Autobiography of a Bonsai Banyan

Autobiography?

Why should a tiny banyan plant on a tray in an unknown garden write an autobiography, you might ask, when other trees, some of them sacred and illustrious, haven’t? An arrogant, presumptuous, pompous, egoistic, narcissistic brat, you may call me. But I am a thinking plant, and I’ve a story to tell. Don’t I know how you love stories, especially about lives of others, and pay for it to read in a book or watch on TV or in a theatre?

A Travel Tale

First, my story which has all essential elements - suspense, drama, adventure, action, and thrill.

I am well-travelled, which makes me special, though not as distinguished as the sapling which travelled all the way to Anuradhapur, Sri Lanka with Sanghamitra, and flourishes even today.

My kind owner, and keeper dotes on me, personally looks after me and never keeps me far from her. Whenever her spouse’s job moved them to a new town, she gifted away all the ordinary plants in her garden to neighbours and friends, and packed me with immaculate care to travel with her to the new station. That is how I have been privileged to see many towns of the undivided Madhya Pradesh, and the national capital, too.

(BB is real, not fictional. Photo by this Blogger)

This journey was from Gwalior to Bhopal, and while the lesser bonsais took a bumpy ride on a truck, I had the singular honour of travelling in the luxury of an AC coach. Now, how many of my kind have travelled in such comfort? The lady had her precious stuff in a suitcase, and me by her side. The spouse had his four suitcases, one with clothes, and the remaining three with the most-treasured books of his personal library.

The train arrived at Bhopal in time at 5.00 AM on a chilly December morning. When a vendor announced chai garma garam chai, my keeper and her spouse were startled awake only a minute before the train was to depart after the usual five-minute halt. They quickly hailed a porter and the spouse managed to unload all the luggage including the lady’s suitcase, and deboarded the train which had begun pulling out.

Be quick, come down at once, the train is still slow and safe, said the spouse. My lady was at the door and shrieked, ‘Did you carry my bonsai?’ He hadn’t.

'Please get down, I will get the plant collected at Hoshangabad,' he said.

‘No way, I won’t abandon my precious bonsai,’ said she, and returned to her seat and caressed me. I was touched by her maternal care.

The spouse was non-plussed, but only for a moment. He went to the station master’s room, and got him to send a message to the station master at Hoshangabad, the next halt for the train, who as requested promptly relayed the message to a senior district official about the little crisis.

Lo and behold, when the train reached Hoshangabad, there was quite a party to welcome us – senior district officers including the District Horticulture Officer who examined my health and certified that though I had suffered a minor anxiety-attack, I was fit to travel by car to Bhopal. A car-cade brought us safely to our home at Bhopal which I have never left again. That was four decades ago, but the memory still gives an adrenalin rush.

Now, what do you say; am I qualified to write my autobiography?

Let me now put on my thinking hat. Thinking comes naturally to my species. We think, and nourish thinking in others.

Bonsai: Art, Craft, or Vanity?

How did it all begin? The Chinese sculpted miniature gardens about three thousand years ago. A clever, ingenious method to domesticate nature. Not unlike the cruel practice of castration of young bulls, and foot-binding of girls to create small, delicate feet, considered dainty and beautiful for elegant women. That required feet of young girls to be broken and plastered in tight moulds to achieve the desired shape and size! How is bonsai different from that? Stunted size through starvation diet, and queer, fanciful shape achieved by clipping and pruning, wiring, and twisting; is that any less cruel? How is that artistic?

Does not a banyan or any other tree best express itself and realise its full potential in the lap of nature? I recall what a great poet wrote:

Is there any denying woodland vines

Far surpass those nurtured in gardens?*

I have a Dream

I am looked after very well by my keeper, no complaints there; yet I pine for freedom. Nature guaranteed for all its children the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; but I languish in a little prison called a garden, in a stone tray that is my cell, and forbidden to flourish on the bountiful earth and gift happiness and joy to others. Earth is my mother, Sun my father, and the sky the vast roof of my home; but I am deprived of all that. A domesticated animal in a zoo.

Humans tower over me and exult at their cleverness in forcing me to be a stunted dwarf. How would humans like if kept in a tiny cage and given enough food to survive but not enough to grow to full potential?

I have a Dream to return to the bosom of Mother Earth, and show that I am no dwarf, no puny plant. I have never abdicated my dream, and my passion for growth. Even in incarceration, I have created roots for future growth, like the severely handicapped Stephen Hawking advancing the frontiers of human knowledge from his wheelchair.

I have a Dream that one day I will be judged not by my queer shape and size that looks beautiful to some, but by my service to Mother Earth and her many children including the birds and the animals.

I have even devised a slogan to rouse my fellow brothers and sisters: Bonsais of the World, Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains (and wires and prison).

But before I urge my fellow bonsais to break free from the fetters, I must practice what I preach since I am a Gandhian. I resolve to meet physical force with soul force. I resolve to launch a non-violent, non-cooperation struggle and fast unto death.

***

*(Duhsanta’s soliloquy at Kanva rishi’s hermitage, Act One-16, Abhijnanasakuntalam, The Complete Works of Kalidasa (Volume Two), Translated by Chandra Rajan, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (2016))

Notes:

First, a disclaimer. This blogger's spouse is not BB's owner and keeper!

1.   While writing this piece, I recalled Martin Luther King Jr’s famous ‘I have a Dream’ speech delivered on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. He was strongly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s method of non-violence, non-cooperation, and civil disobedience to gain freedom for India. I have borrowed several words and phrases (marked in italics) from that great speech which I acknowledge with due respect.

