all just kept quiet. In the cacophony of voices that kept on saying yes we will wear new clothes madam, his was silent. He did not even hold my gaze, looking here and there. I looked at him, and said, anyone who needs something can come up to me and tell me in;

my ear and no one will know.

Nothing, nada, zilch and he looked and went home.

Since, then I have been filled with remorse and guilt over my words. If, I could I would take back my words. It is rightly said that one should think and then speak. Maybe, what I need is a little hammer to go boing! My words have made a little boy aware of his poverty and the inadequacy he faces. He tries to come on par with the urban school going kids but all I reminded him yesterday was the extent of his poverty. Is it a curse? How can I lift him from that, in a festival that promises light and cheer? Diwali, a row of lights fails to reach millions in this country while we all are guilty of conspicuous consumption. Urban/ Semi-urban India rejoices and so does rural India, but spare a thought for millions who cannot afford a new outfit or for that matter some crackers to deafen away the silence of poverty .The causes are known to us, and the answers plenty but we all turn a convenient blind eye and ear, resurrecting them only for votes. To spread cheer, and to spread some light share and distribute one’s wealth, because no one till now has found a way to take it to the next frontier. I committed a gaffe’ and will try and atone and this time to mend a young heart but how about you?

Happy Diwali, in the true sense.

Ravneet Sangha