Mithila and its relation with the South

This write-up is an attempt to respond a Facebook post of Sadan Jha from CSS, Surat. While researching some Maithili folks he found a song where wife/beloved suggested her husband/lover to not to go to any direction except South!  Why such praise for South while in our tradition south is not considered good. Here is the Maithili song:

पूरब दिसा जुनि जाउ लला रे पूबक पानि कुपानि/

पानि पिबैत कान्हा तोहूँ मरि जैबह/

हम धनि ए लला रहब अकेली मंदिल्बा मे/

खेलब होरी भवनमा मे फिरब अकेली रे /

कान्हा बातो ने मानै/

उत्तर दिसा जुनि जाउ लला रे उत्तरक जंगल भरी बाघ सिंह कान्हा तोरा काटि खैतो /

हम धनि ए लला रहब अकेली रे /

कान्हा बातो ने मानै /

पछिम दिसा जुनि जाउ लला रे पछिमक नारी सियानी/

राति सुतैतौ कान्हा रंगमहल मे भोरे भरायत पानी/

पुरुश्बा से नारी सियानी रे कान्हा/ कान्हा बातौ ने मानै /

दछिन दिसा तू जाउ रे लला ओतय बहथि गंगा माइ/

गंगा नहाए कान्हा तोहूँ जीबि जैबह/ दुनु मिलि खेलब होरी रे/

कान्हा बातो ने मानै /

मंदिल्बा मे खेलब होरी भवनमा मे फिरब अकेली रे/

कान्हा बातो ने मानै

The reference/s of the “South” in a Maithili folk/s in a positive tone is something that needs to be analyzed in context of Mithila’s written and unwritten history, folk and arts. I have two assumptions here: first the relation of Maithils(Brahmins and Kayastha in particular and other castes in general) with South India that has not been fully explored till date and second is the position of Mithila in the ancient Varna system.
First I will come to its relation with the South.

There are two threads: Intellectual and political. The Shankaracharya’s debate with Mandan Mishra dates back to at least 8th century AD however some new claims say it was even earlier. It is said and perhaps documented that Mandan Mishra became the second Shankaracharya after the demise of his Master. From that period till the advent of Muslim rule in India in late 12th century AD, there was free movement of people from Mithila to South and new relations were built. It is not surprising that Baidhyanath, Jagannath and Rameshwarm were the prominent pilgrimages that a Maithil would prefer even two generation back. My Dadi had been to Jaganath ji and Rameshwaram even it was too difficult to visit and too distant to think of those days! Obviously, Ayodhya did not gain much respect among Maithilis; may be due to its treatment with Sita in the Pauranik period which the public conscience carried generation to generation through its art, folk and proverbs.(Here lies the answer why a Maithil would dislike the “West” in its songs!). In a way, Mithila, Puri and Southern centers created a trio in the ancient learning system which needs to be researched. What we are seeing or reading today in Indian history is largely a medieval history of North India with the dominance of Delhi where Southern and Eastern parts of the country hardly reflect. Our generation has to correct them.
Again, some of the ruling dynasties of the Mithila have some links with the South. Here are two points: one is the victorious campaign of Chola Emperor Rajendra I in the Gangetic plain(for which he was called “Gangeshwer”) and other is the rule of Devs from Karnat dynasty in Mithila from late 11 century and onwards. Rajednra Chol’s campaign happened through the eastern parts namely via Andhra, Odisha and Jharkhand. In the process, thousands of people from the south settled in these areas and Mithila was no exception. When we analyse a Mathili folk we must consider it as their connection with the south and their good memories which might have been reflected in the song.
Now we come to the Karnat dynasty. As the name suggests Karnats originated from the South, perhaps somewhere in Karnataka and they brought with themselves some of the rich cultural values of the land. They had got “Dev” as their surname and there was a chain of Dev rulers from Mithila to South via Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Still many rulers of erstwhile princely state of Jharkhand, Odissa and Chhatisgarh carries Dev surnames who were entitled for Privy Purse after the independence. Here point is: these Devs from Karnataka brought with themselves their ruling and religious staffs; prominently Brahmins and Kayastha. I am surprised to know that some Kayastha surname in Mithila and that of Karnataka-Maharashtra region have stark similarity! Karna and Karnik/Kulkarni are not different. Similarly, Shrotriya Maithil Brahmins may have some links with the Brahmins of the South as there are some visible difference among the rituals/lifestyle of common Maithil Brahmins and Shrotriyas. I am not confident enough to reflect on that but there should be some research. Some of the names of villages in Mithila still hint their Southern origin: Andhrathadhi is perhaps a place where people from Andhra settled! This sphere has not been researched and focused till yet. I am confident that more and more evidence will appear in the future if budgets and resources are provided. Technical adamant may also help.

Second is the position of Mithila in the ancient Varna system.