2.   Sacred Trees: Each major religion has its own sacred trees. Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis or Ficus Indica) is revered by Hindus as Kalpavriksha, and symbolizes eternal life and knowledge. It is India’s National Tree. Banyan tree was so named by early European visitors to India who found banias (traders) selling their wares under the shade of these huge trees! Peepul tree (Ficus religiosa) is sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. 'Among all trees, I am (the supreme and sacred) Ashvattha,' declares Lord Krishna in Gita- ashvattha sarvavrikshanam (10.26). Siddhartha Gautama received enlightenment under the Maha Bodhi tree (a Peepul tree) at Bodh Gaya.

3.   BB is real, not fictional. Age 47 years. It has an address and a PIN code.

***

Postscript

Bonsai crafted by Mother Nature!

My friend, Madan Mohan’s insightful comments:

“The word Bonsai literally meaning, planted in a container, (in Japanese language) today has expanded well beyond the far Eastern boundaries. This is an extremely creative art of keeping full grown trees inside the house and is very popular among the affluent Indians. It's a misconception that bonsais are indoor plants, on the contrary, it appears that the nature lovers in Japan, centuries ago, while observing the growing of a plant on Barren rocks or around a cliff noticed the beautiful hanging branches and its stunted growth.  the plant is not adequately nourished while stuck in the crevices   of the hill. In fact, if you go to any forest or any hillock you will find the best of the Bonsai in the world - A Bonsai that is created by mother nature, a bonsai that grows minimally so that it can survive on the limited nutrition it is getting from the soil of these stone to which it is clinging. Though this gets adequately supplemented in the rainy seasons But, again in the hot summers it will shed its leaves. One can find beautiful bonsai of Peepal (ficus religiosa) and Bargad (Ficus Bengalensis) on trunk of Palm trees also which have developed some sort of symbiotic relationship, the bonsai getting just the adequate amount of nutrition for its root system and producing the minimum number of leaves to make food from sunshine. There is something unique in nature that allows both the plants to coexist. Having nurtured bonsai plants for more than four decades, I can say with confidence that it's a treat to see these plants slowly grow and co-exist with the environment of the house. Like any species of nature, they need care.

***

 

A Tribute to TDL

To-Do-List (TDL): A Powerful Tool

Human civilization stands on the edifice of TDLs meticulously prepared and passionately pursued by adventurers, empire-builders, inventors, visionaries, leaders, and countless ordinary people over the millennia.

Our epics vindicate the utility and power of TDLs. Vishnu materialised as Nrusingha to kill Hiranyakashipu (a TDL), agreed to be born as Rama to kill Ravana (another TDL), and as Krishna to kill Kamsa (yet another TDL). Each of Vishnu’s ten avatars is a specific TDL of which nine have already been successfully executed, and there is little doubt that the pending one of Kalki would be similarly ticked off in due course. Hanuman’s TDL was Ram-kaj, further specified as – fly to Lanka and locate Sita, fetch vishalyakarani to revive Lakshman, and fight the Lanka war.

Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Amazon, Apple, Google, Tesla, and all other magnificent wonders of the world are built through TDLs.

Shah Jahan whispered a wish, his capable minister made a TDL with thousands of subsidiary TDLs for the project managers, sculptors, and masons down the line. That is how the ‘tear drop on the cheek of eternity’ was created.

TDL took a confused Columbus to the Americas, man to moon, and Putin to Ukraine.  

Are YOU organized?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 for Hopelessly Unorganized, 10 for Totally Organized) where would you put yourself? If you are at 6 or above, then I guess you manage your life and improve your productivity through one or multiple TDLs.

Everyone uses TDL, some a simple bulleted or numbered list on a scrap of paper, the zealous ones a list in two colours – Red for Top Priority, Black for the other tasks. Those who have never drawn a written TDL, not even a shopping list, manage with a mental list for shopping and other daily or periodic errands. TDL is not only a must-use tool for all workers, white-collar or blue-collar; but also for home-makers (laundry, milk, paper delivery lists, kitty-parties with list of games, menu, birthdays, anniversaries, PTA mtgs, and many more). Even the house-maid has a mental list: House A at 7.00 AM, B at 7.35 AM, C at 8.10 AM … (all flats in the same high-rise building!).

(Cartoon of an Indian bureaucrat frowning over his TDL: Image created by Copilot powered by DALL-E 3)

TDL History

In ancient India, TDLs were neatly organised in four silos detailing duties to be performed during the four phases of life - brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, and sanyas. All activities were focussed on achieving the four missions – dharma, Artha, kama, and moksha.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the founding fathers of America, and known for his multifaceted achievements, was a proponent of using lists for self-improvement. Belle Beth Cooper calls him the godfather of To-Do-Lists.[i] He had made a 13-week plan to practise cleanliness, temperance, etc., and many other lists to track his goals, virtues, and daily tasks, and monitored his progress on charts! His remarkable achievement in several fields might be the outcome of his devotion to TDLs!

 

(Benjamin Franklin's TDL: Source: Belle Beth Cooper, buffer.com)

Calendar

Calendar is possibly the first TDL invented by man. It comprises a series of TDLs: Navaratris, ekadashis, vrats, et al; Ramzan and Lent fasts. The clever panchang at our home also has columns for Laundry/Milk/Paper delivery day-wise for the month. How very ingenious and handy!

Do you think the unlettered manage without TDL? Nah, they have a mental list – the farmer knows when to sow seeds, when to irrigate, when to harvest, when to take his produce to the market; his wife knows when to milk the cow, wash clothes, cook and feed the family, and make badi, papad, achar, and more.

TDL in real life

A single event may create multiple TDLs as seen yesterday (Mar 27): A CM arrested under PMLA files bail application in Delhi High Court, argued by a top lawyer for the arrested person, opposed by ED, adjourned by HC, commented upon by US, demarche served on Acting Deputy Chief of Mission by MEA spokesperson.

