A Song for the Lord of the Hills

Pardaisi #52

People have been persecuted and prosecuted in Pakistan for making fun of beards. I don`t know if that is any less hateful than Jay`s mentioning that fact on Chowk.

# 4 Jay
quoting ``...beard being a religious symbol.``

Geez......thanks......you must think everyone at Chowk is an idiot.

You continue to amaze me how you can function with so much hate.

veeresh
``I think the Yesudas/Guruvayoor thing was sorted out, if I recall.``

Alas, not so :(.
There is an April 2004 online chat transcript of Yesudas, in which someone asked him about it and he replied ``You said Guruvayurappan`s blessings are there always, then why enter the temple and give trouble to others?``.

Hi Sadna - here is what happened when I went to a temple beyond Shimla, along the Sutlej, years ago. My co-driver then in rallying was a Muslim, visibly one, and this temple at Sarahan claims to be as old as the hills. Well, to cut a long story short, we cleaned up, went in, had darshan, (the sanctum sanctotum at this temple, in a departure from the usual) is on the top floor . . .) and on the way down were asked to meet the Head Priest so my buddy says uh-oh this is it . . . so when we go in, my buddy pre-empts matters by apologising and the Head Priest says (a) I wanted to take a ride in your loud/noisy cars and (b) his definition of a Hindu being any good person coming to His abode who accepts religion as a decentralised system with no formal institutional controls.

I think the Yesudas/Guruvayoor thing was sorted out, if I recall. Cross religion pilgrimages are the order of the day . . .

If I remember right, many years ago when Yesudas the famous singer and his wife tried and didnot succeed in having children, finally he went on the Sabrimala pilgrimage. After the pilgrimage, they did have a child and then another, but the Catholic church had gotten offended and initially refused to baptise them.

On this side, his beautifully-sung Ayyappa hymns and other Hindu religious music can be heard far and wide, but being a nonHindu, he is not allowed to visit the Guruvayoor temple. It is really strange that though his hymns are played on temple loudspeakers all over the place, he cannot actually visit the one temple that he does wish to visit. This is such a sad thing, can someone pl. tell me this isn`t so?

Thank you Jang--I like your irreverence, you must be all of nineteen!-- for your testimonial, and thank you Satyamvada for your scripture lesson. I never claimed Abdul and Salma were exceptional, I only thought it made a nice story. They were certainly not the first Muslims I set eyes on--I lived in Hyderabad for ten years. I am no wide-eyed schoolboy idealist, either, thinking `sappy` thoughts and dreaming soulful dreams of atma and paramatma locked in some cosmic embrace, to take the jing out of Jang`s sting, to coin a phrase. God be with you all, whatever your denomination or dogma, and now let me retire graciously from this debate to nowhere.
Ram

How do I explain again and again and AGAIN to people that one socially evolved and derived method of understanding communal harmony at religious centres is to check out how the benefits of expenditure by the pilgrim trade are spread across religions?

Or have people never used Muslim porters for Amarnath and Vaishno Devi? Or Hindu ``helpers`` at Ajmer? Or, better still, head for Karim`s at Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi (this one is a big favourite with the Urmilla Matondkar worshippers from the Pakistani media, by the way . . .) and check out who controls the Shiv-Shamboo there?

A little bit oif lust, therefore, is nothing.

Thanks, Ramgowri, and now you know!! Go forth with Jang, but go to the gym first!!

Ramgowri....

Chill out....what jang and veeresh said are no big deal.

Also, what the characters in your story did is nothing exceptional. They
just did what many people in India have done for thousands of years. It is
just that people like you who have been trained by the indian media to think
that this is something great.

``Abdul and ``Salma`` are ``Indians`` that is why they did what they did.
If they had contact with the real ``Islam`` - then they would behave like the Pakis
,become fanatics and look towards Arabia for sustenance.

If you are agnostic - I suggest that you read more about the following philosophies
- Jaina and Bouddha (both are atheistic)
- Advaita (monism - some dvaiti`s also call advaitins as ``buddhists in disguise``
though they are vaidikas)

#42 by ramgowri

OK ramgowri

This was a truely touching story of how atma meets paramatma, and how the true spiritual thirst tansceds religious boundaries. With more Abduls and Salmas, and ramgowris to report about them, the future is bright and peaceful.

Happy, or should i make it more sappy?