Mithila was a rebel satellite of ancient Aryan system; perhaps King Janak and Yagyavalakya were not completely agreeing with the mainstream system of Arynas those days. I will not venture into the troublesome debate of Arya invasion theory but it seems that Aryans expansion (if not invasion) happened from North to South and West to East. Some folks suggest that when they expanded in the east, they earmarked river Saryu as the eastern most boundary and land beyond that as the land of uncivilized, thugs and barbaric people. Same did they do with the Ganges; land south of Ganga was declared unholy and impious! But some of the Brahmins (among others) ventured towards the East crossing Saryu and settled there. They were called “Sarayuparin” Brahmins and consequently hated by the Brahmins of the West particularly present day Kanyakubjs and Saraswats. Some folks suggest that Saryuparins were those who came with Sita after her marriage and on that count Maithil Brahmins and Saryuparin are the same; differences appeared later when Maithils became Shakt in large numbers while Saryuparins remained largely Vaishanvites. Anyway, in the hierarchy of Brahmins, Maithils were placed at lowest point due to violating the rule of Aryans and settling in a prohibited area and marrying local Women (We can see the dark features of Maithil Brahmins that may be the result of their marriage with local tribal women. Their fish eating food habit, worshiping of mother deity may also be attributed to it. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar has written somewhere that Chhatha Puja and fish eating were perhaps the impact of local women who came to the Aryan families through marriages.). The placement of Maithil Brahmins among the Brahmin hierarchy may be well understood through this Sanskrit shloka:
सारस्वता: कन्याकुब्जा गौड़ा उत्कलमैथिला: ,
पञ्चगौड़ा इति ख्याता विंध्यस्योत्तरवासिन: ।।
So here are two points again: Brahmins from the west disgusted Maithils due to their violation of community rule. North was the land of Nepal and High Mountains were “Kirat” lived and frequently attacked Mithila. And east was the land where Arynas had to venture out and expand. So there was no point of praising them. But question remains: why they praised south?
We have understood that mainstream Brahmins had declared land east of Saryu and south of Ganga as unholy and impious as people different from them resided there. Magadh was never a respected place for Brahmins right from the days of Purans to the days of written history. We see the references of Nand Dynasty and Chanakya and their animosity. Till date, people of Mithila do not consider Ganga water in Mokama as holy as that of Simaria! However, the case of Sultanganj is different: it was never thought out of Mithila. The word ‘Magadh’ in Sanskrit does not reflect good meaning; it denotes thugs, scoundrels and tricky. Here again question remains: why some of the Maithil folks still remember South emotionally? What was connecting? What was the lost link that is reflected in the folk and art?
The answer lies perhaps in the same theory which degraded Maithil Brahmins among the grand Brahmin community of India: they violated the community rule and married local (perhaps tribal) women. Perhaps Mithila was the land of those tribes who inhabited the large swath of eastern plain and plateau of Jharkhand. When Aryans reached to them and settled there they married local women and a different kind of melting pot of civilization created here. It is that reference which Ramdhari Singh Dinkar analyses in the fish eating habits of eastern Brahmins and Chhatha Puja which might have come to the Aryans through marriages and women. Since, these women (and their communities) were also settled in the South (namely in Jharkhand and onwards), the folks remember them! Is it surprising that from generations the carriers of most of these folks and arts are women?
Who knows that through these folk songs the wife/beloved is still remembering her native place, the South!

Remembering Jayalalithaa: Why south Indian films stars and politicians are highly revered?

A state topper in school board but economic condition pushed her into acting, a Brahmin in a highly anti-Brahmin minded state and an achiever outside the ambit of spoon-fed heirs, Jayalalithaa was by no means an ordinary politician. She had to snatch the success from her arch rivals, from dynasts and from a highly patriarchal male dominated political class.

There are few similarities between Jayalalithaa and BSP leader Mayawati. Like Mayawati she was ‘molested'(or an attempt was made) by her political rivals and both gave fitting reply in their own style. Both had had a great male mentor, guide and philosopher who did not belong to their families. Both had to pluck and cultivate their importance for themselves. And both were outcast in different ways: Mayawati came from socially ‘untouchables’ while Jaya’s caste (Brahmin) had become politically untouchable in Tamil Nadu, a state highly dominated by Dravidian politics with intense anti-Brahmin overtone. Still both prevailed, made their ways and left their imprint on the history. It is also important to note that both were chosen for their exceptional abilities: Kansi Ram chose Maya for her education, ambition and daring attitudes while Jaya’s linguistic abilities made MGR choose her.

But, here ends the similarity. Jaya’s lineage was an upper caste Brahmin family with greater social skills and extraordinary command over multiple language (which perhaps inspired MGR the most to appoint her AIADMK’s propaganda secretary in his party). Jaya’s grandfather was in the service of Maharaja of Mysore but after Jaya’s father demise family’s fortune declined. Jaya was just two at that time.

After MGR’s death, she had to prove her worth as the throne did not come to her naturally. She earned the position. In her debut political stints she was somewhat revengeful and surrounded by sycophants; still she initiated some good schemes for the betterment of women and girl child. The all women police station and baby cradle scheme for the girl child were her brain child and well appreciated. Later, she initiated Amma canteen which provided food at nominal costs and till date remains most celebrated of Amma schemes.