TDL at Home

A few months ago, on a visit to another city, I dropped in for a chat with a friend in his office a little before noon. Why don’t you accompany me home for a simple lunch, he said. Roti, dal, bhindi, curd, and salad. When we reached his home at 1.30 PM, the dishes that my friend had mentioned had been neatly placed on the table. ‘Your cook is super-efficient,’ I said, ‘but how did you know the exact menu?’ ‘See the yellow stickers on the fridge? That has the Menu for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner for each day of the week, jointly prepared by spouse and self, in about fifteen minutes, and sparing us the trouble of the cook’s irritable query thrice a day, twenty-one times a week.’

‘You and your souse are highly organized,’ I complimented my friend. His spouse teaches in a college and takes her lunch at 4.00 PM upon return from work except on holidays.

Without TDL some feel rudderless, unable to navigate the vast ocean of life, and some are seized with panic.

I know a very meticulous person who uses the ancient method of dactylonomy (counting with phalanges of fingers) to check out the 16 items - phone, cash, debit card, pen, kerchief, pocket comb, driving licence, photo Id, eye glasses, aftershave, pen-drive, foldable umbrella, belt, train pass, letters to post, magazines to return to office library -  that must be on his person or travel bag before he steps out of home for his office.

TDL at Haat

Another highly-organized person (Score 10) never goes to the weekly vegetable haat without his meticulous shopping list: potatoes-500gms, onion-500gms, carrot-250gms, bitter gourd- 250gms, bhindi- 250gms, cucumber-250gms, tomato-500gms, fish-250gms; to be bought and put in the shopping bag in the sequence provided in the list so that the tomatoes will not be crushed and the fish will not mingle with the humdrum veggies!

However, a few moonlighters, freeloaders, and good-for-nothing shirkers deride it as a tool invented by masters to manage and monitor slaves, an Instrument of Torment.

Why bother about such inane stuff as work and worry about chasing targets, they ask: Aaj kare so kal kar, kal kare so parson; itni bhi kya jaldi hai jab jeena hai hame barson?

Daughter’s Maid

During a visit to our daughter’s home, we noted the efficiency of her cleaning-washing-cum-cook maid who finished all her work in an hour and went off for her next job. Then we noted a second maid who came in the afternoon, went to the spare bedroom, and left after half an hour. I asked our daughter, ‘What does the second maid do?’ ‘Difficult to put a name to her service,’ she said, ‘but she organizes our wardrobe.’ Daughter follows KonMari method popularised by Marie Kondo, the Japanese celebrity wardrobe organizer. The maid has been seen the video from the link shared by daughter, and rolls towels and folds other clothes and puts them in the assigned drawers! Is my daughter an organization freak, I wondered?

TDL of a senior citizen

If you think retired fuddy-duddies tweedled their thumbs when not lounging on Laz-Boy to watch cricket or a movie, think again. Peruse the TDL of an average senior citizen.[ii]

TDL Apps

There are several productivity and self-improvement tools of which TDLs are the most popular: Google Task, Micro-Soft To Do, Apple Timer, Todoist, Things, Keep Notes, Tick Tick and others. As soon as an email to join a meeting is received in your Inbox, Gmail demands to know your response – Yes, No, Maybe; and if you chose Yes, the meeting is automatically scheduled on your Calendar and you are reminded of it well before time.

Bucket List (BL)

BL is a kind of TDL. In 1999, the British screenwriter Justin Zackham created ‘Justin's List of Things to Do before I Kick the Bucket.’ He wrote the script for the Hollywood film titled ‘The Bucket List’ (2007) which popularised the term.

This heartwarming movie starred legendary actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, and revolves around two terminally ill men who decide to embark on a series of adventures before they ‘kick the bucket.’[iii] The list in the movie represents their shared desire to experience life to the fullest before their time runs out.

Today, BL is a product marketed by cunning dream-sellers who have flooded the media with ‘100 Places to See Before You Die’, ‘100 Books to Read/Movies to Watch Before You Die,’ ‘100 Things to Do Before You Die,’ and other similar slogans to nudge the consumers to buy products and packages. Notably, none of them publishes a list of ‘100 Places to visit Before I Die!’.

Not-To-Do-List (NTDL)

I have invented for my own use NTDL and have resolved

NOT TO:

1.   Live life as per others’ wishes and expectations.

2.   Complicate life with too many bank accounts, stocks, insurance policies, gadgets, Apps, User Ids, Passwords.

3.   Be a burden on anyone or for the planet.

4.   Hanker for more Friends & Followers on social media.

5.   Try the tips for long, healthy, happy life, and miracle cures prescribed by WhatsApp.

6.   Read a book just because everyone else has read and thoroughly enjoyed it.

7.   Watch the sitcoms or movies that the AI-enabled OTT recommends basis my watching history.

8.   Attend every meeting for which I receive an invitation.

9.   Join every Lunch or Dinner to which I am invited.

10.                  Discard good friends.

Go ahead, make your own TDL, NTDL, or BL.

---

[i] https://buffer.com/resources/the-origin-of-the-to-do-list-and-how-to-design-one-that-works/

 

[ii] TDL of a Senior Citizen for 27/03/2024

1.   Get up at 5.00 AM

2.   Make Tea

3.   Savour the GM messages on WhatsApp

4.   Exercise (home bike-15 mins at 27.4 km speed, burn 87 calories, heart rate 110) while listening to Morning Mantras.

5.   Morning walk

6.   Read morning papers and briefly worry about the state of the world/country/state/city/Service from which superannuated.

7.   Tidy home, make bed, run washing machine

8.   Order stuff from Blinkit

9.   Take suits to laundry for dry cleaning

10.                  Look for a part-time cook since the regular chap would be away for a month for his daughter’s marriage

11.                  Book AC Service

12.                  Call a plumber to repair a leaking faucet

13.                  Water the plants in the garden

14.                  Pick up spouse from airport (Item responsible for Items 7 to 13!)

15.                  Pay credit card bill

16.                  Block spam calls

17.                  Make calls

18.                  Read/acknowledge/reply to WhatsApp messages

19.                  Write 750 words (Tip for wannabe writers!)

20.                  Finish the novel bought from Kindle last month, and begun last fortnight

21.                  Evening walk

22.                  Watch favourite sitcom

 

[iii] ‘Kick the bucket’ is the angrezi idiom for death and is related to the slaughter of pigs. We are more respectful of the terminal departure of a person and call it svargabas, our generosity extending to even to evil ones meriting a long stay in hell.

