[Reader-list] Where religion does not define identity

[Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्]

Thanks for posting this, Yousuf. You may also want to see this one by
Sohail Hashmi: http://kafila.org/2008/10/24/phool-walon-ki-sair/

best
shivam

On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 3:52 PM, Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Where religion does not define identity
> 23 Oct 2008, Radhika Oberoi, Times News Network
>
> NEW DELHI: Standing outside the dargah of Khawja Syed Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Khaki on Thursday was a young girl her fingers intertwined wi
> th the filigreed windows that provide a glimpse of her beloved khawja's resting place. Her kohl-rimmed eyes were radiant as she muttered her prayers.
>
> Her name wasn't Zenat or Noor or Nusrat, but Savita. In the crowd of devotees there, one's religion was a mere technicality. The throng of Hindus and Muslims were celebrating Phool Walon ki Sair, and it was the Hindus, led by Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna, who laid a chadder made of flowers on the dargah, to mark the first day of the celebrations.
>
> Savita, apart from being a devotee, has for a good part of the evening, policed the rows of shoes that lay at the entrance to the dargah. "Mere pardade bhi yahan par jooton ki rakhwali karte the; is kaam mein sabse zyada sukoon mehsoos hota hai (My forefathers used to volunteer to look after the shoes of devotees; the menial task gave them, and now me, immense peace of mind).''
>
> Mirza Mohtaram Bakht, secretary, Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan, organizer of the festivities, referred to the recent bomb blast in the area in hushed tones and said, "The festival is a clear message to the dividing forces that we are stronger than them. Look around you can you tell the difference between a Hindu and a Muslim?" Saddened by the fact that the urban, educated classes representatives of secular India know little about the festival that was popular in the Mughal era, but was banned by the British in 1942 before it was revived by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, he believes the media can play an important role in informing the young: "Tell them about Mehrauli, about the rich legacy of communal harmony that flowered here.'' Taking a cynical view of the kind of secularism brandished by political parties, he said, "Election kareeb aa gay to bhaichara ho gaya aisa nahin hona chahiye. (The elections shouldn't suddenly lead to brotherhood it should
>  come from within.''
>
> The Gaddi-e-Nashin of the dargah, Syed Fakhruddin, was equally forceful about the role of the youth: "Hum ne to apne umar guzar li hai, ab naujawanon ke haath mein hi desh khushhaal reh sakta hai (We're in the winter of our lives; it's up to the youth to lead the country to peace and harmony).''
>
> For the youth who live in the area and have grown up with vivid memories of qawali nights, dances and plays, the current festivities are a bit subdued. Manish, a 24-year-old whose grandfather runs a jalebi shop in the lane outside the dargah, said, "We've shifted into the lane only recently. Before that my grandfather sold jalebis for over 40 years in the main market. He has often spoken of long queues outside his shop during the festivities.'' The conversation kept slipping back to the bomb blasts too fresh in the memories of residents to be glossed over. Manish, who also runs a tutorial next door to his grandfather's shop, firmly believes that a modern education is one way of combating militancy: "I teach Science and Maths to the kids here; hopefully, they will grow up to be rational adults, not extremists.''
>
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