But that leaves it unanswered as to why she commanded so much respect and affection among her followers? And not only she, it is true for many actor-turned politicians in the south! And also, why film stars are a huge success in south Indian politics? Historian Ram Chandra Guha has tried to find some answer to it in his famous book ‘India After Gandhi’. In the heydays of language movements and reorganisation of states, it was language which became the basis of India’s new provinces. Smaller states particularly in South feared the hegemony of Hindi and and this fear of Hindi domination over Tamil while cocooning Hindi’s acceptance also cultivated a strong regional tone in the politics. For general public film stars on silver screen speaking the same language as their audiences for them appeared as big savior of cultures and language as the impact of films was much larger and amplified compared to literature or other media. There developed a great connect between stars on screen and the audiences, impossible and unheard of in north India where Bollywood stars were still seen as an entertainment tool. Bollywood’s Hindi was not as natural a language as the audiences spoke in north India. It did not represent the various dialects of north India; rather it was a grand project of Hindustani language and somewhat artificial, as envisioned during freedom struggle as a common language of the nation!

It is one of the reasons why southern film stars were ( and they still are) a big hit in politics. They have had a complete connect with the masses. They were already looked upon like politicians and saviour when they were actually acting on the screen.
The likes of MGR, NTR, Karunanaidhi or Jaya belonged to that genre; however it cannot be said that only film stars commanded respect. In South, whoever becomes a political leader commands almost frenzied and blind support from their followers and language homogeneity played great role in that.

It seems Jayalalilitha even surpassed her mentor MGR in the fan following.. She was not only a Brahmin but also an outsider in the Tamil Nadu. Posterity would certainly not believe the affection and craze her people had for her. She was really a miracle.

It is terrorism but not “global” terrorism

Except posting a cartoon on Paris attack I have not posted anything on Paris killings.; neither changed my profile picture. Every life is precious and I feel the pain of those whose family members were killed.

Still I don’t think it is global terrorism; had it been so, it could have been in our case as well. For more than two and half decades or since the birth of our independence nation we are facing the same directly or indirectly what France or USA are facing now. But no one came to help or denounce it as global terrorism.

When we faced direct attack on our parliament and our government mobilised military on the Indo-Pak border, it was same USA-France and their group who preached us “restrain”. However, they have started direct bombing on ISIS controlled areas this time. What a double standard!

Let them fight their war, we will fight ours. I reject it as global war against terrorism. We should not burn our hands in the war against Wahaabi- inspired and Petro-dollar promoted war of “some” of the fanatic Muslims.

We have a very large population of Muslims in our country and fortunately they are not the 100% carbon copy of some of their Arab brethren. ISIS or Al-Quaeda was not able to get even a dozen recruits from India’s 170-million Muslims. We should not dance on the tune of West. Their jargon, their vocab and their style could not and should not be copied by the whole world.

It should be the Indian view; however I am worried when I see some Muslim friends terming it is an “action-reaction” cycle or echoing similar views. Are not they saying and endorsing the same thing what Narendra Modi apparently seemed to express on 2002 post-Godhra riots? There must be a balance.

From a cooperative federalism towards a competitive one

The famous statement of former Andhra CM N T Rama Rao describing center as a mere “conceptual myth” (1) brings out the complexity of the center-state relationship in India. In fact, it was for the creation of Andhra Pradesh that Potti Sreeramulu undertook the fatal fast unto death whose aftermath compelled the government of India to constitute the State Reorganization Commission and give acceptance to linguistic basis of the state creation.

For several foreigners, India’s diversity made it an unnatural nation (2) but for India’s forefathers it was the reflection of pluralist Indian civilization. For them, it was the main reason why India adopted a federal parliamentary system so as to nurture every aspiration blossoming in the fabric of India. But at the same time they were conscious of the historical experience as well. As per Dr. Ambedkar, India had to face defeat from foreigners due to disunity and indifference between different regions. (3) Therefore, he advocated a strong center in the Republic of India.

But during the time of constitution making itself, representatives of states opposed an extremely powerful center arguing that the country has got a ‘unitary constitution in place of a promised federal one’ and the concept of democracy is limited to the boundaries of Delhi. (4) The assertion has continued till date with states demanding non-interference, increase in revenue share or share in collection of taxes and limiting the numbers of centrally sponsored schemes. CM of TN, Jayalalitha once said that states have been reduced to the level of “glorified municipalities” due to the extra-ordinary powers enjoyed by the center. (5) But the nature of such demands has changed. From being the demand of regional identity and regional autonomy, it has become more about economic share for which “soft regionalism” is often invoked.

At present, we are witnessing a full majority government at the center after a long time, which has defied the popular rationalization of coalition era, with ever increasing role of regional parties, as a belated natural reflection of India’s regional diversity. However regional parties are not new in India’s electoral history. They emerged soon after the independence and got traction with the transformation of congress from a rainbow national party to a family run enterprise. This marginalized the regional leaders, which led to neglect of regional concerns and aspirations. This forced these leaders to move out of umbrella of congress and form their own region specific parties.