 

Holi: Myths, Moods & Music

Holi Kab Hai?

You might remember the song Holi ke din dil khil jaate hain (Sholay:1975), ominously preceded by Gabbar’s query: Holi Kab Hai? Kab Hai Holi? Kab?

Gabbar had good reason to ask, for people in different parts of India play Holi on different dates. Braj ki Holi commences on Basant Panchami and concludes after 40 days; Barsana’s Lathmar Holi begins a week before Purnima; at Manikarnika Ghat, Kashi it is on the Shukla Ekadashi. At Orchha, M.P., Ram Raja will play Holi on Mar 28, three days after most of India celebrates the festival on March 25. For Maharashtra, Gujarat, and M.P, the main festival is on Rang Panchami, March 30.

Holi is usually celebrated on Phalguna Purnima after Holika is incinerated the previous evening to commemorate the victory of good over evil.

(Radha-Krishna playing Holi: Image created by Copilot powered by Dall-e)

Holi: Origin Myths

Three major myths regarding the origin of Holi relate to Holika-Prahlad, Shiva-Kama, and Radha-Krishna; the first one is commemorated with Holika Dahan on Choti Holi, the second one with Kama Dahan in the south, and the last one with the signature Holi of Vraj (Biraj ki Holi) in Gopa-Mathura-Vrindavan.

Holi celebration is mentioned in some versions of Kamasutra, and by the Prakrit poet Hala; but the present mode of celebration, particularly in northern India, is possibly inspired by Raas Leela of Bhagavata Purana and Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda. Interestingly, Raas Leela in Bhagavata Purana took place on Sharad Purnima, but Geeta Govinda pushed it forward to Phalguna Purnima; both nights salubrious and spectacularly beautiful.

Holika and Prahlad

Holi, an abbreviation of Holika Dahan (the burning of Holika), may be the only Hindu festival named after a demoness. Hiranyakashipu was mad at Prahlad, his renegade son, for worshipping Vishnu, and ordered his sister Holika to kill Prahlad. She sat on a pyre, enticed her nephew to sit on her lap, and willed the pyre to burn. Even though she was blessed to be unharmed by fire, she was reduced to ashes, and Prahlad emerged unhurt from the pyre by the grace of Vishnu, who later assumed the Nrusingha avatar to tear apart Hiranyakashipu. Notably, Holi festival is not named after Nrusingha or Hiranyakashipu but after Holika, a minor character. Such is the generosity and inclusiveness of Hinduism!

Shiva and Kama

Unable to bear Shiva’s humiliation by her father, Sati committed suicide, and a distraught Shiva sat for meditation for so long that the harmony of the universe was jeopardised. Upon prayer by the gods, Sati took birth as Parvati and began arduous penance to obtain Shiva as her husband, but Shiva paid no attention to her. At the behest of the gods, Kama, the god of Love fired his arrow of flowers to arouse eros in Shiva. Enraged at the disturbance, Shiva opened his third eye and burnt Kama to ashes. Shiva ended his meditation, married Parvati, and all was well with the universe. Rati, Kama’s widow prayed to Shiva to restore her husband to life. Shiva granted the boon that Kama would be reborn every year with the onset of Spring albeit in disembodied form (Ananga). In some variations, Shiva assured that Kama would be born as Pradyumna, son of Krishna and Rukmini in Dvapar Yuga.

What is the symbolism of this story?

Shiva is Yogiraj, and meditation comes naturally to him. But he has the onerous responsibilities of creating, preserving, and destroying the universe; and he cannot stay aloof or withdraw from the business of creation for long. That is why it was necessary for Kama to persuade him to end his meditation. But why was he punished by Shiva? The burning may be metaphorical for Kama is the manas-putra of Brahma; a creation of the mind. Another name for Kama is Ananga, literally the One without a body. Shringara or Eros is a state of mind; it begins as a thought and then impels the body to act. Shiva was upset at the erotic impulse in his mind while he was at meditation. He opened the third eye, symbolic of the strength of the ascetic mind, and incinerated that impulse.

Radha-Krishna

Why does Krishna play Holi with Radha, and not with Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, or any other of the ashta bharyas (the eight principal wives), or the 16100 women he rescued from Narakasura (and married them since no one else would)?

Because it happened at Gopa where Krishna spent his childhood. It is part of Gopa Leela, the delightful sportive play of God!

Krishna literally means dark-complexioned, but is euphemistically called the Blue God. Still a boy (Krishna left Gopa forever at the age of eight!), he once asked Yashoda: Mother, why is Radha fair and I dark? Radha kyun gori, mein kyun kala? You may have heard the popular song by Anoop Jalota. The doting mother gave her young son a tip: Take a fistful of gulal and smear Radha’s face with your preferred colour.

Krishna and his friends used homemade herbal and skin-friendly gulal and abeer to paint Radha and the gopis, and also doused them with pots of water. When their revelry took them to Barsana, Radha’s place of birth, the feisty ladies hit them with staves to prevent them from taking further liberties. The warring parties came to truce with Phoolera Dooj, playing Holi with flowers. The vibrant, rambunctious, and colourful Vrij ki Holi still retains that hoary tradition of fun and frolic.

Season of Love

Among the seasons, I am Spring (ritunam kusumakara), proclaims Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Geeta. Phalguna or Spring is the season of renewal, rejuvenation, and reaffirmation of life-principle. The warmer sun nudges plants and trees to sprout new leaves, flowers, and fruits; and all life-forms to procreate. A new cycle of life begins. The pleasant breeze is happy to courier for free the sweet fragrance of mango blossom, the mating calls of birds provide heartwarming background music, and the elixir of eros courses in the veins of all living things.

