Bal Anand

THE civilization of India has been characterised by a uniquely vigorous and ingenious celebration of human life in complete compatibility  with all the  attendant elements of nature, more particularly the cycle of seasons with the most merciful 'Monsoon Rains' in the prominent focus. The ancient traditions of religious & spiritual domain; long linkages  of mysteries of history & mythology; conflicts & co-operation of divides communities; process of continuity & renewal in the realm of folk music & dance; popular entertainments & pastimes in their  ever transforming modes including technological developments; the folk fast foods; apparels proclaiming people & commercial wares  in their infinite varieties - folk fairs & festivals of India have always encapsulated them all! If the fair of Pushkar attracts people in hundreds of thousands in a rainbow extravaganza amidst the grandeur of beauty of a vast desert, the 12 yearly Maha Kumbh at the civilizational confluence of the trio of sacred  rivers has the distinction of being the largest congregation of people for a festival on the planet!

The legendary Panjab, the shield & sword of the ancient land of Bharat and the granary of modern Republic of India, has a proud & rich heritage of fairs & festivals. According to official records, the pre-partition Panjab boasted more than 7,000 fairs; the number was counted 4561 in 1961 for the Indian Panjab. The truncated present Panjab has been left with 2,027 popular fairs. District of Hoshiarpur has the largest -311-folk fairs followed by Sangrur & Ludhiana, with 136 & 135 fairs respectively. The encouraging trend is that more fairs are getting institutionalised commemorating local heroes & cultural aspects including sports festivals.The generous patronage of rich & famous Panjabis living  beyond the seven seas from the soil of Panjab has been imparting a new vitality to the culture of folk fairs .It is also a healthy situation that 750 fairs are held in the rural areas of the state.

Mela of Chhapaar, associated with ancient tradition of 'Naag Poojan' ie the worship of the deity of Snakes,could be linked to Hindu mythological belief   that planet earth is supported by millions of hoods of 'Shesh Naag' - the gigantic snake-whose soft curvaceous body also forms the resting spread of Lord Vishnu ,the Lord of Preservation of the entire support system of life in the universe. The process of ploughing, sowing, watering & finally harvesting of crops have all been preceded by 'Naag Poojan' in some form according to ancient traditions of all faiths of India's heritage.The ritual worship of 'Googa Pir' - symbolising human dimension of snake - seems to have developed in North India as a secular tradition in the medieval times.So many intricate tales have got woven around the persona of 'Man-Snake-King' that sifting of reality from myth has been rendered impossible.Interestingly, folk lore even links the place of the fair to the Mahabharat era,being Capital of a powerful Queen, namely Chhapa. Kaul Basanti, the fiance of Arjuna's brave son Abhimanyu,is mentioned to belong to this place. The river Sutluj ,it is pointed out,was flowing quite near by in those times. The ancient name of Chhapaar is also mentioned as 'Damrhi Shehar'.

The verifiable references about the Chhapaar Fair indicate that it was in 1833 AD that devotees of Googa Pir brought the soil & bricks from the ancient Googa temple in Dadrewa, near Bikaner to construct the present shrine. As the time rolled on, the sand dunes around the shrine were levelled to be brought under plough. The founding of  new town of  Mandi Ahmedgarh in 1903 at a distance of less than 4km to be followed by Ral link next year between Ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal opened up a whole new world in the region. There is also a reference that in 1914 Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Nabha provided funds for construction pukka shrine & also donated 25 bighas of land to it. The Mahavir Dal has done a lot in recent years to  develop the area around the shrine. The two grand statues, one of Googa Pir mounted on his legendary horse & another of Lord Shiva, in his full regalia,riding Nandi Bull have been installed. The devotees offer prayer by splitting soil seven times in a dug up semi circle area in front of 'Marhi' ie shrine invoking protection against snake bite.The offerings inside the shrine consist of puffed rice,sugar balls-Patashas-Gur cakes,grains, cash,etc. According to the 1889 District Gazetteer of Ludhiana,more than 50,000  people of all faiths enthusiastically attended the fair-consider,that population of Ludhiana at that time was just 44 thousand (present 35 Lakhs), Malaudh 2889, Kaunke 3,608 & Bassian 2,9621!