But the expression of regional concerns and identity has not been without its problems. The Naga movement and the Kashmir issue were some of them in the early years of independence. In early 80s and later, a demand for separate Khalistan state were raised; having its roots in the early years of post-independence.(6)

So the problem we are faced with is “what is the solution for these regional aspirations and how could it be utilized in the nation-building process”? Also, how can the federal structure be strengthened while letting the thousand flowers bloom? These are the burning questions, which demand a balanced, liberal and a far-sighted leadership; fortunately India had never dearth of it, unlike its struggling and partially failed Western neighbor. But for answering it, we need to know the characteristics of the regional politics and its impact on the federal character of India.

India witnesses a wide variety of regional politics. The first kind of regional politics derives its inspiration from the identity politics of languages. In fact, the first re-organization of Indian states took place on this very ground and main concern behind it was the fear of some language groups of being over-shadowed by some dominant language group in the region.
The second kind of regional politics is that of religious-ethnic identity, due to concerns of people of losing their religion, or ethnic identity in a huge unitary oriented national mainstream. At times, it went to the extent of separatist demand but largely it remained agitated in the realm of constitution. Its example was Akali Dal (Punjab), Mizo National Front (Mizoram), Asom Gana Parishad (Assam) and National Conference of Jammu and Kashmir etc.

Third form of regionalism is comparatively less ‘regional’ and driven by aspirations of downtrodden and backwards castes. At times, such movements developed into a localized party. These parties affected our federal system in a significantly different ways and were manifested in Samajawadi Party (UP), RJD (Bihar), BJD (Odisha) and JD-S of Karnataka.

When India witnessed largely a single party rule from 1952 to 1990, regional partied did not affect the functioning of the center in a way it did in later decades. But the pre-90 era did witness some impact of regional politics on the federal system. In fact, the creation of new provinces on linguistic basis was itself a fine example of regional impact on our federal polity. It was made possible despite center’s clear reluctance to open a Pandora box of such demands in the immediate aftermath of the partition. It was the regional politics, which prevented Hindi from being the sole official language of India and ensured continuation of the English. A comprehensive study of language policy of government of India will itself throw much light on regional politics and its influence on our federal system. But it was in 90s & after that regional politics became so dominant and coalition so routine that they even tried to affect the foreign policy of the county. During UPA-2, the Chief Minister of West Bengal refused to visit Bangladesh as part of a delegation led by the Prime Minister. (7) Similarly, during Sri Lankan civil war, political parties in Tamil Nadu pressurized the Government of India to talk tough to Sri Lanka.

Regionalism also came to fore when it came to the distribution of resources; natural or material. Distribution of river water, ownership of some cities (i.e., then Bombay, Chandigarh or Hyderabad these days), priority in industrial plants or regionalism within a region (i.e. Telangana or Bodoland) was main demands by different regions or regional parties. Till early 90s, newspapers were filled with headlines of Cauvery water dispute or water dispute of Ravi-Vyas River. Often, it was seen that governments fought with each other on these issues even if they belonged to the same party. In Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it was Congress or Congress-alliance government in power but they continuously fought for river water. In year 2004, Punjab assembly even passed a resolution scrapping water treaties with neighbouring states in an open violation of federal spirit. (8) At that time, Punjab and Center both had Congress governments.

In some states regional parties opposed those coming from other states on the ground of protecting jobs for locals. It happened in Assam in 60s where Bengalis (especially from East Pakistan) were opposed and in Maharashtra in early 60s (targeted at south Indians) and in the first decade of new millennium where north Indians were opposed.

But regional politics also had its positive side as well. For example, the development of Tamil Nadu or Mizoram may well be cited; which were once epicenter of anti-Hindi, anti-North and anti-Brahmin movement. These states showed the trend of a linguistic, ethnic, caste and anti-center approach. But the feeling of Tamil sub-nationality also did some good for the state. It compelled its leaders to better connect with its people and make state more welfare-centric. They showed inclusive development and were ahead on social standards like education, health and nutrition. Likewise, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram which were carved out of Punjab and Assam respectively, focused on education especially girl’s education and in the later part of 90s Himachal registered a female literacy rate of 98 percent which was just 11 percent in 1961! (9) The regional politics inspired their leaders to become more pro-people and provide better governance, which reflected into literacy rate, per-capita income, better gender ratio, social harmony etc via schemes like mid-day meal, cycle for school going girls, affordable housing and cheaper food-grains for the poor.

In fact, while regionalism was a ‘real danger’ at the time of independence, it is now controllable and to an extent also welcome. During British Raj, most of India was backward; it seemed like a colony within a colony where handful of big cities had all facilities. The condition of princely states was different; fortunately some of the princes established modern school or colleges or someone started scheme for the poor. When British left India, only 8 percent of population was literate and almost similar number lived in the cities. The country faced huge disparity; economic, social and regional. In such a scenario, the danger to the unity of country due to regional dissent was ‘real’. But by creating infrastructure and spreading education and economic activities, the government has somehow tried to establish a level of parity in the country. Cinema, industrial activities, communication tools, cricket and other factors have done the similar task to lowering regional antagonism. Today regional issues are no more than asking for a better pie in the economy; they do not pose a threat to the national unity anymore but argue for better & equitable integration in the national mainstream. People now can be a confident Tamil, Kannadiga or Bihari at the same time while being a proud Indian as well. (10)