Festival of Joy

Holi is a festive, boisterous community festival of song, music, dance, and revelry, especially for the youth, with gulal (coloured dust) and abeer (scented gulal) applied to each other and tossed up to colour the air, too, and dousing each other with spray from pichkari, water-balloons, pitchers, or buckets. Some revellers may be tipsy and euphoric with bhang serbet or other intoxicants, and the loud music from dhol, dhak, and manjira may excite the group to be even rowdy at times. But the revellers share goodwill, sweets (gujiya, puran poli, jalebi, peda laced with bhang), and compliments, forgetting and forgiving past enmity and hurts. Holi is also a great leveller of social distinctions of caste, class, and rank, at least for the day or two of celebration. In Phagunva mein rang rach rach barse, a delectable rendition and performance by Malini Awasthi, Holi is celebrated with equal fervour in mahal and madhai (hut) and by Raja and rank (poor)!

Holi commences with application of gulal to the gods and goddesses. How could the divinities be deprived of so much of fun and frolic? Khatu Shyam, Shree Ji, Banke Bihari, Radha-Krishna, Ram are taken out to the street to bless the festive occasion. Even the ascetic Shiva plays Holi at Manikarnika cremation ground at Kashi. Expatriate Indians and ISKCON celebrate it all over the world.

Holi is much more than a festival of colours. The celebrations are also named Basant Utsava, and Madan Utsava; for it is the Festival of Spring – of new regeneration, rejuvenation, Love, Amour, and Erotica. In his seminal kavya ‘Geeta Govinda,’ Jayadeva calls it Anang Utsava. Radha-Krishna, the twin divinities occupy centre-stage in these festivities, and Brij becomes the epi-centre of Holi celebrations in India. That is interesting since Radha is not mentioned in the Mahabharata or Harivamsa or Bhagavata; but was first mentioned in South Indian devotional poetry. Andal, the 9^th century Saint-Poet who composed several soulful devotional songs for Krishna, and married Sri Ranganathaswamy of the eponymous temple at Sri Rangapatna, is believed to be Radha incarnate. Radha travelled from the south through east India to the north.

Jayadeva, the 12^th century Saint-Poet of Odisha, truly created Radha, the infinitely alluring and irresistible divine consort of Krishna, and identified her with Lakshmi, thus elevating her from humble milk-maid to goddess. He celebrated in Geeta Govinda, the best Sanskrit kavya in shringara rasa, the erotic yet sublime love between Radha and Krishna. A reputed Jayadeva scholar has observed that eros and devotion are inseparably entwined like warp and weft in Geeta Govinda.[i]

Geeta Govinda inspired Chaitanya and the later Vaishnava saints to create Radha-Krishna and other sampradayas. Significantly, despite her risqué relationship with Krishna, her younger relative, she became more popular than Lakshmi; as vindicated in the common greeting Radhe-Radhe. No one greets Lakshmi-Lakshmi!

Many Holis of India

Holi has much regional variation – Brij, Avadh, and Kashi have their signature celebrations; Nihang Sikhs celebrate Holla Mohalla – a kind of Warriors’ Holi; Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan have Rang Panchami; Odisha and Bengal have Dola Yatra (Swing Festival), and the north-east and the south have their own regional variations.

Most of India celebrates Holi for a day or two, but Brij is immersed in these festivities for forty days. Lathmaar Holi of Barsana, the birthplace of Radha, is now a tourist attraction, especially for foreigners.  

Phagun Puni & Gundi-chhada puja

In my small village in western Odisha, the deities in the temples and at homes were bathed, worshipped, and offered flowers, fruits, and phagu - the coloured dust made at home from rice flour, haldi, dried leaves and flowers.

Renuka, my elder sister lives in a village close to Bargarh in Odisha. When I called her today and wished Happy Holi she said, ‘Just finished Gundi-chhada puja,’ and the childhood memory of the puja alcove at home in Khuntpali, our ancestral village came back in a flash. Of course, the Phagun Puni puja was called Gundi-chhada, literally meaning offering to the deities the tiny mango fruits no bigger than chickpeas at this season. ‘The puja platter had other offerings, too, I think,’ I said. She provided the details: a few mahul (Madhuca longifolia) fruits just beginning to form and still encased tightly in the protective cover, a few palsha (palash or Flame of Forest) flowers, char fruit from the forest, and ladoos made of roasted chana with jaggery. Mahalakshmi was bathed, dressed, and then offered the ceremonial platter. This was the only day in a year when palsha flower was offered in puja; but why offer gundi and yet-to-blossom mahul phool, neither of which was edible? Spring had inspired the trees to flower and fruit, and the harvest would come in due course in summer.

Gundi-chhada aka Gundi-khai puja is thus an early thanksgiving for the bounties of Mother Earth, who is none other than Mahalakshmi or Annapurna. A good crop of mango and mahul nourished the village and forest communities during the harsh summer months when no other crop was feasible. This puja is performed at home; and in sacred groves in the forest, on behalf of the village by the tribal priest – a Binjhal at Khuntpali, and a Sahnra at Sayan.

Phagu, Phagua, and Phag

Phagu derives from Phalguna, as does Phagwa or Phagua, the name of the festival in the Caribbean with significant population of Indian origin. The Phag folksongs of Avadh, Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand are also the signature tunes of Phalguna and Holi.

Holi Songs

The festival of colours, staple fare for Bollywood films, is popularised as a carnival of group dance and chorus songs. Such is the compulsive urge of Bollywood film-makers that in Guide, a Holi-cameo was included in Waheeda Rahman’s dance for the song piya tose naina lage re!

