[Reader-list] Another Amarnath Pilgrimage: Exactly A Year Ago

[Lalit Ambardar]

Nice little story.Who is this campaigning for the MLA? It took after all 18 years to rediscover the temple & the bonhomie...???
Regards
LA



> To: reader-list at sarai.net> From: shuddha at sarai.net> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:39:14 +0530> Subject: [Reader-list] Another Amarnath Pilgrimage: Exactly A Year Ago> > Dear All,> > Given the efforts being made to raise the pitch everywhere, this > report (below) by Shabir Dar, from almost exactly a year ago, seems > to suggest the possibility of reality quite different from what we > have become accustomed to hearing and seeing on the spectacle called > television in recent days.> > Here is 'another' Amarnath Pilgrimage, in Kashmir, one that has not > been on the radar of those crying themselves hoarse about the > imagined insult and injury done to the devotees of Shiva.> > Here is the little history of a local initiative, in a small town, by > local people, with 'valley' Pandits, as well as with migrant Pandits, > working together with their Muslim neighbours, and former neighbours. > You will notice, that this story has no martyrs, no heroes, no > protests, no loud rhetoric, not even a respectable 'land transfer', > nothing that is other than the ordinary re-assertion of a traditional > ritual practice. And meetings of long lost friends and neighbours.> > Perhaps when things work at a 'local' level, they do not always > conform to the dictates of bigger agendas that have of necessity to > carry flags of different colours, some tricolor, some green and > white, some green, some saffron, some black.> > This is not necessarily to romanticize 'little' traditions over > bigger ones, or 'Chhota' Amarnath, over 'Bara' Amarnath, but just to > note that flagless agendas get less notice than they ought to. > However, in the end, i do believe that they contribute more to life, > because they do not carry real or imagined armies and militias behind > them. Their imagination is not coloured by the need to be validated > by sacrifices of any kind.> > One way of thinking of Shiva, is to think of him as the lord of the > 'little' people, the ganas and bhootas - the misunderstood and > marginal who make up the merry band of his wedding party. High > Hinduism has not always been comfortable with this merry crowd. And > so has sought to transform him (Shiva) into the supreme ascetic, the > lord of destruction, distancing him from his occasionally not very > sanctimonious flock, forgetting, that Shiva also dances with the > little people, happily, at peace, intoxicated. The taming of Shiva is > one of the many tragedies of civilizational amnesia in indic cultures.> > I see this story, of 'Cchota' or 'little' Amarnath, as a welcome > reminder that even Shiva has many faces. And those who seek to make > him the head of a 'national' upsurge to protect the abstractions of > borders and nationalities, forget, that Shiva, in the extremely > complex spectrum of the Shaivite tradition, which is not the personal > property of those who are his loudest adherents today, often slips > away, escapes, borders, escapes definition. In Bengal, and in > Kashmir, (and in many other parts of South Asia) there is a lively > awareness of this subaltern Shiva, and those who seek to dress him up > as a high deity of Hindutva today, probably do more violence to their > own traditions than they can imagine.> > Perhaps reading the report below might help us all understand that > the starkest of binaries are simply choices made to see things, one > way or another, and not necessarily an effort to realize that the > texture of ordinary life is always more complex and more beautiful > than the reductive 'all or nothing' logic of the headlines that feed > and feed on the making of a crisis. i have never been a believer in > much, but to 'Chhota' Amarnath, I am happy to say, 'bam bam bholey'.> > regards> > Shuddha> > -----------------> Chotta Amarnath reopens in South Kashmir after18 years with Hindu- > Muslim bonhomie> Aug 31 2007> http://vinayk.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/08/chotta-amarnath-reopens- > in-south-kashmir-after18-years.htm> > Shabir Dar> KT News> Thajiwara (Bijbehara), Aug 28: As Suneeta Bhat (42) is busy in > lighting the ratandeep (lal charag) before the idol of Lord Shiva, > the sounds of aarti (puja) and bhajans continuously echo in the > surroundings. She has come all the way from Jammu to be part of this > festival of Hindu-Muslim bonhomie that is being celebrated at > Pracheev Amarnath cave of Lord Shiva here today, after a gap of 18 > years.> This cave temple also known as Chotta Amaranth (mini-Amarnath), has > remained closed since 1989 when the militancy surfaced and migration > of Kashmiri Pandits to Jammu and other parts of India began.> But, now with the initiatives of Devaasthan Prabadhank Committee > Bijbehara (an organization looking after all the temples in tehsil > Bijbehara), local administration, local MLA and common people; this > temple is again abuzz with devotees and performance of all religious > practices.> Suneeta flanked by many other Pandit relatives and some Muslim > friends and neighbours, is bursting with emotions and speaks her > heart out. "I am excited," she says. "Once again Pandits and Muslims > are exchanging love and amity. I have never thought that such things > will repeat again here," she said adding that this all happened with > hearty cooperation of local Muslims.> She is one among thousands (about 2000) of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs), > who are making a beeline to the temple premises from last two days, > to perform aarti, light incense and take part in bhajan mandli. > "Around 1000 KPs from Jammu and Delhi and about the same number from > different parts of valley have visited here since last two days," > said Vishvenathan Jotshi, president of Devaasthan Prabadhank > Committee (DPC) Bijbehara. "And the count is soaring," he added.