As far as the future of regionalism is concerned, a diverse country like ours is bound to have regional characteristics and it is natural. It can’t be eliminated from this country nor is it desirable; yes the way nation is striving forward in infrastructure, economic integration and witnessing a rapid expansion of communication media, we can say we are moving towards a competitive federalism where states and region are competing with each other and trying to race ahead. In that process, they might quarrel sometimes; but not impact the unity of the nation. Instead, they will add a colour to the idea of India and also integrate the best elements of its culture. Recently, finance minister Arun Jaitley rightly said, “if states are strong, center would be strong. We are moving towards competitive federalism from cooperative federalism”. (11)

Also, with the creation of NITI Aayog by the Modi government, it is a good initiative in the direction of letting states and different region develop and design developmental scheme as per their specific requirements. It will cater the need of ‘competitive federalism’ and a good push towards decentralization of economic activities. It really shows the spirit of a confident nation.

(This article was published in Yojana Hindi(February 2015) and then “The Nationalist” E-magazine as well)

(The author is an IIMC alumnus, political analyst and translator. He has translated Ramchandra Guha’s India After Gandhi and Gandhi Before India into Hindi for the Penguin. Also translated Patrick French’s India: A Portrait. Works as senior editorial consultant in a consultancy and writes for newspapers, magazines and websites. Can be reached at jhasushant@gmail.com )

References:
1. Sanjay Baru, The Accidental Prime Minister, Chapter-9, First paragraph
2. Winston Churchill, Indian Speeches and Introduction (London, Thornton Buttrworh, 1931), p. 31, 120, 125 etc.
3. Part of Dr B R Ambedkar’s speech, Outlook.com (http://www.outlookindia.com/article/The-Grammar-Of-Anarchy/289235)
4. Speech of Loknath Mishra and K Hanumanthaiyya, CAD(Constituent Assembly Debates), Vol-11, p-799, 617
5. J Jayalalitha, 23 oct. 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-reducing-states-to-glorified-municipal-corporations-jayalalithaa/article2562391.ece
6. Ramchandra Guha, India After Gandhi, Chapter-9, p-185
7. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/teesta-water-sharing-talks-put-off-mamata-banerjee-manmohan/1/150681.html
8. Ramaswami R Ayyar, Punjab Water Imbroglio, Economic and Political Weekly, 31 July 2004
9. The Probe Team, Public Report on Basic Education in India(New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1999), Chapter-9
10. Ramchandra Guha, India After Gandhi, Chapter 9, p.200
11. Arun Jaitely, 8 January 2015, http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/economics-breaks-political-ice-mamata-banerjee-arun-jaitley-talk-of-cooperation/27360/

BBC’s empirical agenda and India’s poor ‘communication’ skill

In my view, once documentary has been shot and made, a ban would not be proper and does not serve a purpose. It will only advertise it and make it famous. Certainly the documentary has given platform to a criminal for a global audience whom (for these kinds of foreign publications) Gandhi once said they are “garbage collectors for the newspapers” who only see their “intended news” on Indian streets.

BBC documentary producer Leslee Udwin

BBC or publications like that (you can include New York Times and others as well) are the mouth-piece of power-equation of their respected country/block as any other publication of any free country. They are being used for diplomatic pressure politics for long and it is not news for anyone who has even slightest interest in knowing how things play in international affairs. Remember, an article of NYT saying PM Modi as “cipher” in his performance in August when his coming to power had just been 3-months back. And what was the hidden agenda? At that time, India was not complying with the norms of WTO food security and FDI opening for retail. So, the Empire strikes through its powerful medium. Again, NYT preached India on minority affairs and secularism ( Pls don’t read it in the context that I am supporting an attack on minority). I will not give a counter logic that even Hindus are attacked and killed in USA. No, it is just a blame game. Now, come to the BBC documentary.

Also it is not a question of BJP government or Congress government. Had there been a Rahul government, even BBC or like them would telecast it. It is their empirical agenda and they are doing it for decades. No surprise. The point is; for saving your national interest and defending pressure in guise of WTO, trade, security such things are done. It will sometimes appear as environment, or human right and anything which suits them as per the condition. How will you save yourself?

Here comes the poor training of Indian Police officers and even IAS officers when it comes to dealing with razor-sharp and “often biased with vested interest foreign media (read western media). China has better understood them and put them at safe-distance. It is hight time we learn something. Banning them is not a solution.

Shirdi-8

Next day we left for Trimbakeshwar, a temple town around 55 Km from Nasik. Here one of the twelve Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva is found and the origin of river Godavari is nearby. Nasik is famous for its wineries and grapevines and also for Indian Security Press and Hindustan Aeronautics unit. Distance of Nasik from Aurangabad and Mumbai both is around 180 Km and Trimbakeshwar is around 55 Km from Nasik. We inquired for buses which we found not convenient for us. Volvos from Auranagabad went straight to Mumbai and not frequent and time-friendly for us.
We hired a non-AC taxi; paid Rs 3500 for dropping to Trimbakeshwar and back to Nasik. It was a good deal at just Rs 8 per km. At around 8 am in the morning, we left for Trimabakeshwar and had our breakfast at a highway-dhaba outside the city. It was the fantastic experience of Poha with fried chili; I had two plate of it with high masala tea.

