मै दौड़ में हूँ

मै दौड़ में हूँ,

तेज़ी से एक ही दिशा में बढ़ती हुई भीड़

बेपरवाह, बेलगाम 

जैसे पहाड़ से टूट कर बर्फ की छोटी सी परत

ले लेती है हिमस्खलन का रूप

विशाल, प्रतिरोधी

ऐसी भीड़ में खुद को बचाने का एक ही रास्ता है

दौड़ो, भीड़ की दिशा में दौड़ते रहो

ना दाए देखो, ना बाए

भीड़ से बच कर निकलना, अलग हो जाना

एक दिवास्पन तो है

मगर जानलेवा

मै दौड़ में हूँ

यहाँ चारो ओर सिर्फ धूल दिखाई पड़ती है

और कुछ धुंदले चेहरे

धूल  की गहरी चादर है चेहरों पर

और एक टक देखती आँखे

कुंठित, विचलित

यहाँ आइना नहीं है, मगर आँखें हैं

और हैं हज़ारो प्रतिबिम्ब

मै दौड़ में हूँ

चाय की टपरी...

ठीक से याद नहीं | शायद दसवीं क्लास की बात है | एग्जाम नज़दीक थे इसीलिए ट्यूशन वाले भैया छुट्टी के दिन भी सुबह सुबह क्लास में बुलाया करते थे | सर्दी के दिन थे, सुबह 6 बजे सड़क पर निकलते थे घर से कुछ दूर पैदल चल कर इंस्टिट्यूट पहुंचने के लिए | दिन का वो समय हुआ करता था जब रात का कुछ बचा कूचा अँधेरा सुबह की ताज़ा रौशनी के आने से धीरे धीरे छटता जाता है | पहली सड़क पार करने के बाद थोड़ा आगे ही एक चाय की दुकान हुआ करती थी | FM पर चल रहे किशोर कुमार और लता मंगेशकर के गाने और चिड़ियों की चहचहाहट, बस यही आवाज़ और इक्का दुक्का गाड़िया | टपरी पर कुछ लोग भी हुआ करते थे पर कोई शोर गुल नहीं, शायद दिन भर के तनाव के लिए खुद को तैयार करते होंगे |

उस समय पुराने गाने सुनना अच्छा नहीं लगता था, आज लगता है | चिड़िया बहुत हुआ करती थी बचपन में, गर्मी के दिनों में छल्ली के दाने दाल कर उन्हें चुगते हुए देखने का मज़ा ही कुछ और था | आजकल नहीं दिखती और अच्छा ही है आजकल कौन धुप में घंटो बैठकर आराम किया करता है?

खैर तो बात करते हैं चाय की टपरी की | कॉलेज तक आते आते कभी किसी टपरी पर बैठकर चाय की चुस्कियां लेने का मज़ा नहीं उठाया | और ना ही कॉलेज में कुछ ऐसा अनुभव रहा | हाँ कभी कैंटीन में बैठकर दोस्तों के साथ समोसे कहते हुए या किसी यात्रा पर maggi  के साथ पर चाय का असली मज़ा पहली बार कॉलेज के बाद ही लिया |

2012 की गर्मियां थी जब एक बस्ता उठा कर राजस्थान चल पड़ा दो साल के लिए | NGO में फ़ेलोशिप का मौका मिला था और गाँव में रहने का भी | शुरुआत में चाय पीने की इतनी आदत नहीं थी, कभी भी किसी स्कूल में जाओ या किसी से मिलो तो वो चाय ज़रूर पिलाता था | मना करने में शर्म आती थी इसीलिए धीरे धीरे पीने की आदत डाल ली | समय बीता और हम दिल्ली वाले से गाँव वाले हो गए, अब चाय हमारी सिगरेट हो गयी थी | दिन में कमसकम एक बार, शाम में चाय की दुकान की हाज़री लग ही जाती थी |