Touche! Veereshji, I enjoyed reading your Train to Pakistan so much. In fact, it was only after I read you in Outlook that I came to know of Chowk. Cheers.
Ram

Ramgowri 42, Sir, I appreciate your sentiments. Having said that, however, and having to some extent investigated decades ago the kind of sexual (and other) shenahigans going on in all places of religion, I would think that as a peaceful, innocent byestander, I was entitled to some amount of ribaldry.

And I have not even started as yet on the various House of Religion where people believe miracles occur towards conception.

In any case, would anybody deny the role of lust, be it in the fertility chants from almost all major religious texts or from a variety of genres, again, across all religions?

All my life I have remained an agnostic, but the faith of humble believers—as different from the zeal of fanatics—never fails to move me. My story is about people who can rise above their own individual faith to embrace that of their fellow. ‘Abdul’ and ‘Salma’ are devout Muslims who find beauty in some Hindu rituals and places of worship, even solace, thanks perhaps to where they come from. The priest who performs the archanai for them is equally liberal in outlook, and I wrote of them because their exceptional conduct gives us hope. As some other ‘interactors’ point out, there are many instances in Indian life of easy intermingling, such as the contribution Muslim musicians have made to Indian classical music, the camaraderie between Hindu and Muslim sportspersons and so on. It so happened that this particular episode touched a chord in me. What surprises me is the kind of reaction it has evoked in some of our ‘interactors’. I am all for humour, even of the black variety if the situation demands, but amazed that the story has generated ribald responses on pot-bellied priests and shaven women in Kanjivarams competing with topless men for the lustful looks of voyeurs out for a good time.

My Dear ganjee-less Jang-ji,
Before you off with your veshti,

Do visit the gym,
And get back in trim,

Or you will be snooked by the Pandit ji!!

Seriously, the pot bellied dudes are not your competition. Have you seen the new-age swamis and their yoga controlled breathing enhanced physiques?

So, off to Talwakars for you, chop chop. And do shave.

jang
//..``is it ok to look lustfully at visiting nice looking devotees``? ...//

I have wondered about that question too. Especially when I find myself bowing to Lord Krishna. Wasn`t that guy the the most colorful playboy of all times? I mean - if he can do all those good things he did ( like watching babes bathing nude in Yamuna ) and still be worshipped - why can`t I? After all, I am his devotee, his follower - right???

It`s confusing!!

#37 by veeresh

arrright then, off with ganjee next time..maybe have to be ganja as well? but cant compete with priests with their sumo-size bellies. marvelous how they use the sacred thread to scratch their back.

boy, that is some sight at tirupati. see these women in fanciest of kanchivurum silks who are ABSOLUTELY CLEAN_SHAVEN BALD, with chandan and haldi on their heads!

my visits to some remote north indian temples was too close for comfort to humanity.

i remember being trapped in the manikaran temple (near Manali) once with some yatris due to snowfall. boy, the channa diet the yatris eat is not the most pleasant in close proximity. and the ganja in manikaran has little to do with lack of hair.

Sorry for post#36. Got posted on this board by mistake.

Jang 35, ``Is it OK to look lustfully at nice looking devotees``?

Jang ji, which sounds unfortunately like an ad for a ganjee, what I will suggest iis that you analyse this further.

Female devotees of the lusting or lustable sort usually come swathed in yards and yards of clothes.

Male devotees, on the other hand, are encouraged to come well bathed, oiled and topless, for viewing pleasures of all so inclined.

Now who is looking at whom lustfully, you decide on how the system plays the odds.

Therfore, jang ji, invest in some good sound knolwedge, maybe help the electric guitar player set up better acoustics or something, and yes, be looked at lustfully. Role reversal, maybe, no doubt, but if you haven`t tried it, don`t kick it.

What have you to lose other than your ganjee anyway?

Beat this....

Keralites trapped in US camp in Iraq back home
Monday May 3 2004 14:27 IST
PTI

KOLLAM: In a real life story, four Keralites who were `cheated` by job agents and taken to a US military camp in Iraq have managed to reach home here after going through the nine-month-long ordeal in the camp as slaves.

Two brothers among them, Hameed and Shajahan of Velichakkala village near here, while narrating their harrowing tale, said they were among 20 Malayalis to escape from the military camp run by US soldiers near Mosul in Iraq.

They had lost track of others, from other parts of Kerala, after reaching Mumbai last month.

``Memories of those nine months will remain as a recurring nightmare all through my life. Ear-dinning sound of bomb and shell attacks, menial treatment by gun-toting US soldiers and the uncertainty of the future kept haunting me every moment,`` Hameed told PTI.

