The nation weeps for and with
the people of J & K…
All of this week, I frantically tried to contact
three men – Yousf Bhai, Naqvi and Sajjid
.They are my “Kashmiri friends.” I have known them for a few years now. Over
time, we have established a warm and wonderful friendship. Sadly, so far I have not received a response
from any of them. Are they safe? Are they even alive?Like me, there are
thousands of people who are deeply concerned about friends and relatives they
have not heard from.There are thousands
more who are mourning the loss of loved ones. Ironically, it has taken a grim national
tragedy to bring one thing sharply into focus - we
can jointly challenge and fight the mightiest of enemies within and outside the
country, but there is nothing we can do to halt nature’s fury. Even as the
water levels come down and some modicum of ‘normalcy’ returns to Srinagar and
other severely affected areas, those of us with emotional connections to the
State will continue to keep our hopes alive… till the actual news arrives and
we get to know for ourselves whether it’s good or bad.
The three men I mention are traders of the
finest shawls and carpets from Kashmir. For four generations their families
have been engaged in the pursuit of beauty and excellence through their
exquisite, hand crafted wares. During our chats, I have asked the younger men
whether they’ve thought of doing something else, something more ‘modern’, and
they’ve shaken their heads, “ This is our legacy… this is our life.”. Their
deep knowledge and fine taste have illuminated our exchanges, regardless of
whether I was buying anything. Just watching them remove each precious shawl
from its soft mulmul covering, and gently open its folds to reveal
indescribable beauty, has been a matchless experience I will always treasure.
It is at once a richness and a rare education to hear them speak passionately
about family traditions going back a
century and more. And to share stories about wealthy patrons from overseas who
have tried in vain to entice them to ‘step up production’ and market their
shawls to international luxury stores. “How do we explain to these people that
it is impossible? We cannot insult our inheritance and weave mechanically in
order to meet market demands!”
Each time they visit, they bring kilos of freshly shelled walnuts and apricots
from their garden, honey from the wild flowers of their region, delicate
saffron stems from the fields they tend, hand embroidered silk firans for the girls, and pashmina
scarves as presents for close friends. Such generosity! Such refinement! So
much pride in their craft. Like them, there must be countless families
struggling to cope with this monumental tragedy, their looms washed away, their
precious shawls and carpets destroyed by the furious waters, their homes
completely submerged, along with any hopes of
recovering what is irretrievably
lost in the deluge.
It is at a time like this that India truly
shines. Not all of us have a personal connection to people affected by the
floods in J & K ,yet we are bound together as a nation by the devastation
that has already claimed over 300 lives . It is the men of our armed forces we
need to express our deepest gratitude to. Over 1,081 sorties have been
undertaken so far and over 1,10,000 lives saved under extremely hazardous
circumstances . The combined efforts of our
men in uniform have seen the successful evacuation of countless trapped citizens. The newly installed
Army Chief, General Dalbir Singh has led 30,000 of his men from the front, earning the blessings
of innumerable marooned J&K denizens. But where was Chief Minister Omar Abdullah? Or
his ministers? Busy using their VVIP status to rescue their own people,
according to reports.Shockingly enough, Abdullah was callous enough to state,
“People are alive to shout slogans, I have no problems.” Really! The problems
are right there, right now. And the irate people of your State are ready to
deal with them… and you. Watch out, Omar!
Perhaps, an overdue and vital turning point
has finally been reached between the people of the beleaguered state and the
Centre. If this crisis does lead to a truce of sorts, both sides should seize
it immediately. All efforts should be made to build on the goodwill generated
by the intervention of the Indian Army.
Yes, there is rage. And frustration, too.
Faced with local administrative indifference, arrogance and apathy,
denied access to food or water, with poor or zero data available about missing
people, a backlash is inevitable. The real challenge begins now. The waters
will soon recede. But the floodgates of public anger have been opened.Winter is round the corner.
There are bereft families out there who have lost everything…. loved ones,
possessions, homes. A shroud of sorrow covers the valley.
As for me, I am praying hard while waiting
for the phone to ring with good news about my three loving brothers from Kashmir - Yousf Bhai, Sajjid and Naqvi - wherever you are, may God be with you.