झुंझुनू डिस्ट्रिक्ट के नवलगढ़ शहर में रहा करते थे | छोटा सा शहर है नवलगढ़ और शहर क्या है टाउन ही कह लीजिए | Main सड़क पर एक गोलचक्कर है जिसे सब घूमचक्कर के नाम से जानते हैं | नवलगढ़ को आने वाली और वहा से जाने वाली सभी बसे घूमचक्कर पर रूकती हैं | एक अच्छा खासा बस स्टॉप भी है जो की घूमचक्कर से थोड़ा ही दूर है | उसी सड़क पर | बस स्टॉप से ले कर घूमचक्कर तक चाय की दुकानों की लाइन है | आने जाने वाले सभी लोग वहा रूककर नाश्ता पानी लेते हैं | थोड़े ही समय में ये चाय की दुकाने हमारा शाम का अड्डा बन गयी | दिन भर के काम के बाद मीटिंग खत्म कर के अपनी टीम के दोस्तों के साथ वही बैठ कर नाजाने कितने प्लान बनाए, कितने सपने देखे |

चाय के साथ समोसा भी ज़रूर लिया करते थे | सात लोग थे टीम में जो धीरे धीरे कम भी होते गए | पर हमारा चाय की टपरी पर जाना कम नहीं हुआ | खैर समोसे के बात करे तो एक बार राजस्थान में नवलगढ़ के समोसे तो ज़रूर खाये | कटोरी में समोसा, कढ़ी, चना और दही डाल कर जैसे ही सामने आता था सच में मुंह में पानी आ जाता था | जब भी रात में घर के लिए दिल्ली की बस पकड़ने को जाता था तो उसी चाय की टपरी बार बैठ कर इंतज़ार किया करता था | सात या आठ बजे के बाद ही सड़क खली होने लगती थी और मानो नवलगढ़ जैसे थम सा जाता था | सभी चाय वाले जानने भी लगे थे | छोटे शहरों में रहने वाली से सबसे ख़ूबसूरत बात है | कुछ महीनो में ही वो जगह मानो आपको अपना सा बन लेती है और आप पूरी तरह से उसके हो जाते हैं |

राजस्थान में रहते हुए समझ में आया की चाय की टपरी का क्या महत्व है | आखरी बार जब उस शहर से निकले तब भी चाय पीते हुए ही निकले | किसी भी मीटिंग या सेमिनार से ज़्यादा खुल कर जो दिल की बाते हुई, वो चाय की टपरी पर ही हुई | जब वहा से वापस दिल्ली आये तो सबसे ज़्यादा कमी शाम में महसूस हुई | खैर कुछ महीने बाद फिर बहार जाने का मौका मिला और इस बार जगह थी ओडिशा का ढेंकनाल शहर |

अब की बार हॉस्टल में रहने गए थे तो माहौल भी अलग था और लोग भी | पांच नहीं पचास | पचास से ज़्यादा लोग एक ही साथ रहा करते थे | सुबह और शाम को हॉस्टल के मेस में बानी नाना और लूलू की शक्कर वाली चाय से भी किसी को परहेज़ नहीं हुआ करता था | बाजार भी जाया करते थे और ज़ाहिर से बात है की चाय की टपरी पर भी समय बीतता था | सर्दी के दिनों में पकोड़े, ओडिशा के स्पेशल आलू चॉप के साथ बस स्टैंड पर सब दीखते थे हाथ में चाय का कप लिए | हॉस्टल की बाते वहा हुआ करती थी | आखिरी समय नज़दीक आते आते जॉब की और करियर की बाते भी वही होने लगी | कही ना कही शायद सबको मालूम हो गया था की अब ज़िन्दगी में बहुत कुछ बदलने वाला था | हमे भी मालूम था की दिल्ली का कर एक बार भी चाय की टपरी और हमारी दोस्ती में थोड़ी दूरी आने वाली थी |

अभी भी ऑफिस से निकल कर पी लिया करते हैं | कोई पुराने दोस्त जो गाँव में या हॉस्टल में साथ रहा, उससे मिलते हैं तो टपरी पर ज़रूर जाते हैं | आज भी गए थे, अकेले | खुद से बाते करते | आगे भी जाते रहेंगे |

Recollection of the Wandering Days! 14 Days - 3500 KM - 4 States

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

Ursula K. Le Guin

It’s been a year when I started one of the most adventurous trips in my life with two other fellas, Prateek Kumar and Arshad Khan. 