> In the premises of the cave temple, a beeline of both KPs and local > Muslims visiting the temple could be seen, amid hugs and greetings. > In the courtyard of the temple, Mohammad Shafi a local teacher is > greeting every Pandit entrant with love and respect. "When are you > coming back permanently?" he is seen posing the question > affectionately to everyone. For a moment, the temple looks virtually > like a pot where emotions are filled with the warmth of love and > brotherhood.> For Sonika (17), who has come to her native land for the first time, > the warmth of people and place here has melted her heart. "I have > missed a lot being outside my own land. Now, I don't want to go > back," said Sonika Bhat who is here with her parents who actually > hail from Bijbehara but are now residing in Talab Tillo Jammu. "I > felt that there is no harm for us living here," she said.> Positioned on a hillock in the form of cave, Thajiwara temple as per > Professor Moti Lal Malla General Secretary of DPC Bijbehara has a > historical significance too. "Matta Parvati has a tremendous Tapasiya > for this place. Thousands of years back she has prayed for 12 years > to please Lord Shiva in order to reveal amar katha (history about > making of universe) to her, who later had agreed to her prayers," he > said.> And since then, Thajiwara annual yatra and festival is celebrated on > the eve of every Shravan Purnamashi or Raksha Bandhan and people from > all over the Valley throng this shrine for the darshan of Lord Shiva. > The yatra has the same religious sanctity and significance as that of > Swami Amarnath cave pilgrimage. "The temple is also known as Chotta > Amaranth," he said. "The handicapped, destitute and other people who > can not make it to Swami Amarnath can visit this temple," said Malla.> The temple has a distinction. From the cave, water - Amar Ganga - > trickles down from its roof on the idol of Lord Shiva, this > ultimately collects in the small pond outside the cave. A type of ash > - Amar Bhabooti - also comes out of the cave, which is applied by the > devotees on their foreheads.> Ecstatic with the arrival of a good number of Kashmiri Pandits into > his village, Ghulam Nabi Ashwar, an elderly person of Thajiwara > village, said that the occasion is like a festival for him. "We are > very happy with the revival of this temple. After a long gap I am > experiencing such festivity in my village. Earlier we (Hindus and > Muslims) used to celebrate every festival together and I don't > believe my eyes that same is happening once again," he said, while > holding the hand of a Pandit who happened to be a childhood friend.> In this ambience of revived religious harmony and cultural bonhomie, > many believe that time has come when the displaced people of the > valley should come back and settle in their original abodes. "The > warm welcome from local people and their love and affection is itself > a certificate for every displaced pandit to return back to valley," > said P L Pandita, freelance producer who along with his family has > come to the temple for puja. "This is a matter of great delight for > me to witness the revival of our traditional Hindu-Muslim > brotherhood," he added.> It is important to mention here that most of the arrangements for the > festival have been done by the locals here, who had been busy in the > preparations from last three days. The villages reflect a decorated > look. Most of the materials necessary for running a langar (free > meals) for devotees are being provided by locals. "Locals have > provided 70 kilograms of vegetables, 30 kgs of milk, 25 pairs of > bedding, matting and other furniture free of cost," said a member of > managing committee of DPC.> An octogenarian Prabhawati Dhar is all praises for the managing > committee of DPC Bijbehara and the local administration for making > her dream come true. Dhar who at present lives in Chakoora Pulwama, > has spent her childhood in the ambience of this Shiva temple. "I used > to visit this temple regularly before 18 years. And now to be again > here after a long gap is actually a dream come true. I thank > everybody who made this to happen," she said.> Abdul Rehman Veeri, the local MLA feels more than happy to be a part > of this beginning, which as per him has no end now. "It has been our > solemn initiative to re-open this old temple, which has always been a > symbol of religious harmony. Today, be it in the premises of this > temple when centuries old festival is again celebrated here, I have > no words to express my happiness. This is an encouragement to our > traditional religious harmony," he said.> Mufti Mohammad Amin, chairman of Bijbehara Municipal Committee, on > whose efforts the initiative has reached to its logical conclusion > said that it is a matter of pride for every Kashmiri that age-old > bonhomie is coming back on its rails. "A garden is perfect with the > presence of diverse types of flowers. And Pandits and Muslims are two > flowers of the same garden - Kashmir - which can thrive in one > another's presence only," he said.> In the temple the local leaders cutting across party lines and > village elders from whole area were present to welcome the visiting > guest on the occasion.(Kashmir Times)> > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta> > > _________________________________________> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.> Critiques & Collaborations> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header.> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
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