**********
Twisting two words –
‘Love’ and ‘Jihad’.
It is really unfortunate that our creepy-
crawlies ( read: politicians of a certain hue ) have deliberately concocted a
dangerous and ugly term (“ Love Jihad” ) and given a bad name to both words. In
fact, the random and reckless overuse of LJ, has spawned an entire industry of
haters and baiters, busy ‘outing’ couples they hold guilty. The media, too, has
fallen for this nonsense, and readers have been subjected to reams and reams of
LJ stories, some with a positive spin,
but most, minus a modicum of sensitivity or tact. It is that time of the year
when we feel obliged to display ‘communal
harmony’ at its most self-conscious. So, newspapers will feature
Hindu-Muslim celebrity jodis ( the usual suspects), and carry pictures of Bollywood stars from different faiths, celebrating Ganpati “with
fervour’’… as if there is some other way to celebrate festivals. Get ready for
more such cheesy coverage during Durga Puja, Navratri and Diwali. Perhaps,
these reminders are essential at a time when a crass female politico from
Gujarat is talking about banning Muslim boys from attending Dandiya Raas
evenings, because she fears an epidemic of ‘Love Jihads’ . What sort of rubbish
is this! And why don’t more citizens show people like her their place?
Interfaith marriages work on exactly the
same principles as same faith ones. And fail for the same reasons. Chances of ‘no faith’ marriages surviving or collapsing,
are also the same. At the end of it, love marriages (as opposed to arranged)
are about love. And love involves commitment. Commitment, like the clever ad
famously reminded us, is like Lycra – either you have, or you don’t. When two
young people take the plunge, they do so in good faith. That faith does not
come with religious strings attached. Mischievous politicians are deliberately
misusing words like ‘Jihad’ to scare and confuse people. Any form of coercion is unacceptable. Any forced conversion, is awful. Yes - both happen. Sensible people condemn them,
regardless of which religion is involved.
Faith is personal. And should remain personal. It is humiliating to force
citizens in a democracy to flaunt or deny it. Which is why, we need to exercise
great caution before blabbering about ‘Love Jihad’, without bothering to examine
its wider, trickier implications.
Here’s a charming story I heard during a
recent trip to Hyderabad. A cheerful
restaurant manager struck up a friendly conversation with me over
breakkfast, as I attacked a gigantic paper dosa. He was the original Bandra Boy
( though,a Catholic from Kerala, and not a Goan, as he hastily clarified). He
couldn’t marry the girl he loved, since he didn’t own his own house. The broken-
hearted fellow moved to Hyderabad and got a good job as a waiter in a 5-star
hotel. Soon, he met lovely local girl and they got married. Sensing that his
wife was the bright star in the relationship, our man willingly and shrewdly rejigged
his identity, plus his prioritities. He promptly changed his name and adopted
her surname and religion. They have two kids today, who follow the mother’s
faith. The lady is going great guns,
pursuing higher education, while her husband continues to work regular hours at
the hotel and takes care of the kids. Once his wife has an MBA degree under her
belt, she plans to apply for a better job after which the family will move to a
bigger place,preferably in an area where
they don’t have to buy expensive drinking water from a tanker. In other words,
here’s a family that is fully sorted. After 22 years at the hotel, the guy
still has amazing levels of enthusiasm, as he looks after guests with a broad
smile and genuine involvement. He is
happy with the choices he has made and looking forward to an upswing in his
life after his wife clears her exams. He proudly showed me her photographs from
his phone and said, “No tension. No ego. It has worked out. I speak Telugu
fluently, eat local food, and participate in community life.” I pumped his hand
before leaving the restaurant. I am sure there are countless couples across
India like this happy chap. While petty
politicians create enmity and rifts between people, there are those who go
about their lives quietly and in peace. The only way to combat the ‘Love Jihad’
controversy is to mock it, and mock
those talking about it. Who better than Yo Yo Honey Singh to do that for a mass
audience? After giving us the catchy, stupendously
successful ‘Baby Doll’, may we suggest an irreverent take titled ‘Love Jihad’
that exposes Netas who manipulate the gullible with this loaded term?