Now that I sit in the comfort and cosiness of my room in these Delhi winters, I remember the struggles and hardships we had to face on that trip. 

Here is a glimpse:

At 5 AM in the morning of 2 January 2015, Prateek and I reached Dhenkanal in a ‘so-called’ luxury bus from Kolkata. Tukun da, the enthusiastic and child-like autowala and our only support in that alien town, was waiting in the dark under a scanty tea shop while braving the incessant rains.

It was time head back to IIMC Dhenkanal hostel from where we started our trip which took us to 4 different states in just 14 days. It was indeed a great welcome to the year 2015.

Zero Day- Dhenkanal-18 December

The plan for this trip was never actually made. Only thing we knew was that we were going to travel as much as we could and spend as less as we could. Initially, it was just me and Prateek, but Arshad too joined in later.

Day one- Bhubaneswar- 19 December

Travelled in a typical Dhenkanal style bus, covered with myriad of bright colors and filled with so many people that nobody could move a finger, we reached Bhubaneswar in a few hours. Booked a large room in our favourite hotel, the Taj Palace, and straight away went out for dinner.

Watched the late night show of film PK and walked all the way back to hotel. By the way, there were more than half a dozen of us at that time as everyone who was supposed to leave for their respective hometowns was staying in Bhubaneswar that night.

A party at night and some crazy dancing followed. Everyone, except the three of us, left early in the morning and we started making plans for our next destination.

Day 2- Balugaon- 20 December

After taking some more rest, we went to the only mall in the city and had a sumptuous meal. After that, we went to the station, bought tickets for Balugaon and boarded the train which took us to Chilika.

Balugaon is a very small town situated near Chilika, the largest salt-water lake in India. As we were on a money-saving mission, we booked a small in room in ‘Sai lodge’ and ate our dinner at a local hotel cum dhaba.

The taste of water in Sai lodge was probably saltier than the Chilika Lake itself. So, we decided not to drink that water or clean our bodies with it. Guess what, no bathing for next two days. Yay!

Day 3- Chilika Lake- 21 December

Early morning we left for the lake and discovered that it would cost us a fortune to book a private boat for ourselves. So we started looking for some like-minded people. We found a group of 4 college students about 20 KM from that location and convinced them to join us (power of persuasion).

Almost everyone was happy after he hired a boat because we all had to pay much less money and Arshad had a girl to flirt with. The boat ride in Chilika is something all the travel and adventure enthusiasts should try at least once in their lives. It was mesmerising, breath-taking and every other tough word you can think about.

After a six hour long boat ride, we the vagabonds, checked out of ‘salt-water sai lodge’ and took a train for Puri.

Day 4-Puri- 22 December

After lake, it was time for the beach. 22 December was spent in peace at Puri beach and watching the sunset. However, the night before this calm day was full of chaos.

After we packed our bags and left for Puri from Balugaon railway station, we met these railway employees in our ‘chair car’ who promised to help us in finding a cheap hotel. When they finally took us to a hotel at 11 in the night, we decided to refuse the offer because of certain apprehensions and ended up getting scolded by them.

After all this, we had to find ourselves a cheap place to spend the night and a drunken receptionist came of some guest house came to our rescue. We were able to strike a deal!

Anyways, back to the beach. While returning to the guest house in the evening, we met a guy at a tea shop. As we asked for some help and suggestions, he told us to visit Raigara and defined it as the ‘tribal hub of Odisha’.

Yes, we left for Raigara the same evening.

Day 5- Raigara- 23 December

16 hour overnight journey stuffed in the bus seat in an embryonic posture took us to the ‘tribal hub of Odisha’. Excitedly, the first thing we did after getting down from the bus was to ask for places to visit. The reply was ‘why the hell would you come to Raigara’!!

We knew we had made a blunder but still we held on to our fading hope. Found a maharaja size room and slept for hours. In the evening, we visited the only so-called attraction of the town; mini hawra bridge!