The road was smooth and it was evident that the density of population in Maharasthra is not so as seen in UP, Bihar or Bengal. Villages were far and households scattered and less in number. Temples alongside the road were shining and were symbol of a comparative affluent society. Pucca houses were seen in the villages with electricity. We saw cotton fields and vineyards alongside roads and had photo-sessions.

Aurangabad to Nasik is a lovely ride and we did not see fields of food crops along the roads. Almost whole of Maharashtra grows cash crops like cotton, orange, pomegranate, sugar-cane, grapes and guavas. I remember one of the lectures of P Sainath expressing his concern over this trend of cash-crop farming and India facing food crisis in the future and compared it to what I was seeing. I thought otherwise; in my view farmer’s problem was not cash or food crops. Their problem was that their produce was not lifted by government or other related agencies at reasonable price and he did not irrigation and technological facilities.

I had not gone to Nasik before. While going to Trimabekshwar we went via Nasik. It is a vibrant city with shining flyovers, multi-story apartments and SUVs on the road. City has dazzling shopping complexes and is known as the wine-capital of India. Nasik draws its name from the mythological story of Shoorpanakha who tried to flirt with Ram and Laxman and attempted to Sita for her life. In response, Laxman cut her nose; in Sanskrit nose is called “nasika” giving the place its name.

Trimbakeshwar is small kasba with old-style bazaar and with not so good infrastructure. Roads were being built; it seemed government has ignored it. We reached at 12 am and wanted to have darshan till 2 pm so as to return to Nasik road station to board train for Delhi at 4.40 pm. There was great rush and a long queue which took one hour to reach the entrance of the Temple.

The temple architecture is similar to what we saw at Ghrishneshwar; it is made up of Malav-Meru style and was constructed by Peshwa Balaji Bajirao around 200 years ago. It is typical temple town of north India with narrow lane and similar shops selling pictures and statues. The temple campus was neat and clean but outside it was not so. After having darshan and prayer we hurried to our taxi to return to Nasik road.

Nitendra insisted we buy some grapes which was a due while coming from Aurangabad. He bought a kilo of grape@ just Rs 40 for the journey.(…to be continued)

Shirdi-7

Khuldabad is known as valley of sufis and located in between Ellora and Daultabad fort; around 3-Km from the former.The dargah of Zar Zari Zar Baksh, Shaikh Burhan ud-din Gharib Chisti and Shaikh Zain-ud-din Shirazi, along with the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his trusted general Asif Jah I, the first Nizam of Hyderabad, are located in this town. However, people know it for the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his son Azamshah. The emperor died in Ahmednagar and later buried here as he wished. It is a small Muslim town in the outskirt of the Aurangabad and famous for Muslim saints who meditated here in previous centuries. It is said the history of these saints dated back up to the time of Muhammad Bin Tughalaq when Daulatabad was founded as new capital of India; albeit for little time.

From the single road via old settlements and bazars, we had to climb up little from the road where tomb was located. It was like a typical shrine with not much crowd and people were moving in and out. Some shops were seen outside selling calendar and Quran, beads, rings and incense sticks. We went through a gate without shoes and found an open space which entered into another open space through a gate. It was surrounded by walls from all sides without a roof. At the center, lies the tomb of one of the powerful emperors of Indian history who ruled over a territory including modern day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. One maulavi was telling the brief story of the tomb and expected some remuneration from the audience. His family was looking after the tomb from generations and did not look well off.

I asked him as to how much land is endowed to the tomb. He said nothing remains now. Once upon a time, thousands of acres of land were given to the tomb by rulers but during the rule of Maratha, land was captured and after independence nothing was left. Only grant from people and donations ran the place, it did not fall in the ambit of government or the ASI.

The tomb of Aurangzeb is simple with no ornamental constructions. The emperor had instructed in his will that he be buried under a small piece of land and only 14- rupee should be spent which he earned through sewing caps as and for devout Muslims. He had also instructed that the place should not be covered and it was only in 1904-05 when Lord Curzon came visiting the place and instructed Nizam of Hyderabad to cover the place. It was relieved by perforated marble screen thereafter.

On the other side of wall there were other graves, of Aurangzeb’s son Azam Shah and his wife. Not many people knew of these tombs, nor were they mentioned on the stones. Muslim boys with typical pajamas and topis were roaming around; some old and lean people were sitting near the mosque adjacent to the tomb. Before the mosque lied a huge compound with a madarsa nearby. Life was clearly not energetic there, with little sign of hope and happiness on the face of those whom I met.