Holi songs are as varied as the multi-coloured festival, and range from devotional, joyful, playful, banter, bonhomie, titillating to innuendo and risqué. Songs for all moods.

Which are your favourite Holi songs? Depends on your preferred category – Classical, Bollywood, or Folksong.

Here are my favourites:

Classical: Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Re Rasiya (Shobha Gurtu); Khele Masane Mein Holi Digambar (Pandit Channulal Mishra)

Bollywood: Rang Barse (Amitabh Bachchan); khelenge hum Holi (Kati Patang), Holi aye re Kanhai (Mother India)

Folk: Phagunva Mein rang rach rach barse – Malini Awasthi; Phag folksongs of Avadh, Bundelkhand & Baghelkhand.

A few notable Bollywood Holi songs

Daro Re Rang Daro Re Rasiya (Jogan: 1950: Geeta Dutt)

Khelo Rang Hamare Sang (Aan: 1952: Shamshad Begum & Lata Mangeshkar)

Holi Ayee Re Kanhai (Mother India: 1957: Shamshad Begum & Lata Mangeshkar)

Arrey Ja Re Hatt Natkhat (Navrang: 1959: Chitalkar, Mahendra Kapoor & Asha Bhonsle)

Holi Khelat Nandlal Biraj Mein (Godaan: 1963: Mohammad Rafi, Music Director-Ravishankar, filmed on Mehmood!)

Aaj na chhodenge bas humjoli (Kati Patang: 1971)

Rang Barse (Silsila: 1981)

Avadh Mein Holi Khele Raghuvira (Baghban: 2003),

Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Re Rasiya (Dhappa: 2019)

Links

1.   My 2023 blog on ‘Masane ki Holi’: https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2023/03/masane-ki-holi-holi-in-burning-ground.html

2.   Pandit Channulal Mishra - khele Masane mein Hori Digambar – https://youtu.be/RBievjUHLfE?si=UlfoXPfr9yHBFKRW

3.   Aaj Biraj mein Holi re Rasiya – Shobha Gurtu – Chaiti, Kajri. Music Today. https://youtu.be/Bx4DxKTLzHU?si=qHxkiPnwKcbg2NVR

    Malini Awasthi - Phagunva mein rang rach rach barse: https://youtu.be/2GaU_Q15Ft4?si=ogZKDynrye4XRh-z

6.   Avadhi Phag- Mohan dhare roop janana: https://youtu.be/zrB6fyJI6c8?si=ZiIBPoq2mUcCof-A

7.   Hori: Music Today: https://youtu.be/CxVnn2Z2qKU?si=aTrOItnd9h-bFaJo

Resources

·      Geeta Govinda by Jayadeva

·      Finding Radha: The Quest for Love, Edited by Malashri Lal & Namita Gokhale

·      Encyclopaedia Brittanica

·      You Tube

·      Music Today & other music portals

·      Copilot

·      Wiki

Postscript

I thank my erudite readers for their valuable comments and inputs.

Kedar Rout mentioned the iconic cultural event of Basantotsava at Vishwabharati, initiated by Rabindranath Tagore.

Narmada Prasad Upadhyay drew my attention to the unique Holi celebration by Bishnois of Rajasthan.

My friend, Madan Mohan offered the following thoughtful comments:

"बुरा ना मानो होली है"                     

आपने अति उत्तम ब्लॉग होली और उससे जुड़े विभिन्न प्रसंगों पर लिखा है। माध्यम से एक ही जगह मुझे भी अलग-अलग रूप में होली की कथाओं और गाथाओं को जानने का सौभाग्य मिला। इन पुरानी गाथाओं से हटकर वर्तमान समय में होली एक रंगों के उत्सव के रूप में ही पूरे विश्व में अपनी पहचान बनाए हुए हैं।                    

यह सही है कि मथुरा और बरसाने की होली, जो की वर्तमान में चल रही है ,उसमें भाग लेने के लिए 12 लाख पर्यटक उसे शहर में पहुंच चुके हैं ।यह भी अपने आप में एक विचित्र और अकल्पनीय त्यौहार है जिसको मनाने के लिए या  यूं कह लीजिए कि भारतीय संस्कृति का रस स्वादन करने के लिए पूरे विश्व से भक्त आते हैं ।  भारतीय संस्कृति और भारतीय त्योहारों में होली ऐसा विशिष्ट त्यौहार है जो विशुद्ध रूप से आनंद और मस्ती का त्यौहार है ।  पूरे देश में भंग खाने की प्रथा हंसी मजाक के रूप में होली से जुड़ी हुई है ।     

होली -बसंत- फागुन इन सब ने मिलकर रसिको के लिए इतनी अद्भुत रचनाओं का सृजन किया है   उसमें  ॠतुसंघार हो या गीत गोविंद हो या फिर भारतीय सिनेमैक्स के विविध विधाओं और रंगों से जुड़े मनोरंजन गाने ।                

बदलते दौर में होली आम भारतीयों के लिए अपना वह स्वरूप आज बदल चुकी है जो  50 साल पहले अपने बचपन के समय में हम देखते थे । उस समय दिल्ली की सड़कों पर होली से लगभग 5-7 दिन पहले से ही रंगों का छिड़काव शुरू हो जाता था जो आते जाते किसी पर भी डाल देते थे और फिर वही ""बुरा ना मानो होली है"" यह जुमला भी अपने आप में विचित्र ही है "बुरा ना मानो होली है ।" कहने का मतलब यह है कि आज आपको सभी प्रकार की छेड़खानी माफ है क्योंकि इसमें मुक्त आनंद और उल्लास है ।        

सामूहिक रूप से रंगों की पिचकारी को टैंकर में भरकर पूरे शहर को रंगने की परंपरा भी पिछले 20-30 सालों से चली हुई है । मैं खुद रतलाम ,इंदौर ,जबलपुर शहरों में देखा है कि किस तरीके से बड़े-बड़े टैंकर्स में फायर ब्रिगेड के पंप से पूरे शहर को होली खिलाई जाती है। उसका उल्लास और आनंद ही अनूठा है। जिसमें अप्रत्यक्ष रूप में दर्शन गण भी जुड़ जाते हैं। यही तो खूबी है मेरे देश की।।💕🌹🌸🎊

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[i] Subas Pani, Sampurna Geeta Govinda, Sri Geeta Govinda Pratisthana, Puducherry.

