Life is an unfinished, illegible and sloppily drafted original foisted upon an unwilling and dyslexic multingual victim left to the mercies of outdated dictionaries for occasional random consultation through foggy bifocals for translation under a midnight oil lamp on a typewriter of questionable quality in the thoroughly unfounded space-age expectation of beating a divinely imposed yet enitrely unpredictable deadline. – Arthur Borges
The poem Saare Jahan Se Achcha was composed by the poet Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal in 1904/1905 while India was under the British . A lecturer at the Government College, Lahore (Now in Pakistan) , he was invited by his favorite student to preside over a function. Instead of making a speech, Iqbal sang Saare Jahan Se Achcha with gusto. The poem is in praise of Hindustan
and preaches harmony between people of separate religious beliefs.
Ironically, Iqbal is also credited with being one of the earliest
proponents for a separate nation-state in the Muslim majority areas of
the sub-continent.
Set to tune by the sitar maestro, Pandit Ravi Shankar,
the poem is sung by Indians on occasions of national importance and in
schools as part of morning prayer. After the Indian National Anthem Jana-Gana-Mana and the Indian National Song Vande Mataram, Sare Jahan Se Achcha enjoys the reputation as the most popular patriotic song in India. Unlike Jana-Gana-Mana and Vande Mataram which are written in Sanskrit, Sare Jahan Se Achcha is written in Hindi which is understood by a larger population in India.
Mahatma Gandhi sang it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned in Yerwada Jail in Pune in the 1930s. Astronaut Rakesh Sharma spoke the first line of the song to describe India from space when Indira Gandhi asked him how India looked from the Space. Manmohan Singh quoted it at his first press conference as Prime Minister to underline India's greatness.
Transliteration of the Lyrics
saare jahaan se achcha hindostaan hamaraa
hum bul bulain hai is kee, ye gulsitan hamaraa
gurbat mein hon agar ham, rahta hai dil watan mein samjho vahin hame bhi, dil hain jahan hamara
parbat vo sabse unchaa hum saaya aasma kaa vo santaree hamaraa, vo paasbaan hamaraa
godee mein khel tee hain is kee hazaaron nadiya gulshan hai jinke dum se, rashke janna hamaraa
aye aab, aye raud, aye ganga, wo din he yaad tujhko utaraa tere kinaare, jab kaarvan hamaara
mazhab nahee sikhataa apas mein bayr rakhnaa hindee hai hum, vatan hai hindostaan hamaraa
yunan misr romaa, sab mit gaye jahan se ab tak magar he baaki, namo nishan hamaara
kuchh baat he ki hasti, mitati nahi hamaari sadiyon raha he dushman, daure jahan hamaara
iqbal koi marhoom, apna nahi jahan main maloom kya kisi ko, darde niha hamaara
Translation
Better than all the world, is our India
We are its nightingales and this is our garden
Though in foreign lands we may reside, with our motherland our hearts abide
Our spirit remains with thee, where our hearts exist
That mountain most high; neighbor to the skies
It is our sentinel; it is our protector
A thousand rivers play in its lap,
Gardens they sustain, the envy of the heavens is ours
O water of the mighty flow of the Ganga, do you remember the day
When on your banks, our caravan had landed
Faith does not teach us to harbour grudges between us
We are all Indians and India is our homeland
Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome are lost, now only memories
But our civilization remains; it has stood the test of time
Something is in us, that preserves us, that keeps us ever-smiling
Though the fates and chances of the world have ever tried to break us
Iqbal! Is there no soul that could
Understand the pain in thy heart?
Mother tongue: English Joined: November 29, 2005 Location: Malaysia
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RE: Indian heritage. Gifts from Islam. Kaifi Aazami
He not only gave us the beautiful Shabana, actress and activist but also another great patriotic song:
Kar chale hum fida jaan-o-tan saathiyon Haqeeqat, 1964 (Madan Mohan) This patriotic song in the 1964 Chetan Anand-directed war film Haqeeqat could move a heart of stone.
Nehru burst into tears when Lata Mangeshkar sang it.
The film was based on the Sino-Indian War of that time (I was a little girl in those days but remember the black outs and how my mom donated her jewelery for the cause of our Jawans, soldiers of the Indian Army). You can read about it on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War and can also see how and why I fear the liberties taken by those who possess the greater hold over world media.
Inspite of what happened, I have faith in Nehru's dream of partnerships between India and China. Sadly, on the Indian side, there is still a lot of heartburn over what must have seemed a real betrayal. While Nehru and his Chinese counterparts shook hands and spokeabout Hindi-Chini Bhai-bhai (India China brother brother), the invasion was already underway and so amny brave soldiers laid down their lives on the icy heights far from home, the green fields of home and the sweet loving laps of mother, sister, sweet heart, wife.