The siblings, like other Malayalis who ended up in the camp as kitchen assistants, were victims of a job racket chain that took them to Iraq on false promise of a decent job in Kuwait.

``On reaching Kuwait city, we were handed over to another agent. He took us on a long road journey, which came to a halt at a check-point. We were then asked to board another bus. Finally we reached a city and from the sign board of the hotel we came to know that it was Iraq. And that was the beginning of the hard days,`` Shajahan said.

``We soon realised that we were cheated by the agents who had taken us on a visiting visa to Kuwait and from there to Iraq through a local racket. We were deceived as it was difficult to get workers for mundane chores in war-torn Iraq,`` Hameed, who like his brother is a meat-seller here, said.

The brothers said in the first four months they were not even allowed to telephone or write home. Though they were told that Rs 12,000 would be send home every month, not a single dollar was paid directly.

With life becoming unbearable and any risk worth taking, they got out of the camp last month and reached Baghdad with the help of an Iraqi truck driver. From Baghdad they moved to Fallujah by road and then to Jordan and Doha before landing in Mumbai on April 28.

``The journey from Baghdad to Fallujah was really frightening. On way our vehicle was blocked by Iraqi resistance soldiers. We were asked to kneel for hours under the blazing sun. Finally they let us off saying that they were doing so just because we are Indians,`` Hameed said.

Shajahan said on their way home they came across a batch of eight Malayalis who were being taken to Iraq. From a brief chat it became clear that their passports and visas were with the agent.

``We thank the almighty for helping us to get out of the hell. Not a single day did pass without shedding tears. But it is sad to know that innocent job-seekers continue to fall prey to the designs of greedy agents,`` Shajahan added.

these days i love going to the temples..specially since the noth-american south-indian temples have improved their ventilation and camphor burning.

the first time i was also very much puzzled by the priest queries about gotra and nakshatra. if you dont know, the priest mumbles something like ``shubha-gotra`` (good gotra). so, is not gotra only available to the brahmins who trace their ancestors to a speific sage?

temples are great for people watching, the proud newly-weds showing off their spouses, the old sinners doing a ``touba`` while holding both their ear-lobes and kids being kids. then there is the tussle between north-indian ladies who want a more close contact with the idols (i.e. touching feet of the idol placed deep in a sanctum) while the south-indian priest strongly disaproving of such nonsense, may carry a new baby or so for a closer communion. there is always some dr. bangalore subramaniam playing electric guitar against palaghat shankar on ghatam (to me is sounds like they are against each other) in the basement auditorium.

one thing i still dont know but have been afraid to ask is ``is it ok to look lustfully at visiting nice looking devotees``? once that question is solved favorably, my visits will be more spiritually fulfilling.

and then i heard that if you get a ``car-seva`` done, (a puja for your car by the temple priest, involves breaking a coconut, and is therfore dangerous to new car paint), liberty mutual is giving a 5% discount for auto insurance.

Hamid mian #31,

``faith is a personal matter between man and his demons ``

Just loved it!!!

``kind of like a divine peep-show ``

Thats what an archana is. Just that the preist alone gets to peep and in some cases money too.

Adios

mittarji. . .

i remember when my eldest brother had read the book, and seen the movie, and raved on and on and on about it. i should have satisfied my curiosity there and then. . but better late than never. and i have always enjoyed alan arkin in everything i`ve seen him in. : )

noorie:
...better still, see the movie Catch-22, with the jewish alan arkin in it.

dost-mittar,

…. i don’t ridicule faith – it is organized religion that deserves our scorn ………… faith is a personal matter between man and his demons and doesn’t hurt anyone unless the man decides to go and sacrifice his son or torment jewish bankers plying their business on the street ……

……. i really don’t see any redeeming quality in organized religion other than the fact that it has supported many artists who wanted to paint obscene fat women playing with naked winged cherubs ……….

……. and please don’t ask me how to separate the business of religion from personal faith – the two have become so intertwined that it seems impossible ………..maybe the japanese can come up with a coin operated booth which you can set up at every street corner and for a quarter you can experience an intimate 3-d relationship with the god or goddess of your choice ……… kind of like a divine peep-show …………..

i don`t know that i want to necessarily master hamidm`s posts, but i will get to catch-22 as soon as i can get to reading for pleasure again. thank you!

: )

Yes, please read Catch22 right away if you wish to master hamidm2 posts.

That would help a lot.