 

 

Revisiting A Passage to India

 

A Passage to India

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster is considered one of the great novels of the 20^th Century. Time included it in its list of 'All-time 100 Great Novels'. I had read it in 1974, once to enjoy the story, and later to be able to write a literary appreciation since it was in my M.A. syllabus. But why did I read it again, a hundred years after it was first published in 1924?

I had also watched David Lean’s film adaptation A Passage to India (1984) several years ago. Recently, I watched it again. Suddenly, I wished to read the novel once more, but could not retrieve the paperback from my non-indexed home library, bought a Kindle eBook for INR 42.86 and finished it in two days.

Not many might have read the novel so many times nor watched the film twice; which puts me in a privileged position to comment on the novel and the film.  

Before that - why read the same book or watch the same film again?[i]

Because you do not drink from the same river twice; the river is different, and so are you.* What you get from the book or the film upon revisiting is a new experience and nuanced understanding.

The Novel

You may like to read it if you have the time and the inclination; but here is a spoiler: the novel is set in India during 1910-20, and may feel rather dated.  Of Forster’s five novels, four were published prior to World War I, and A Passage to India, his last novel was published after the war.

However, the novel is not only about racism, colonialism, and the unbridgeable gap between the West and the East (Rudyard Kipling, Forster’s contemporary, had famously observed, “Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.”); it is also about the complexity of human relations, the difficulty in making sense of the world and comprehending one’s true self.

The Story

Ms. Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore buy a passage from London to India on a P.& O. ship with the hope that the former would make up her mind about engagement with the latter’s son, Ronny Heaslop, City Magistrate of Chandrapore. These two ladies, new arrivals from London, wish to see the ‘real’ India for which the Collector, Mr. Turton rather unwillingly hosts a ‘Bridge Party’ at the Club, not to play bridge, but to connect with the natives. The residents of the Civil Lines, including Ronny, are convinced that mingling with the natives is a bad idea.

A brief, accidental meeting between Mrs. Moore and Dr Aziz** in a dilapidated mosque develops into a friendship, and he hosts a picnic at Marabar Hills to show his guests the caves which he had himself not seen. The trip ends in disaster with Ms. Quested alleging molestation by Dr Aziz in a cave. Dr Aziz is arrested and tried, but exonerated after Ms. Quested dramatically and unexpectedly withdrew the allegation.

Racism is stark and brutal when an otherwise level-headed Superintendent of Police, Mr. McBryde submits to the Court with all seriousness:

“… the darker races are physically attracted by the fairer, but not vice versa—not a matter for bitterness this, not a matter for abuse, but just a fact which any scientific observer will confirm.”

The Indians in the audience break into derisive laughter at a prompt repartee by one of the defendant’s supporters:

“Even when the lady is so uglier than the gentleman?”

Marabar Caves

“Except for the Marabar Caves- and they are nearly twenty miles off- the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary.” That is the very first sentence in the novel whetting the curiosity of the reader. Where is Chandrapore and the Marabar Hills and Caves? These are fictional names, but the caves are possibly based on the Mauryan era (322–185 BCE) Barabar caves of Jehanabad, not far from Gaya, Bihar. These may be the oldest rock-cut caves in India and were probably used by the Buddhist and Jain monks for meditation. The lack of any sculpture as in Elephanta caves or paintings as in Ajanta and Ellora disappoints the visitors, especially western visitors, who cannot comprehend the purpose of creating these rock-cut caves with walls of polished granite.

The caves are dark and return an echo Boum to any noise created. What is the symbolism of the caves and the echo? Is it the void in Adela’s heart which returns her anxieties and uncertainties amplified and made more unbearable? Does the darkness of the cave signify her potential plunge into a loveless marriage from which she ran away traumatised? Was she attracted towards Dr Aziz and devastated by the contrarian attraction? Was the hallucination a manifestation of her inner torment?

These ancient caves were sacred precincts for meditation and quiet contemplation, and not built to humour picnicking tourists. Is that why Prof. Godbole skipped the tour which ended in a disaster?

India: 1910-20

The plot unravels in India during 1910-20 and highlights the hiatus between the colonial rulers and the ruled, and the former’s justification for use of force ‘to keep the peace’. In that sense, it provides a snapshot of the colonial administration and its contempt for the natives. There is little mention of the independence struggle which was gaining momentum, except for passing references to the ‘mutiny’ of 1857 and the need to rule with iron fists after that dangerous discontent. No mention of Jalianwala massacre, Khilafat Movement, or Champaran Satyagraha or Gandhi; but Forster can not be faulted since he wrote a fiction and not a historical novel.

Hindu-Muslim Tension

During the annual Muharrum procession, the height of the tazia required chopping of branches of the sacred peepul tree, vehemently objected to by the Hindus who demanded a change in the route, and the Collector and the SP were apprehensive about a riot. Sounds familiar? Nothing much has changed since 1924, it seems.

But the novel ends with Dr Aziz’s realisation that Moslems, Hindus, Parsis, and others need to bury their religious differences and become ‘Indians’ to expel the rulers.

How the novel ends

Fielding and Dr Aziz part ways severing the friendship that they had cherished and nourished. Forster’s previous novel Howards End’s motto was: Only Connect. That was an emancipated, civilisational dream for humanity. What soured the dream that led to the depressing though realistic end of A Passage to India? The racial prejudice of the British occupiers against the natives, or the stubborn refusal of Indians to adopt the value system of their masters even while paying lip-service to it?