Mother tongue: English Joined: November 29, 2005 Location: Malaysia
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A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (born A.S. Dileep Kumar) is a popular Indian film music composer. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri, an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in any sphere of activity including Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Games, Sports etc.
His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family used to rent out musical equipment to make ends meet, something they found very difficult. During those hard times, a Sufi (Muslim) saint helped them spiritually. This led him to convert to Islam.
A.R. Rahman combined the usage of technology and music. He has been successful in creating his own style of composition by a symbiosis of the best elements of technology and Indian classical instruments. However some critics allege that he makes excessive usage of technology in his music.
When Rahman arrived onto the Indian music scene with his first film Roja, which was subsequently dubbed into many languages, the music industry in India was going through a crisis with the retirement of older music composers and the lack of innovation in Indian film music. Roja was a massive hit, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se and Taal . The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously.
He made an album Vande Mataram (1996) on India's national song. Recently, he also came up with an album called Jana gana mana, a huge conglomeration of performances by all the leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
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RE: Indian heritage- Gifts from Islam. Akbar and sulahkul
Originally written by Gita Surya on February 21, 2006 7:23 AM
Akbar was one of the more famous Mughal emperors of the Indian subcontinent. (...)
His religious tolerance, (the principle sulahkul , or "universal tolerance."-http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MUGHAL/AKBAR.HTM) remains engraved in the collective memories of each and every Indian.
Yes, of course, we visited his palace in Fatehpur Sikri and I admire Akbar's fostering tolerance for all religions in India (that's 16th c.).
Unfortunately, it was not always that way, as is shown by the Golden Temple in Varanasi. The temple is so sacred (because it is inhabited by Lord Shiva) that only Hindus are admitted to it. You cannot even see it from the outside. Now what happened in the 17th c. is that another Moghul emperor, Aurangzeb, imposed in his rein strict adherence to Islam and sharia. So he destroyed the Vishvanath temple to replace it with a mosque. One can still see the remnants of the original Hindu temple in a wall of the mosque. Today, both lie adjacent to each other.
We could see traces of a similar fusion process around Qutb-Minar in Delhi (started in the 12th c.) where Hindu motifs are visible on the carved pillars of the mosque built with the use of Hindu materials. Muslims eventually had to mutilate them because, as we know, no images could be present in their reliefs, etc. They would just knock off parts of carvings, etc. These are sad historical details once you spot them.
Mother tongue: English Joined: November 29, 2005 Location: Malaysia
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Strictly for the Hindus
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on February 23, 2006 6:03 PM Yes, of course, we visited his palace in Fatehpur Sikri and I admire Akbar's fostering tolerance for all religions in India (that's 16th c.).
Unfortunately, it was not always that way, as is shown by the Golden Temple in Varanasi. The temple is so sacred (because it is inhabited by Lord Shiva) that only Hindus are admitted to it. You cannot even see it from the outside.
There are many such places. The famous Guruvayur temple in my husband's native town is one such. I think even the non- Hindu presidents of India are not allowed there. Even Hindus have to change into acceptable garb before entering. The following is very interesting in view of the predominantly red- oriented politics of Kerala. My father-in-law was a Communist leader but visited the temple during the last years of his mother’s life to keep her happy.
Why temples? In the ancestral house of my in-laws, the "tharwad", low caste and non- Hindus did not get into the house or into certain parts of the house. This embargo also applied to women during certain days of the month.
Entry of Non-Hindus in Guruvayoor
Recently there was a controversy in Kerala over Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's visit to Guruvayoor temple. It seems his wife entered the temple and the issue was if she was a Christian or a Buddhist. In Guruvayoor temple only Hindus are allowed to enter and there is a strict dress code. Men have to remove their shirt and wear a mundu. Women are allowed to wear only sarees and girls have to wear a skirt and blouse.
This is one busy temple and there is a guard at the door checking to see if you confirm to the dress code and I am not sure if he checks the religion also. If so, it would be an amazing skill, for there is no easy way to find the religion of an Indian, unless he is wearing a symbol, like the cross. Due to this it is possible for people of any religion to enter the temple, but only famous people are stopped.
So when Congress leader, Vayalar Ravi's son's marriage was conducted in Guruvayoor, the authorities had to clean the temple because Vayalar Ravi's wife was a Christian. If it were two ordinary folks, no one would have questioned this nor cleaned the temple. Other famous people who have been denied entry are singer Yesudas, who is a devotee of Guruvayoorappan and poet Yusuf Ali Kecheri, who lives close to the temple and has written many devotional songs.