Ofcourse, it is a Jewish conspiracy.

veeresh #25

i haven`t even read catch-22 as of yet. . .do you think that would help?! ; )

hamidm2 #various
Cheesy though this may sound, IMO, this article is not about the weakness of the protagonists` faith, it is about the largeness of their hearts. They are secure enough in their faith to be open to other things. You don`t have to told this of course because you are just fooling around.

Nazar Hayat Khan asked:
Why should the Lord himself be needing special prayer from a priest. The Lord is himself is the giver of all things? I am a little confused.

Nazar Khan -
The Bhagawan does not need prayer.
Here is a simple explanation:
In the South - when people go to a Temple , they ask for an Archanai to be done
- all that happens is that the purohit/archak (priest) then asks for the persons
birth star and gotra and name. The priest then utters 108 names of the Bhagwan
(it is called ashtottara-shatha naama or literally 8 more than hundred) and gives
some prasaad back. The birth star is easily known - any astrologer or astronomer :)
will tell you. Not many people know their gotra (or lineage) so they ``Kashyapa``
or ``Shiva`` etc....thats all ...

In the North, because of invasions - most of the old-temples have been destroyed
manuscripts and temple-families were also extinguished so the practices there have also
been weakened. You will find more continuity of tradition in the south.

BTW, all this puja stuff is for the laypeople - because we are in this world - and we ask
for the worldly things - for a Sanyasi ( or a renunciate ) no puja is really necessary.

This is a simple explanation - more later when I have time.
until then ....

hamidm2 # 20:- boss, your triple decker cube root puns are being seriously. Maybe it is time for a hamidm3 to come along and provide an explnation of :-

1) Full frontal air-brushed fuzzy lens meaning for us serious types.
2) Hidden sarcastic teaser meaning for us ummah types.
3) Actual beaver split wide-open meaning for us irrelevant types.

Choose a type, or is there a fourth, too?

The future is simply not what it used to be, hamidm2. Everybody has not mastered Catch22 as yet, either.

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CoolAL,

i had meant to respond to your post earlier, but was distracted by hamid mian. thank you for sharing more about your friend. i wonder how different it would be if he had taken different drugs (some drugs aren`t the cure, but the problem), but i know that it isn`t always possible to recover completely from encephalitis. he must be very proud to have such a brilliant daughter. : )

hamidm:

what more can i say? i usually find your satire quite amusing, but then there are times when i find you are, please pardon the expression, beating a dead horse. that is an awful expression to use. it should be struck from the books, and our minds. . .oh well. . .

Hamid,

I wonder why you did not choose to quote the next two sentences....

..My mom and now his mom are fully convinced that their prayers did the trick. The rest of us are not quite ``convinced``. However, we don`t see any reason to argue.

Maybe, I was not very clear...Our neighbors did not ``convert`` to hinduism nor did anyone think that ``Ram trumps allah`` as you indicate. Life went on as normal after that but the two ladies insist on paying a debt of gratitude at this temple. The ceremony is quite simple, they offer archana in my friend`s name that is all.

You have to understand it is not the god in general -- there are hundreds of temples of the same god all over Bangalore -- but it is that particular spot, the temple and the day on which the archana is offered. The archana is offered purely on a voluntray basis and does not require my neighbours to do anything else...

You also can rest assured that my friends recovery multipled the small temple`s legend by a thousand times. I am sure a lot of people who had similar situations came and prayed at this temple and their loved ones did not make it, but try and tell that to my mom..

I don`t know how to put this, but a lot of people do ``things`` -- rituals, ceremonies, prayers, archanas -- that seem religious but have nothing to do with religion per se. These ``things`` are done to get ``good luck`` and ward off ``bad luck``. It cuts across all religions. I have known muslim and hindus light a candle at one church in Bangalore before taking exams for luck. I have seen Muslims walking around with sai baba lockets. I am sure you will find several examples of Hindus visiting dargahs to get the luck if there are local legends. Ram or Allah are the last things on the peoples` minds when they perform these rituals and ceremonies. Mark my story as one example of the above described phenomenon.

hamidm2:
While enjoying your humour, I am a bit reluctant, like Nooralain, to ridicule faith. Something has to be said about the power of faith, or what is better captured by the arabic word `aqeeda`. As the poet said:
Khak ko but aur but ko devta karta hai ishq
Inteha yeh hai ke bande ko khuda karta hai ishq.