It was 6 Pm and we were tired. We had our dinner at the Bhoj restaurant and went to bed. Project Aurangabad was complete and we had had good enough view of the city. Nitendra was in full praise of city infrastructure and its traffic and roads. The lanes were clean and greenery visible. A calm and cool gentry which was not in a hurry to overtake and make chaos was what we felt at Aurangabad; unlike in many north Indian cities of UP and Bihar.
(…to be continued)

Shirdi-6

Close to Ghrishneshwar Temple lie Ellora caves considered to be up to thirteen hundred years old. Our auto-wallah said if we took an auto-rickshaw from outside, the taxi stand inside would charge 100-rupee more. Ellora is spread in kilometers; with 34- caves dedicated to various religious beliefs. They were constructed between 7th to 9th Century A.D. The statues built in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions are seen in Ellora caves with thousands of tourists flocking daily. We hired a guide at Rs 300 for 3-hours; though he was not licensed. A government licensed guide costs 1000 rupees; however they are well trained.

The prime attraction of Ellora caves is Kailash temple where Hindu Gods are depicted on the wall and is multi-storied. One gets amazed as to how it could have been constructed. Many statues or series were constructed over a period of two hundred years or even more by generations of kings often belonging to more than one dynasty. It was really a tiresome journey, for us as well to see all those statues. The guide showed us one place called Sita Nahani, it is in the folklores that during their vanvaas(exile to forest), Lord Ram and Sita stayed here and Sita used to take bath under the fountain. After taking bath, Sita used to go to Shiva temple of Ghrishnewshar to worship the Lord daily.

Ellora is a whole day tour package we had to cut short for seeing Daulatabad Fort and Aurangzeb tomb the same day. After spending two hours at the caves, we left for Daulatabad.

We had been reading about Daulatabad since class eight or nine; about its earlier name Devagiri and its Yadava kings and attack of Allauddin Khilji of Delhi Sultanate. Once Mohammad Bin Tughalaq made Daulatabad his capital but he had to return to Delhi due to lack of water there. Before that, the people of Delhi were ordered to leave for the new capital. When an old man denied he was tied to the foot of an elephant and he died on the way!
However, many worth stories we got only after reaching there which a Muslim guide and employee of the ASI told us. He told that the fort was considered as a symbol of pride for rulers and they wanted to get hold of it anyhow. He also said that Shivaji’s sone Sambhaji was also kept here as prisoner for some time but history sources did not support it. At least, I could not find a worth reference.

The construction of Daulatabad fort is really awesome with surrounding hills giving it a form of natural fort. One could not think of attacking it so easily, it was able to protect itself of an army even four times larger than army inside. The fort had many gates and each gate is so designed that an elephant could not break it easily; for an elephant to break a fort gate a minimum length of vacant field is needed for its run. But the Fort did not have such space left and it’s gates are constructed in a jig-jag manner;not in a straight way.

There was huge ditch in between two walls of the fort with crocodiles and other creatures kept there. The wall was crossed by a special ladder when kings and generals passed through and was removed carefully after that. In the other deeper and trans-wall section of the fort there is a bhool-bhulaiya(confusing path) which could absorb any army without a proper knowledge of the fort and has well-constructed ventilators for water, air and sun-light. On the top of the fort there was a shrine of Janardan Swami, a medieval saint where we could not go due to tiredness.

The guide showed us a long minar(tower) and carved pillars built by Muslim rulers after the fall of Yadava dynasty. Daulatabad fort is said to be an invincible fort in India and was also known as the gateway of Deccen. Whoever wanted to have control over the south of India, he must have had control of the Fort. The guide also told us that the fort could not be won ever by a war; only bribery or betrayal played role in its fall.

Is it a government sponsored black-money leak?

The timing of black money expose by the Indian Express is important; just a couple of day after Delhi elections. No doubt it is government helped “calculated leak” to pressurise corporates who had gone ballistic before the general budget. And after a possible Delhi defeat for the BJP, their aggression would have been increased.

The aggression of India’s business class was manifest by the corporate media who gradually became anti-government(barring a few); the fine example and representative of which is “Times of India” group. Not long ago during LS elections and after, Mr Modi and the BJP was darling of this corporate media and to some extent they still are; but now this corporate class wants to squeeze maximum dividend from the government. General budget is an ideal opportunity for it.

But the government needs money for its fancy schemes it promised to voters. For that, it would have to get money out of corporate pockets. Of course, corporates have sensed it and they were arm-twisting government by various means. Their media started negative stories on government and Kejariwal’s support was one of the elements of that plan.

The name of Mr Mukesh Ambani(including others) in the list is a hint that government is not willing to bend beyond a certain level. It has not exposed actual amount of supposed black money, but it has sent them a feeler.

And why Indian Express? Because Times Group or HT could not have accepted to publish it.Statesman and Telegraph has limited reach and The Hindu could have asked many questions before publishing it. Anyway, Times and HT are actual corporate mouth-piece. And even if, Express was largely anti-BJP till recently, it seems both are on a deal now. And also, its suits Express present character. Once upon a time, Express was seen as paper of the people and crusader against corruption, but over the decades it has become a “power politics” tool. Perhaps it is only big newspaper in India which pays its staff more than its earns.