But then how can we assume that all Hindus too are devotees? Communists are known to be atheists and what is the logic in allowing them to enter the temple. Recently in a statement, the temple authorities said that people of Buddhist and Jain faiths are allowed entry, since they are treated on par with Hinduism. This even more odd since both these religions do not recognize God as Hindus do. In Jainism, there is no creator god and a person is responsible for his actions. Buddha claimed that his enlightenment was not due to any divine intervention. It seems illogical that when followers of such agnostic religions are allowed entry, people who believe in Guruvayoorappan are not.
Aurangzeb destroyed the Vishvanath temple to replace it with a mosque. One can still see the remnants of the original Hindu temple in a wall of the mosque. Today, both lie adjacent to each other.
We could see traces of a similar fusion process around Qutb-Minar in Delhi (started in the 12th c.) where Hindu motifs are visible on the carved pillars of the mosque built with the use of Hindu materials. Muslims eventually had to mutilate them because, as we know, no images could be present in their reliefs, etc. They would just knock off parts of carvings, etc. These are sad historical details once you spot them.
Jacek
I do not see these acts so much as "inherently Islamic" as behaviour typical of armies and forces of Imperialism which in some way or the other seeks to impose itself on the conquered. hence my desire that citizens of those countries whose troops are in Iraq and other islamic countries at present, speak out and make themselves heard by their governments before these people endure more damage.
The sad sights you saw are now history. What is sadder is the Hindus pulling down the Babri Masjid. Tit for tat is puerile and, in this case, led to so much blood shed. It is sad that Hindus allow themselves to be manipulated by concerted strategies coming from elsewhere. Rediff is one such site which seeks to foment Hindu violence against Muslims in India. Most readers will not stop to wonder who is funding rediff? I have already told you about the French man who will be funded by a US agency to dig out all the dirty details of the Aurangzeb reign.
Divide and rule is an ancient and well used strategy.
My prayer is that India will hold up in the face of these temptations and hold it's head high for all to see that all faiths can live in harmony as we see in Malaysia.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
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RE: Strictly for the Hindus
Originally written by Gita Surya on February 24, 2006 4:48 AM
It is sad that Hindus allow themselves to be manipulated by concerted strategies coming from elsewhere.
This is all very interesting information, Gita. (I must have missed the part on the French sponsored by the Americans.) Thank you!
Indeed, allowing oneself to be manipulated is always sad, by no means only with reference to India. I have always believed in our individual responsibility for our own deeds. Yes, we are but pawns, but only to a certain degree.
Mother tongue: English Joined: November 29, 2005 Location: Malaysia
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Some paan to chew on
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on February 24, 2006 1:23 AM
This is all very interesting information, Gita. (I must have missed the part on the French sponsored by the Americans.) Thank you!
Indeed, allowing oneself to be manipulated is always sad, by no means only with reference to India. I have always believed in our individual responsibility for our own deeds. Yes, we are but pawns, but only to a certain degree.
Jacek
I do hope it's not an information overdrive! NO? Then I wonder if you had any paan supari in India. It's a green leaf into which are folded some nuts and other things- it is thought to be digestive, an aphrodisiac, etc but is essentially very Indian. It is responsible for what you might think are ancient blood stains on some walls. Some people chew the variety that has some tobacco in it and then spit all over teh place- as in "ptoooie".
I really love reading about your trip to India- indeed someday I hope to be able to see the places you mention.
The reference to the French man is this: I was once approached by him to support his enterprise. I really hope that I have been able to do something to bring it to a halt.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
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RE: Strictly for the Hindus
Originally written by Gita Surya on February 24, 2006 4:48 AM
....hence my desire that citizens of those countries whose troops are in Iraq and other islamic countries at present, speak out and make themselves heard by their governments before these people endure more damage.
Allow me one more digression, Gita-di. I understand the above argument and its gravity. Unfortunately, there is little a citizen of a country like Poland can do to ease the main destructive tensions which are between two "races," to use the convenient term suggested elsewhere: Jews and Arabs. Citizens of the world have already voted, through the UN, calling on Israel to return the Occupied Territories. There is not much more we can do, just as there is not much more we can do about border conflicts between, I dunno, India and Pakistan (if any) or China and Japan (if any). The difference is that in the meantime we can quietly talk about India or Japan, while elsewhere, we are simply unable to address any topic because it boils down to the relevant editor being of course a Jew, hence of course on a global crusade against Islam. So, of course, the story ends there. Strategic decisions are made in Washington and it is Americans who decided to elect Bush for the second term. Let them face the music.
So it is called paan supari! We wondered what those leaves they were preparing in Old Delhi were and could not really make a connection between that and the red mouth of our rickshaw driver there...
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He not only gave us the beautiful Shabana, actress and activist but also another great patriotic song:
