Who Am I ?

I am a human being. Sadly enough, man made divisions that are not visible but are etched so deep and are so prominent that if I don’t confirm I don’t fit anywhere divide me. To start with I am a woman, that itself is such a drawback in this country. At least I survived all the turmoil and lived to reach this age. That itself is a boon, as the society makes sure to test us at all stages from the moment we are born and then at every step to keep on testing through the years, to being checked when we are at school, from evading boys at every step and also acid attacks, shooting by some loonies . During these years, a woman looses her for her family, putting herself at the back burner, rearing a family, nurturing children and being supportive to her husband.

However, this is not what I am. I was born a Sikh girl, who embraced her religion with complete ease, accepted the Gurus, their teachings, the path laid by them to be a true seeker and in the times I was born, it was just natural to embrace all festivals. We were never told distinctly that this was a Hindu festival or a Muslim Eid, or Christian X- mas, it was just a festival and the Gods were ours. The 14-day Ram Leela played out by the mohalla actors were watched with enthusiasm, love, excitement and the pitch and fervor of every day has made many a memory for me. The build up, to buying of small toys, baubles are unmatched to all the games of today. We enjoyed all the festivals, and no RSS bhakat or a Hindu Shiv Sena could stop me, as I was a Sikh and couldn’t participate.

No, hardline hardcore Muslim organization could stop us from enjoying the Eid, or listening to qalaams that all speak of universal love and brother hood. How can I explain to another that the spiritual uplifting sound of Nusrat moves me more these days to greater heights? It’s been four months and I’m still stuck in understanding Allah, Mohammad Char Yaar. A friend, across the border who is from the family of Sultan Hazrat Bahoo of Multan still sends me lines from the Koran that are on the same plateau as the SGGS. How did, we come to this where we mourn humanity who are killed just because they are Hindus, or Sikhs or Muslims?

Why can’t we all just be humans? Killing a lion, Cecil for sport by an American dentist has made more headlines than anything, where as kids, women, men, elderly are killed more than before by the relentless ruthless ISIS. That organization is a sorry excuse.

The last quarter century has seen more horror , more killings, divisions based upon religion. Why cant we just accept the beauty and the love that is there in universal brotherhood and not to feel segregated by these divisions that are not based on color , caste or by sex but by religion that no one has seen? The scriptures were written ,handed to us as teachings to live our lives dictated by a code so we may be humans, good humans with compassion and empathy to other human beings and nature.

Begin to live life as humans and not as rabid dogs ready to bite and kill anyone who comes in front of you .

 And , question yourself in the mirror , and see who you are? Not the person you project and present to the world. Look Hard.