...and dont worry, the future of ummah is safe in the hands of hunood. You see, a muslim can go offer prayer to a hindu shrine without having to convert; indeed, until some ramoos-come-lately decided otherwise, it was impossible to become a hindu, except the old-fashioned way, i.e. earn it by being a good guy in previous births. Ever since Muhammad bin Qassim, conversion in India has always been a one-way street and will remain so.
nhk:
``It seems to be true for only Abrahimic faiths - Bhuddism and Hinduism, much older, have survived in the same condition - greater tolerance and much less strictness & much less power & influence of clergy.``

As I said to hamidm, it ain`t so. These older religions did not survive those with stronger faith and sharper swords. Look at Afghanistan or Panjab or Indonesia for that matter.

...I dont think many hindus in the North are familiar with the concept of archanai.

islam is in danger.........

.........they, the true believers, have been telling us all along that, ``islam khatray mein hai`` ....... first there was ali and his mum, the yazid, then there were the ahmedis, now it seems that the muslims of india are reverting back to hindooism in droves ............ where does this stop .......... anyway, i am glad to hear that most of these converts are musicians, writers, journalists and other people of loose character .......... the ummah doesn`t have any use for these artsy fartsy types anyway - most of them are homosexuals, reprobates and deviants to start with ....................

ramgoweri # 9

(Sometimes the devotee requests for the prayer to be offered in the lord`s name, sometimes a near relative`s, often his or her children. In this )

Why should the Lord himself be needing special prayer from a priest. The Lord is himself is the giver of all things? I am a little confused.

Dost-Mitter

As you know, the Muslims have raised the status of the Prophet to much higher heights than due for a messenger. Not only Prophet but his friends and family members are treated like dieties. `Blasphemy` covers a wide area - and is punishable.

So ``Shirk`` is left far behind.

As they say, all religions begin with simple ideas - and then their clergy, with state power, keeps on making them more difficult & strict. Until, the followers simply get fed up and delink the clergy from State. It has already happened to Judaism & Christianity - now perhaps Islam is going through that painful stage. To get the Mulla & his edicts not capture the state power as it happened in Afghanistan to disastrous effects.

It seems to be true for only Abrahimic faiths - Bhuddism and Hinduism, much older, have survived in the same condition - greater tolerance and much less strictness & much less power & influence of clergy.

Many of the muslims in India - remember their Hindu past. A whole village
in Rajasthan returned to Hinduism recently.

Most of the singers, so called sufis even in Pakistan - remember their past.

In India, musicians like Ustad Allauddin Khan and Ali Akbar Khan all remember
their Hindu past - they would do a Shiva-pooja at home.
They are all ``muslims`` in name - nothing else.
Even Ustad Bismillah Khan is Hindu - except for the nominal muslimness outside.
A.R.Rehman is now back to using his Hindu name of Dileep.

hamidm:

honestly, with ellipsis if you please. . .why do you find it absolutely necessary to ridicule all those who believe? is there absolutely no room for what you believe, and what i, for example believe? just curious, thank you.

and no, i have nothing to share about the Virgen Maria de Guadalupe shrine visit, given that i`ve never been. but i`d be interested in hearing about someone who did. : )

and i shall light a candle for you next time i`m in church!!!
n~

ram trumps allah !

``Well, to make the long story short, my parents and his parents went to that temple on that particular day and offered prayers. My firend recovered fully and as such their wish was granted.``...........subhanallah!

........... so what do my muslim friends like tahmed and naqshbandi have to say to this ?............isn`t this definitive proof that allah mian is an imposter who can`t even cure a simple thing like encephalitis ?.......... one visit to an obscure temple was able to accomplish what five times a day of bowing to a rock in mecca could not do............. subhanallah, or should i say, subhanram ................. next thing you know nooralain will be talking about a friend who was cured of cancer by a single visit to some virgin`s shrine in guadalupe .............subhanmary!

He is well. But is a shell of the person he was. When he got this he was in his second year mechanical engineering. He was a brilliant student till his illness. He lost a lot of that after he recovered since he was heavily medicated with Sodium Gardinal. He managed to complete his degree. But was not able to get a job. He now owns a grocery store and is doing quite well.

He is married and has a daughter. Now she is absolutely brilliant.

[there is definitely something to be said about the power of faith. . . ]

Himayat Ali Shayer...started a new genre in urdu poetry which unfortunately never took off, it was called `salaasi` which the arabs would pronounce as ` thalaathi` and contained three misras to complete a theme. here is one on power of faith...

Ye aik patthar jo raastay meiN paRa huwa hai
issay mohabbat saNwaar lay tou yehi sanam hai
issay aqeedat taraash lay tou yehi Khuda hai

I found out the name of the Rajasthani muslim tribe which specialises in singing hindu krishna bhajans, it is Manghaniyar. The tribe lives in the border areas of Rajasthan and Pakistan`s Sindh province. The internationally famous group, Musafir, derives its inspiration from them.

CoolAL

that is a lovely story. and is your friend well now? was he affected in any way later by the encephalitis?

there is definitely something to be said about the power of faith. . .
n~

Just wanted to share something similar. I have several muslim neighbors in Bangalore. They are quite close to our family. We have lived next to each other for years and we used to play together as kids.

Anyway, they are quite devot muslims. One day, their 18 year old boy -- my close friend -- got chicken pox. That somehow morphed into encephalitis -- called post varicella encehalitis -- and he became very critical. He used to have hundreds of seizures every night for weeks on end. I know this because I used to do night duty at his bedside in the Nursing home for weeks on end and I kept a record for two weeks as to how many seizures he had. The doctors did not have much hope to give to us. In fact they were trying to get the family prepare for his not being able to make it through.

While all this was going on, my mom -- this is her reponse to all difficult situations -- began getting pujas done in many many tamples in his name. This continued for quite sometime. She kept this to herself until she heard about this obsucre temple in a small village 70 kms away from Bangalore where there was a legend that if you offer prayers on a particular day, your wish will be granted. So my mom hesitantly broached the subject with our neighbor -- who were at this time in despair -- and was able to convince them that they have nothing to lose so they should try this.

Well, to make the long story short, my parents and his parents went to that temple on that particular day and offered prayers. My firend recovered fully and as such their wish was granted. My mom and now his mom are fully convinced that they prayers did the trick. The rest of us are not quite ``convinced``. However, we don`t see any reason to argue.

My parents and his parents have continued this tradition now for past 20 years. They vist that temple on that particular day every year to pray at that obscure temple.

ramgowri:
Welcome to chowk!
The tradition of muslim musicians is fairly common in North India. I believe that muslim musicians respect Goddess Sarswati, too. There is a group of musicians in Rajasthan (I forgot the name) who specialise in Krishna devotion.

...But folks, let`s make no mistake about it. In praying to a Hindu deity, all these people are indeed indulging in shirk which goes against a basic tenet of Islam.


...and Milad-ul-Nabi mubarak to all our muslim friends.

The usual question the priest asks is, ``In whose name should the archanai or special prayer be performed?`` Sometimes the devotee requests for the prayer to be offered in the lord`s name, sometimes a near relative`s, often his or her children. In this case, in earlier years, Abdul had sidestepped providing his name by asking the priest to do the prayer in God`s name.

Harimau,
This is amazing. The interview at the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana was done by Shankar Ramachandran, my brother-in-law!

After reading Jay`s comments, I wonder if my eminent doctor friend, a Hindu and an expert in his field--hence his numerous visits to Pakistan as a visiting physician--is right when he says the attitude of the average Pakistani to Indians is perhaps more positive than that of the common Indian to Pakistanis. I am not denying the existence of the lunatic fringe among Muslims, but that applies equally to Hindus. In south India, at least, the Abduls or Salmas do not have to show respect to Hindu gods clandestinely. Their real names have been withheld not out of any fear for their safety but to respect their privacy.

From the same Chennai Online (www.chennaionline.com), here is another story that appeared recently. I have added a few words in paranthesis to explain words that aren`t in English. The nadaswaram is a woodwind instrument similar to the shehnai but much longer; it produces music which is usually a couple of octaves lower than that of the shehnai. The tavil is the drum that traditionally accompanies a nadaswaram.

The source article with a couple of photographs can be found at:

http://www.chennaionline.com/specials/cleveland04/interview01.asp

Artiste Interview
Praying for the gift of playing the nadaswaram

This is the first time the Cleveland Aradhana has included a full-length nadaswaram concert. The artists, Sheikh Subhani Mahboob and his wife Khaleeshabibi Mahaboob say they need at least three hours or more for a concert as it takes time for the wood wind instruments to settle down in these dry and cold climate conditions. And they cannot warm up in the hotel room for fear of disturbing the other guest with the loud instruments.

These are not the usual loud and blaring sounds we hear in the background on festive occasions. The mood created by the talented duo was contemplative throughout. Natakuranji varnam precedes Hamsadwani and `Akhilandeshwari` in Dwijavanti. `Sogasuga Mridanga Thalamu` in Sriranjini was accompanied with a soft touch on the tavil.

The Thodi alapana was expansive and in the grand tradition of their Guru; Sheikh Chinna Moulana. They took up the difficult piece `Chesinadella Marachitivo O Rama Rama` that was executed with a precision not found in many vocal concerts. The nadaswaram seemed to virtually speak the lyrics out aloud.

Many senior artistes were in the audience and enjoying this soul fest. Prof. T.R. Subramaniam, violin maestro T.N. Krishnan, T.M. Krishna, Ramnad Raghavan, Guruvaiur Dorai and several other musicians were all present. During the `tani` (drum solo) Sri Vembu Muthukumar and Sri Manickam Sankar showed their dexterity and demonstrated that Tavil can also be played softly and produce sounds of exceptional nuance and resonance.

They ended the concert with the ten Bhaja Govindam verses in the ragamalika popularized by M.S. Subbulakshmi. Again one could sense the nadaswarams` enunciation of the Sanskrit verses of Adi Sankara.

I was struck by the incongruity. Here was a Muslim couple playing Hindu religious music. I also noticed that the box that held the nadaswaram had pictures of Hindu Gods. The couple was also the Asthana Vidwans (court musicians) of the Sringeri Peetam ( a monastery of Shaivite monks at Sringeri). I was curious to know more about how this husband and wife team was introduced to this music? Did they know the words of the songs they play so soulfully? Do Hindu rituals also enter their lives at home?

We caught up with the artists back stage. The soft spoken, unassuming couple and the equally modest and quiet Tavil duo sat down and spoke with us in a Tamil which was not adulterated with English vocabulary:

Q. Do you remember how you started to learn nadaswaram?
A. I was five or six years old when my father started including me in the lessons he gave other students. By age ten I was playing at concerts with my father. She (he indicates his wife sitting by his side with an affectionate nod) is my own Athai`s (aunt - father`s sister) daughter. She was taught by her chittappa (uncle - father`s younger brother) and by age nine she was also giving concerts.

Q. How were you able to wield such a big instrument when you were so young?
A. We learned on a smaller nadaswaram because our fingers were small at the time. We could not have reached and held the instrument. Within a couple of years we were able to play the full-sized instrument.

Q. You are both Muslims. How did you come to be introduced into this life of playing religious Hindu music?
A. Our families have a story about this (he says with a smile) that is written in our family record book. It may or may not be so, but it is our family history. Eight generations ago one of our grand parents was a young boy in Saathulur, which is in Guntur district. The boy did not do well in his lessons and his father punished him with a beating. This form of punishment was common in those days when they did not know better.

The young boy ran away from home in pain and hid in the nearby Munivandamma temple. That night, the Amman (Goddess) deity of the temple appeared before the boy and comforted him. It is said that the deity wrote a mantra on his tongue and blessed him with the gift of nadaswaram music; not only for his lifetime but also for the next seven generations to come. ``The seventh generation ended with my father`` Sheikh Mahaboob adds with a coy smile. We are the eighth generation. So we now pray to receive the blessing for the next seven generations. His plain white shirt reflects brightly and there is a warmth in his eyes as he says this.

Q. Do you learn the music as swaras (musical notation) or do you also learn the sahitya (lyrics)?
A. We have to learn the words. Music (he uses the Tamil word `paattu`) cannot be learned and played by just learning the swaras. We are trained in vocal music and have learned all the pieces we play.

Q. What religious traditions do you observe at home?
A. For us, all religions are one. But at home we observe the Muslim holidays and traditions. Our marriage was a traditional Muslim ceremony. However, my father asked me to tie the `thali` (mangal sutra) myself. Normally this is not done as the groom rarely meets the bride before the wedding, the elderly of the house tie the knot. We were the first to set this trend and since then, all the youngsters in our family do this. At that time it was a big thing.

Q. Were you satisfied by your concert today?
A. No (they reply quickly and with feeling). We had a lot of trouble with the dry and cold weather. The Sivali (mouthpiece for the nadaswaram) gets dry and it takes time to settle down.

Q. What is a Sivali (pronounced `sivaaali`)?
A. It is the removable mouthpiece of the nadaswaram. It is made from the leaves of the `Naanal Thattai` bush that grows along the banks of the Cauvery River. The leaves are picked, steamed and dried and then the sivalis are made. If you buy a dozen, only three or four will be usable.

Q. You say the art of playing the nadaswaram is going through a revival now with many colleges teaching the instrument in Tamil Nadu. What about the art of making the nadaswarams themselves?
A. Nadaswarams are made from the wood of the `Accha Maram` tree. This is very hard to find today. Beams from old houses that are being demolished are scavenged to make new instruments. It is a dark wood. The dark color of the nadaswaram is the natural color of the wood itself. All nadaswarams are made in Narsingapettai near Mayavaram where a family of two brothers is continuing their tradition of generations.

Later on we spot the couple enjoying flautist Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar`s concert.

Published on 12th April, 2004

``Certainly, those that are called `Jains` today have stories that refer to Krishna, the `Sikh` Guru Granth Sahib has hundreds of mentions of `Rama` and many Muslims are quite happy to acknowledge their roots in the Indian civilization. Hundreds of Indian Muslim poets have celebrated their civilizational roots – Abdul Rahim Khan-e-khan wrote poems in praise of Rama, in Sanskrit; Justice Ismail of Chennai was the leading authority on Kamban Ramayana; Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote powerful revolutionary poetry in Bengali replete with references to Kali. In recent times, the script for the entire Mahabharata epic was written by Masoom Raza Rahi; and who can ignore the inspiration that our Gita-reading president Abdul Kalam from Rameswaram is providing to the nation.``

from http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/column.asp?cid=305879

archanai is a special prayer made on behalf of an individual(s) to the temple diety by the priest. The usual question might be identity of the person(s) for whom the prayer is being implemented (as it will figure in the sanskrit incantations); maybe the purpose may also figure. this I am not too sure about. what I do know is that the archanais in south indian temples provide a mechanism for the upkeep of the temples (the devotees buy archanai tickets from the temple office). A similar system also figures in north indian temples I assume?

This article could turn out to be a hunting ground for the Purists Islamists!
But for IM it not a big issue- we have known of Bismillah Khan going to Vishwanath temple , RasKhan and so many poets have been around since centuries, Dara Shikhon to Amir KHusrau and similar other eclectics - amongst the elites, Rulers like Akbar and Wajid Ali Shah have been there who did not HATE hindus like some of the purists and ancestors of OBL because all of them had a great grasp over the hindu traditions and philosophies- which did not dilute their Iman or their understanding of Islam,
So, Abdul performing Archanai may be as trivial or as serious an issue as hamidm taking YLH to the bar for a couple of cocktails.

Good that you have concealed the real names of the muslims and used the generic abdul and salma. There are jihadis on chowk and what the indian muslims have done is straight and simple blasphemy and they will have to be killed. There was a report, of course in dawn, about a hindu being prosecuted in pakistan for making fun of a muslims beard, beard being a religious symbol.

I find this quite acceptable in India, inter-faith religious peace of the individual sort, as well as community efforts. Prime examples are religious centres inA rmed Forces areas.

My experience in Pakistan, and I was wearing t-shirts with ``Om`` on them printed word as well as symbol . . . excerpt from (unpublished) travel article on my trip to Pakistan for this and another publication . . .

````At the Sial Chowk interchange towards Sargodha, around sunset, I head towards the mosque in the rest area to pray with folded hands while our son heads for the restaurant. The Maulvi strolls up and asks me what I am doing, I tell him that I am reciting the Gayatri Mantar in my mind. He nods, waits for me to finish, and then asks me what I was praying for. I tell him I want to come back here again with my mother, so then he adds his prayer too, and requests me to come back to the same mosque if we do. I promise him I shall.



We then sit down for a wide-angle chat, where we discuss the role of Islam in Pakistan, Jihad collection boxes, Kashmir, Muslim deaths in Gujarat and East Pakistan, Ahmeddiyas, book keeping at the mosque, accountabilities in maintaining cleanliness in the area, taking responsibility for the stretch of motorway nearby, and the importance of teaching personal hygeine to people in Islam. The nett agreement is that we had better fix our acts as mature countries soon, otherwise the colonials would be back in power on both sides. Touche`.````



Random observation:- Mosques tend to be much cleaner in Pakistan than in India. One reason is the lack of commercial activity on-premises of the sort so prevalent with religious places in India. A supari/paan chewing hulk of a man is summarily despatched by the Maulvi to wash his mouth and he complies meekly. The wash-up area is spotless. The colours used are subdued greys and browns, and the architecture is modern and airy. Many of the religious places I know of in India, by contrast, have problems with their accounts, governing councils and often seem to be haphazard commercial centres.

Ramnarayan

(Abdul who performed an archanai as he had done many times before, sidestepped the priest`s usual question as he always did, by saying, ``Please do it in Swami`s (the lord`s) name.``)

What is archanai ? And what is the usual question?

Just for my knowledge.