Some of my Facebook friends said that it was not Indian Express but a consoritium of journanalists in the USA(namely ICIJ) which did it and Express was “just a partner” of it. My view is just an assumption given the character of the government and the media all over the world. May be I am wrong but people in the state-craft and international relations know well how these institution with good name(like ICIJ) are formed and the Guardian, BBC, Washington Post or others are not holy cow and they had been in power struggle earlier as well. And what Indian Express says in its report: “That’s why to obtain and investigate the Indian names, The Indian Express partnered in a three-month-long global project with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Paris-based Le Mondenewspaper.”

Interestingly, the Express partnered a “3-month long global project” just after Mr Modi’s visit to USA…! That also tells something.

Shirdi-5

Aurangabad is one of the major cities of Maharashtra and place of mine owners, sugar barons and other big traders. It is also one of the major tourist attractions of India and has been declared as ‘tourist capital of Maharashtra’. Recently, it hit headlines when 150-Mercedes Benz were bought in a day by city merchants! The last night while coming back to hotel, we walked a little and had a view of the city.

Aurangabad is a vibrant city with better infrastructure, at least compared to many north Indian cities. It has wide and less encroached roads, clean lanes, greenery and a managed traffic. Street lights were properly working. I again compared it with cities of Bihar. Alas! We are far behind.

Station Road, Aurangabad, Courtesy: Wikipedia

It has got a sizeable Muslim population; perhaps since the time of Aurangzeb or even before. Earlier it was known as Daulatabad and even before it was called Devagiri which is just nearby. Later, adjacent to old city a new one was built and named as Aurangabad after the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb. Our history books mention the Yadava kingdom of Devagiri which was later conquered by Allauddin Khilji in early 14th century. During the rule of Mohammad Bin Tughluq, it was named as Daulatabad meaning the “land of riches”. Tughluk even shifted his capital to Daulatabad from Delhi but due to lack of drinking water he returned to Delhi. The ruins of the Daulatabad fort is still there and it topped our agenda along with Ellora, Aurangzeb tomb and a Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva at Grishneshwar near Ellora.

Near Aurangabad bus stand, many hotels and lodges are owned by Muslims and provide accommodations at economic rate. Even most of the taxi and auto-rickshaw-wallah we met were Muslims. They spoke Marathi-tinged Hindi; however very few Muslim topis were seen is often seen in many Muslim majority towns of north India. They looked confident. The boy who accompanied us in the police van from Shinganapur was also a Muslim. He was encyclopedia of Hindu mythological stories about the shrines and ancient places there.

We had to see four places around Aurangabad in a single day. We talked to a taxi-wallah; he demanded Rs 1500 for around 30 Km up and down for eight hours. Nitendra suggested we better hire an auto-rickshaw. We bargained an auto at Rs 800 plus lunch for the driver.

Photo Credit: Nitendra Singh

The auto-wallah suggested seeing the Jyotirlinga first as Ellora would open at 9 am. Both places are nearby, in fact all four places were on the same road. One kilometer ahead of Ellora caves, is seen the ancient Shiva temple of Ghrishnewshar. It is one of the 12th Jyotirlingas and considered as last. It is 30 Km from Aurangabad city and has a mythological story of a childless Brahmin couple who got a baby boy with the blessings of Lord Shiva. After the name of Brahmin’s wife Ghusma, this temple drew its name as Grishneshwar.

In front of temple, flowers and puja materials were sold. It was Monday, an auspicious day to worship the Lord. Puja materials were sold at almost no price. For just Rs 10, they gave us a small basket of flowers full of bhang(cannabis) dhathura, leaves of wood apple(bel-patra) banana flower(for Goddess Parvati), a fruit and other things. It was un-imaginable; in Bihar they would have charged us not less than fifty rupees. Whomever I told this in my family, they were surprised. The whole of India worships Lord Shiva in a similar way; in my Mithila region, they perform similar puja to the Lord with Bel-patra, dhathura and bhang.

Courtesy: http://trimbakeshwar.in/

The temple is a grand architecture; in Meru-Malawa style and renovated by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in late 18th century. It is well maintained and priests don’t chase you like many north Indian temples. We reached early in the morning and only few people were there. We had darshan and stayed there for an hour talking to temple authorities.

I knew a little about Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva; one of the priests told us the story of Jyotirlingas. Out of twelve Jyotirlingas in India, five are claimed to be located in Maharashtra. They are Ghrishneshwar(Aurgangabad), Tryambakeshwar(Nasik), Bhimashankar(near Pune), Parli Baijnath and Anudha Nagnath. The priest said Baidhyanath Dhaam temple(Deoghar) in Jharkhand is not a Jyotirlinga; it is only a dhaam. However, many dispute it. In different parts of India, people claim different temples as Jyotirlinga. Other Jyotirlingas are Somnath(Gujarat), Kedarnath(Uttarakhand), Kashi Vishwanath(Banaras), Onkareshwar(MP), Mahakaal(Ujjain), Srishailam(AndhraPradesh) and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.

It was a good spiritual experience. If Baidyanath Dhaam is just a dhaam, it was my 2nd Jyotirlinga darshan after Kashi Vishwanath.