Anyway, why is it necessary for two cultures to abandon their uniqueness and ride together into a dream sunset? Why can not different cultures have an open mind about others, open the windows of their homes to permit fresh air to enter without sweeping them off their feet, as Gandhi famously counselled? This is achievable once arrogance in racial superiority is abjured, prejudice discarded, and with mature understanding of the other.

Forster’s Passage to India

Forster visited India twice – for a week in 1912-13, and for six months in 1921. During the later visit, he worked as Private Secretary to H.H. Tukoji Rao III, Maharajah of Dewas State Senior at a monthly salary of 300 rupees, and called it 'the great opportunity of my life.' Dewas is 40 kms from Indore.

The Hill of Devi (1953)

This book, a collection of Forster’s Letters of 1912-13 & Letters of 1921 that he wrote during his stay in India to his relatives and friends, is named after Chamunda Hills. ‘Devi (or Devivasini, the Goddess’s Residence) probably gave Dewas its name,’ writes Forster.

In one letter, the author mentions a meal he was served on a tray (a Thali) with 18 dishes, and provides a drawing to illustrate the lavish spread. Among the dishes were four varieties of rice!

Gokul Ashtami

Letter dated 3 August 1921. Elaborate description of Gokul Ashtami or Janmashtami celebrated with much ritual and fanfare for nine days at the Dewas palace. The Birth of Krishna, the god of Muttra (Mathura), and the visarjan, was a novel experience for the author.

A Passage to India incorporates this experience and imbues it with a spiritual meaning in the context of the novel. If the cave signalled evil or void or meaninglessness; Gokul Ashtami heralded the advent of new hope for the end of evil. Not unlike the birth of Jesus for the Christians.

The Film

David Lean, the famous English Director made this film in 1984, six decades after the novel was published. Incidentally, Forster wrote no novel after A Passage to India; for David Lean, too, this film was the swan-song of an illustrious career in film-making. His other remarkable films are Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Doctor Zhivago (1965). It is believed that he inspired Steven Spielberg, another great film-maker.

The film has some great performances by the impressive star-cast: Judy Davis (Adela Quested), Peggy Ashcroft (Mrs. Moore), Victor Banerjee (Dr Aziz), Alec Guinness (Prof. Godbole), Saeed Jaffrey (Hamidullah), and Roshan Seth (Amritrao). Peggy Ashcroft won the Academy award for Best Supporting Actress.

Is Lean’s film true to the novel he adapted for the screen? Lean has retained the core, along with memorable scenes and dialogues; but has made several notable changes. In my view, the film is a creative work in a different medium, and it is unfair to compare the great novel with the superb film. The film is best viewed as a creative interpretation of the novel. To give an example, Lean gets Ms. Quested to visit and be moved by the erotic sculpture in a temple in ruins to hint at her suppressed sexuality. The novel has no such scene.

Part 3 of the novel has an elaborate description of Gokul Ashtami with the symbolism of god’s birth to end all evil. The film makes a passing reference to the holy festivities which would keep Prof Godbole preoccupied, but omits the remaining details. In fact, the climax for both the novel and the film is reached in the Court scene with the acquittal of Dr Aziz; with the remainder an extended commentary on assorted themes like the hiatus between the British and the Indians, the Moslems and the Hindus, and Christianity and Hinduism.

Novel or Film?

If you have neither read the novel nor watched the film, I recommend you to read the book first and thereafter watch the film. But if you are not a keen reader, you may watch and hopefully enjoy the film. Your choice, really.

E.M. Forster: Note on A Passage to India

“I began this novel before my 1921 visit, and took out the opening chapters with me, with the intention of continuing them. But as soon as they were confronted with the country they purported to describe, they seemed to wilt and go dead and I could do nothing with them. I used to look at them of an evening in my room at Dewas, and felt only distaste and despair. The gap between India remembered and India experienced was too wide. When I got back to England the gap narrowed, and I was able to resume. But I still thought the book bad, and probably should not have completed it without the encouragement of Leonard Woolf. I dedicated it to Masood. In one of the later editions (the "Everyman") I added the Maharajah's name to his. By that time both of them had died.” (Source: The Hill of Devi)

Forster on Chamunda & Dewas

"Stone steps led up to the dark cave of Chamunda on the top. She was a barbaric vermilion object, not often approached by us. Sometimes there were pilgrimages, and at certain festivals she played a part in the ritual. Who was Chamunda, and how long had she resided up there? I never found out, but it was agreed that she had been around longer than anyone else.

She concludes the curiosities of Dewas. Nothing detained the tourist there, and the surrounding domain was equally unspectacular. No antiquities, no picturesque scenery, no large rivers or mountains or forests, no large wild animals, "usual birds and fishes," according to the gazetteer, no factories, no railway station. Only agriculture. Flat or rolling fields, occasionally broken by flat-topped hills. Agriculture, the state's mainstay. Wheat, millet, cotton.

Amidst these surroundings, I was to pass six months of 1921 in the capacity of a Private Secretary.”

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[i] Answering a query in Quora, Malvika Singh Rana claims to have read When Daddy Was A Little Boy 298 times; and Ramiro Alanis has set the Guinness World Record by watching Spider-Man: No Way Home 292 times in cinemas! Our son, at age 7, read J.K. Rowling’s 223-page novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the 1^st book in the wildly-popular Harry Potter series, 38 times driving his exasperated mother to sell the tattered book to the raddiwallah!

* Kedar C Rout, a friend pointed out that the original quote is a little different. "Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, once said, 'No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.' " (socratic-method.com)

**Dr Aziz's character was possibly based on Masood to whom Forster dedicated the novel. Forster wrote, 'Masood (afterwards Sir Syed Ross Masood) was my greatest Indian friend.' Masood was the grandson of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Founder of Aligarh Muslim University.