The place was so depressing that it sucked the entire excitement of our ‘unplanned trip’. It was hard to stay at that place so we decided to leave the same evening. And we travelled all the way back to Bhubaneswar.

Day 6- Bhubaneswar- 24 December

Ever travelled in the general coach of Indian railways? Well, we did!

First, we managed to squeeze ourselves to find a place among people squatting outside the toilet. After our deodorants also failed to help, we went inside and grabbed the luggage space where we spent the rest of the night.

The trauma of last two terrible night journeys and a horrible stay in Raigara had put us in a situation where we could not even think of experimenting further.

In Bhubaneswar, we visited the famous Dhauli and came back to our hotel in the evening. A weird comedy film in the night was just the right thing to light up our mood again.

Day 7- Bhubaneswar- Christmas Day!!!

A cup of tea in the morning to kick start and we set out to walk around on a sunny day. We went to the church and sat inside for more than three hours discussing about origin of religion and god with so much fervour that the father had to ask us to keep shut.

After the church, as there was nothing else to do and we were not in a mood to travel a lot, we went to the Ram temple located on the same street. There was nobody inside except some volunteers who were counting the donation money. They asked us to join and we conformed.

Then we crashed a birthday party and went to a gurudwara. Arshad pitched the idea of going to Dhanbad for a couple of days and stay at his place. So we took the evening to train to Howrah.

Day 8-Dhanbad- 26 December

Yet another overnight train journey ensued, taking us from Bhubaneshwar to Howrah in West Bengal. The yellow ambassador cars lined up outside the railway station at 5 in the morning produced a magnificent spectacle for someone like me who was visiting the place for the first time. Shivering in bone chilling December winters, we had a cup of tea and bought tickets for the very next train to Dhanbad. After a 4-5 hour journey in a comfortable chair car, we reached the place.

The luxury of home cooked food awaited us. We shamelessly devoured the food served to us and then went to sleep. Arshad took us to the only ‘cool hangout place’ in the area- maithan dam in the evening.

Day 9- Bodh Gaya- 27 December

One of the most beautiful experiences on this trip was to visit the place where Buddha achieved enlightenment. It was blissful to sit in front of the Bodhi tree with closed eyes, feeling the serenity of the surroundings and being one with it.

Travelling to Bodh Gaya from Dhanbad and coming back from there took the whole day. The next day we were supposed to leave for Kolkata so we straight away went to sleep after having another delicious meal.

Day 10- From Dhanbad to Howrah!!- 28 December

This was the second worst day after Raigara. Arshad dropped us at Asansol from where we had to take a bus which would take us to Howras in just few hours. However, things did not turn out to be so simple.

First, we went to the train station from bus stand because we thought travelling in a train would be more convenient and cheap. We bought the tickets and waited for the train for about an hour. When it arrived at last, the TT told us that we could not sit in that train with the tickets we had bought.

We thought going back to the bus stand and taking a bus would be a better idea but we found out that all the tickets were already sold out after we reached there. Frustrated and confused, we went back to the train station.

Finally, another train arrived and the same happened. TT told us that we would have to buy new tickets and we had just 5 minutes to rush to the counter, buy a new ticket and be in the train before it departed from the station. And we did it!

We had left from Dhanbad at 10 in the morning and reached Howrah at around 10 in the night. It usually takes not more than 6 hours to cover the same distance!

Day 11 to 14- Kolkata- 29 December to 1 January

Kolkata was the last stopover of our trip before we went back to Dhenkanal. Here, the first three days were spent with Arnab (dada) and Ankit (BT) who took us to the city’s amazing restaurants, bars, bars and bars.

It’s a nice city with a slow paced lifestyle which still nurtures and appreciates those small yet beautiful moments you spend with each other. You can see people sitting on the chai shop, on the banks of Princep ghat or roaming on the busy streets. This is also the place where you can see a street artist painting the portrait of jesus in the middle of a road with colourful chalks. It is indeed a beautiful place to be at.

On 31 December night, Prateek and I went to see the New Year celebrations on Kolkata streets which actually turned out to be huge disappointment. Thousands of people were just running and shouting on the streets. So we came back to our hotel room and welcomed 2015 in a rather humble manner!

The next day we wasted our time visiting clichéd tourist places like National Museum and saw Anurag Kashyap’s thriller ‘Ugly’. After that we went to the bus stand where dada was waiting for us. 

Our 14 days long ‘voyage’ was coming to an end. There was a feeling of exhilaration that we actually did something like this and also relaxation that it had finally ended.

No matter how many blunders we made in those 14 days, they would always be remembered.

यादें जमा करना अच्छा लगता है।

कुछ दिन पहले एक दोस्त ने यु ही बात बात में कह दिया "अरे भैया बटुए में सभी कार्ड क्यों ले कर घूमते   हो ? किसी दिन खुदा-न-खास्ता जेब कट गयी तो परेशानी में पड़ जाओगे। " बात सही लगी तो आज बटुआ खाली करने लगा। 

लाइसेंस है तो पहचान पत्र और पैन कार्ड की क्या ज़रूरत। पुराने कॉलेज का आइडेंटिटी कार्ड भी संभाल  कर रख देना चाहिए।  ठीक बात है की किसी काम का नहीं, लेकिन याद समझ कर ही अपने पास रखा है।

सभी सामान अलग कर लिया तो अलमारी में रखा वो पुराना बक्सा ढूंढने लगा, जिसमे पुराना बटुआ आज भी संभाल कर रखा है।  उसके साथ कुछ कागज़ हैं , जिन्हे गौर से देखने का कभी समय नहीं मिला।  आज जब फिर से खोला तो सोचा एक बार देखा जाये की कौनसे ज़माने की कोई याद यहाँ महीनो से दम तोड़ रही है। 

सबसे पहले एक रेस्त्रां  का कार्ड नज़र आया।  जी नहीं, किसी पांच सितारा रेस्त्रां का नहीं , बल्कि राजस्थान के एक छोटे से शहर नवलगढ़ में  स्थित गणपति फ़ूड कोर्ट का कार्ड था।  उसे देखते ही सालो पुरानी कुछ यादे जैसे ज़हन के किसी कोने में फिर से ज़िंदा हो उठी। 

जब नया नया राजस्थान में रहने गया था तो दिल्ली का स्वादिष्ट खाना खूब याद आता था। 2012  की बात है , तीन साल हो गए।  पर आज भी याद है की उस गणपति रेस्त्रां को ढूंढने के बाद ऐसा लगा था जैसे खुद भगवन गणेश ही मिल गए हो।  अगले दो साल में नजाने कितनी बार वहां के भोजन का आनंद उठाया।  मालिक और उसके बेटे का चेहरा भी और शाम को रहने वाली वहां की हवा की महक भी, सब आज तक अच्छे से याद है। 

बटुए को और टटोला तो कागज़ के कुछ टुकड़े और मिले। गाओ में ख़रीदा 700 रूपए के फ़ोन का बिल और पहले स्कूल के हेडमास्टर का लिखा हुआ एक पर्चा। कुछ ख़ास मायने नहीं रखता सब, पर फिर भी ख़ास तो है।  सब कुछ संभाल कर रखना अच्छा लगता है , यादें जमा करना अच्छा लगता है। 

अलमारी का एक बड़ा हिस्सा है जिसमे किताबो के साथ यही सब सामान पड़ा है। दोस्तों के साथ पहली चिड़ियाघर की सैर  के समय खरीदी टिकेट या स्कूल के आखिरी दिन रंग बिरंगे पेन से लिखी गयी शर्ट।  शायद अब देखू तो पुराने सन्देश पढ़ कर हसी आये , पर फिर से पुराने दिनों से जुड़ना भी तो  एक अद्भुत अनुभव है। 

किसी दिन जब फिर से फुर्सत मिले तो सब उठा कर देखेंगे। आज दो साल पहले लिखी खुद की एक बात याद आई "मौका मिला तो फिर से उन सभी रास्तो से गुज़रना पसंद करूँगा जिनसे पहले गुज़र चूका हु, इस तरह हो सके तो  एक ज़िन्दगी दो बार जी सकूं।"

A year - An era!

A year back, at this time, i was anxiously waiting for 4th of july. Having been selected for the interview round to get admission in IIMC, i didn't want to waste this opportunity. Three or four weeks after the interview, results were announced and i had been selected. The next destination was going to be IIMC Dhenkanal; a serene campus situated in the hilly areas of a small town lying 80 km from the capital of odisha.

Today, i can envisage the emotions from which the shortlisted canditates would be dealing with while gearing up for their interviews. In a month or so, their fates will be sealed and out of the whole lot, 70-80 will be move to the same place where i spent 10 marvellous months of my life.

A couple of them will be alotted the room no 302 of brahmputra hostel; a beautiful accommodation with the door facing towards the terrace area, onlooking the insouciant town. Perhaps the caretaker, Basant bhai,
will remember me for a moment when he opens the room for a new guest.

Perhaps they will spend the first night apprehensively thinking about how the next few months are going to be, just to wake up the next morning and step out of the room to feel the rejuvinating touch of pure and sweet breeze on their face. The continuous drizzle and the scenic pleasure of watching the whole town waking up as first rays of sun fall on the ground might make them fall in love with the place at once.

They sure will notice the doodling on the almirah. Perhaps they'll scoff and think how immature it is but they'll realize the emotions, the laughter and the memories attached with every single thing much later in their journey. The meaningless things like a pole and even the mundane and boring news preparation for the morning bulletin will be coveted.

Late night maggi and coffee during the exam days, the glowing and cheerful festival of lakshmi puja, the study tours to puri and konark, they'll get to do it all. Perhaps they too will celebrate all the festivals together with the same jubilation like we did.

Perhaps they'll be silly enough to get tender while returning the steel plate and the glass, the library card and not to forget the almirah key. The relationship they will build with a range of people like Tukun Da (autowallah) and the owner of celebrations bakery and obviously the teachers and batchmates will be cherished for a long time.

Perhaps!

Bulleh Shah- Mystic and Reformist

बेशक मंदिर मस्जिद ढा दे, बुल्लाह शाह ये कहता,
पर प्यार भरा दिल कभी न तोड़ो, इस दिल में दिलबर रहता |
You may break a temple of a mosque, Bullah Shah says,
but never break a heart full of love, in that resides the lord.

These words surpass the boundaries of religion and faith, putting humanity on the highest pedestal. These words evoke the feeling of mutual love and respect, and may find acceptance in the modern day ideology of fighting against communalism and bigotry.

Secularism and religious criticism seem to be an emerging phenomenon in today’s world. With the rise of internet and social media, the ideas of getting rid of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism are discussed and shared in a way that influences great many people.

In the Indian subcontinent or particularly the South Asian region, friction amongst people who possess opposite sets of ideologies, when it comes to religion and faith, has been growing lately. The recent incidences which we can recall range from banning of books and movies to even murdering people.

Three atheist bloggers have been hacked to death since the beginning of this year in Bangladesh. A similar event happened in India when a social activist, Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead by unidentified people. He was the founder of ‘Maharashtra Andhshradha Nirmoolam Samiti’, an organisation working in the area of creating scientific temper in people and pushing the government to bring laws which put an embargo on acts promoting superstition.

There is a very thin line between criticism and insult and one must make sure that they don’t cross the limits while showing their disapproval. In the year 2010, Bombay high court had made a ruling that criticism of any religion was permissible in India under the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, the court also specified that the criticism shall be strictly academic and done in good faith. Therefore, the right to express our dissent towards other faiths or religions does not allow us to insult others feelings.

Now the idea of secularism, atheism or agnosticism is also seen as new and modern. It is perceived by many that criticism of religion is a fruit of the western education and this rebellious thought process which dauntlessly challenged the superstition, blind faith, bigotry etc. did not exist in older times. We have read and heard about people who hailed from one sect trying to proselytize others and the odious things which happened in its name.

Our country has been blessed by the presence of saints and seers who advocated for equality and peace. The message of Sant Kabir, Tukaram, Namdev, Tuslidas, Meerabai, Lalon Fakir and several others lingers in the conscious of our great nation even today. Bhakti and Sufi movements in India were started to fight against the oppressive and regressive traditional practices and uniting the people. The practice of praying or serving the god was metamorphosed and new ways of singing and dancing in his praise were introduced. This went against the restrictive doctrines which had kept our society in shackles for years.

The poetry of Kabir and Guru Nanak has inspired millions of hearts and will continue to do the same in future. There was another metrist-cum-saint in northern India during the time of Aurangzeb, who conjured up poems and verses which have personally influenced me the most.
Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri, popularly known as Bullah shah was a Punjabi poet whose soulful lyrics have been adapted in various music genres and songs. Legendary qawwali singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and Wadali brothers have given voice to Baba Bulleh Shah’s magical words. In modern times, sufi rock and fusion singers or bands have been using his poetry in their songs and it has received tremendous amount of appreciation from the listeners.

Whenever I listen to Baba Bullah’s poetry, it makes me transcend to another world and leaves me with a light and soothed feeling as if floating in the air. Each verse in his poetry carries so much meaning and value which touches deep into my heart and soul. A lot of us must have listened to his creations without knowing about his life, his message or perhaps the meaning of his words.

The song Bullah Ki Jana by Rabbi Shergill gave a fresh twist to one of the best poems of the mystic. Music genre which appealed to the young listeners spawned a new place for these age old poems in today’s world. Baba Bullah, through this poem, tries to extend the message of equality and humanism. This is one of the most favourite ‘Kalam’ of mine written by him where he accepts or promulgates the fact that he does not know who he is yet he knows that he doesn’t belong to any particular sect, religion, cast, creed, etc.

It is said that Baba Bulleh Shah was targeted time and again by the Mullahs and the Mughal establishment for being a traitor to his own religion. He had called the eighth Guru of the Sikhs, Teg Bahadur Ji, a ‘Ghazi’ or a warrior, after he was beheaded by the Mughals for supporting the Kashmiri Pandits against forced conversion and tortures which were meted out on them. He had a cordial relationship with the Sikh gurus who had rebelled against the tyranny of Mughals and wrote a verse praising the tenth guru, Gobind Singh ji.

न करू अब की,
न करू बात तब की,
गर न होते गुरु गोबिंद सिंह,
सुन्नत होती सब की |
Neither I talk about yesterday, not about tomorrow,
I talk about today.
Had Guru Gobind Singh not been here,
everyone would get under Islamic sway.

He was a true secular by heart and went all the way to criticize forced conversion of people to a religion which he was born into. This obviously brought him the wrath of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb but still he enjoyed mass following and was revered by thousands of people. While he raised his voice against the violence and injustice done by Mughals, he also advised Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, who was appointed by Guru Gobind Singh as head of the army of Sikh warriors, to abandon the ways of violence and killing of innocent Muslims and to fight the Mughals in a peaceful manner.

Belonging to a family of Syed clan which claimed its direct descendence from Prophet Muhammad’s family, Bulleh Shah chose to become a disciple of Shah Inayat who belonged to the Arai community. The Arais are believed to be low caste Hindus who converted to Islam to escape the discrimination faced by them and thus, they were considered to be inferior by the Muslims. Bullah’s family and community members were perturbed by his decision to choose such a person as his ‘Murshid’ or ‘Guru’ and they all tried to convince him leave his company. Bulleh Shah rejected the appeals and suggestions made by everyone and shunned them.

बुल्ले नु समझावन आइयाँ बेहनां ते परझाइयां,
मन ले बुलया साडा कहना छड दे पल्ला राइयाँ,
आल-ए-नबी औलाद-ए-अली नु तू क्यों लीतां लाइयां’
जेहड़ा सानु सय्यद आखे दोज़ख़ मिले सज़ाईयां
जे कोई सानु राइन आखे बेहश्ती पीन्गाँ पाइयां|

Bulleh's sisters and sisters-in-law came to persuade him
Listen to us Bulleh and forego the company of Arains
Why have you crossed our the ancestry of the Prophet and the lineage of Ali
Whoever calls me Syed shall receive the punishment of hell
Whoever calls me an Arain shall sway on the swings of heaven.

He was living with Shah Inayat in Lahore when ladies of his family went there to persuade him into leaving the company of his teacher. This ‘Kafi’ written by him shows his rebellious and unconventional mind-set which refused to reconcile with orthodoxy and bigotry. This is a bigger lesson for the Hindu community which is plagued by the evils of caste since time immemorial.

The rebellious spirit of Bulleh Shah also showed when he opposed the orders or Emperor Aurangzeb when he put a ban on music and dance. Bullah went from one place to another singing and dancing in praise of the lord after Shah Inayat told him to do so. The sufi tradition followed by him promotes devotion or ‘Bhakti’ as the form of uniting with god. Inspired by the ideas of ‘Bhakti Movement’, it focuses on renouncing the ritualistic practices and involving oneself in pure devotion in the form of poetry, songs, dancing, singing, etc.

मक्के गया, गाल मुकदी नाही,
भावे सौ सौ जुम्मे पढ़ाइये |

गंगा गया गाल मुकदी नाही,
भावे सौ सौ गोते खाइये |

बुल्ले शाह गल ताइयों मुकदी,
जद मै नु दिलो मुकाइये |

Going to Makkah is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of prayers are offered,
Going to Ganges is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of cleansings are done,

Bulleh Shah the ultimate is
when the 'I' is removed from the heart.

However, the philosophy or ideology which was followed by him has been ingrained in Indian psyche since the advent of Buddhism in India. We belong to a land which has seen multiple religions and philosophies sprout and flourish and also gradually left behind the practices which lost relevance with changing times.

Sidhartha Gautama was perhaps the first person in recorded history who challenged the superstitious ways pertaining in the society during his time. His teachings were spread throughout northern India and also reached countries like China, Myanmar, Japan, Thailand, etc.

Similarly, most of the poets and saints who were a part of the ‘Bhakti’ and ‘Sufi’ movement of India have followed the same path of separating themselves from any religious dogmas, rituals and superstitions. Bullah Shah is also compared with the great sufi poet ‘Jalaluddin Rumi’ in terms of the quality of his teachings and popularity. He was a humanitarian who kept morality and respect for each other above than any other thing. Throughout his life, he reiterated his message of equality, love and peace among individuals.

चल बुल्लेया चल ओथे चलिए, जित्थे सारे अंधे,
न कोई साडी ज़ात पछाने, न कोई सानु मन्ने |
O Bullah! Let’s go to a place where everybody is blind,
where nobody knows my caste/religion or holds me in high respect

Very much like the modern times, he had to face the outrage of self-anointed protectors of the religion. Not just the Mughal administration and clerics opposed him, his own family except for his sister did not support Bullah’s eccentric endeavour. Their resistance to his unorthodox views continued even after his death. He was refused to be buried in the community graveyard of Village Pandok in Kasur district of Lahore, where he was born. He was instead buried on the outskirts of the town where his shrine is currently located in Pakistan. Even after all this criticism and opposition, an annual three day ‘urs’ festival is celebrated in Kasur where people from all over the country and the world gather to commemorate the death anniversary of Baba Bulleh Shah.

The wisdom of Baba Bulleh Shah is needed for the revival of people’s conscience in changing times. For me personally, he has been a symbol of liberation, courage, humanity and love. His words and his life have left a deep impact on my mind and innumerable people round the globe. His profound knowledge, if reached millions of people, has the power to change the world for good.

ना मई मोमिन विच मसीतां,
ना मई विच कुफर दिया रीतां,
ना मई पाकं विच पलीतां,
ना मई मूसा ना फिरौन |

ना मै अंदर वेद किताबां,
ना विच भांगां ना शराबां,
ना विच रेह्न्दा मस्त ख़राबां,
ना विच जागण ना विच सौण |

ना मै भेद मज़हब दा पाया,
ना मै आदम हव्वा दा जाया,
ना कोई अपना नाम धयारा,
ना मै बैठन ना विच भौण |

बुल्ला की जाना मै कौन ?

Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the PharohNot in the holy Vedas, am I

Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard’s intoxicated craze
Neither awake, nor in a sleeping daze

Secrets of religion, I have not known
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move

O Bullah! I know not who I am?