I was luckier to experience directly the gusto, colorfulness & pulsating character of the Chhapaar fair when my family shifted residence to Ahmedgarh from our neighbouring village & I was put in the school there in 3rd grade in May 1951. For the next 20 years till 1970, I was a keen witness to the fun fare & splendid spectacles of this land mark fair. The passage of time with attendant socio-economic changes has been transforming the nature of the fair too.The traditional folk singers, rhymesters, minstrels of heroic ballads, artists of 'jinda'-live- dance;jokers, tricksters, tattooists - all have been plying their trades in the best traditions of their skills. The make shift shops selling amazing variety of wares;mechanical swings; Circuses (Gemini & Romon come to mind) with lions, elephants, horses, bears, male/female gymnasts; wells of Death; Tented cinemas - all that presented, as if,a mix of Disney Land & Fairy Land - the on-off illuminations were indeed an other-worldly sight for people before introduction of electricity in 1956! My first film 'Koday Shah' ,shown by my father  in company of  his friends when I was in  6th grade,still  remains my most favorite for delightful comedy in Panjabi & haunting songs.  The lyric ,'Jagg wala Mela yaro,thori der da/ hansdia raat langhe,pata nee saver da!' - Fun-fare of the world is too short/ A night  full of laughter; morning, we might cease to be!-sung in the soul-ful voice of Mohammad Raffi filled the atmosphere with message of an eternal truth by Sufi saints!!

After Independence, the conferences at the Fair by the political parties have become an interesting integral dimension of the fair. The Congress & Panthic Parties have been vying with each other in putting up  larger Shamianas & ensurng that top leaders do come to address this popular open forum of people. It was, however, the make-shift stage of the Communist Party (when it was united) under the starry & moon-lit sky that used to  exercise a magical magnetic pull for the people. The gifted & dedicated group  of Party's artist-activists including Joginder Bahrla, Balbir 'Mast', Narinder Dosanjh & many more inspired a generation of  masses of Malwa region to adopt progressive ideals. When CM Captain Amarinder Singh failed to attend the Fair twice, in 2005& 2006, while PS Badal was thundering there, the verdict of  elections of Feb 2007 ,according to Fair loving Panjabis, had become a forgone conclusion!

It was on 21st October 1997 that as Indian Ambassador to far off Panama - the bridge land between the two mighty oceans - I persuaded visiting  eminent thinker-dancer Sonal Man Singh to go to the annual folk fair at the church of Black Christ in Portobello, an ancient port city in mid - Caribbean.The fair ,representing African connection of Christianity,simply overwhemed Sonal who said,"It was such an impressive spectacle of devotees, dressed in purple & maroon colors,dancing all the way...that my krishan Kannahiya would appear in this way before my eyes, I had never imagined  this to happen in Panama!" Perhaps, similar mystical experiences are blessings of those who,purged of all pride & ego, mingle themselves among the multitudes of people brought together by feelings of love & friendship,in Mela Chhapaar or in any other similar folk fair!

[The writer is former Indian Foreign Service officer who has been ambassador to several countries]

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The Kumaon enchants

Sonia G Handa

THE cool puff of air of thick forest of Banbassa was a welcome change from dry heat of Bareilly. The drive was striking with both sides of road lined with lush green trees which took weariness of the city life away from the eyes. Banbassa, located near the Nepal border, is a small town of Uttaranchal. It is a gateway to the hills. The river which divides India and Nepal is known as Sarda in India and Mahakali in Nepal.

After three hours of drive through the thick jungle spotting monkeys langoors and birds on and off, we reached Champawat. Champawat, a picturesque place situated at an altitude of 1610 metres, is one of the oldest towns of Kumaon valley. Originally it was the capital of Chand Dynasty and according to mythology, the turtle incarnation of Lord Vishnu (Kurmavtar) took place here. The Chand rulers built the famous Baleshwar temple. Believed to be built in twelfth century, Baleshwar temple is situated amidst the city. The main temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are two more temples in the compound, one dedicated to Ratneshwar and the other to Chmapawati Durga. These temples are stone structures with beautiful carvings outside as well as inside the temples. It has been declared an Indian National Heritage Monument and has been looked after by the Archaeological survey of India (ASI) since 1952.But the houses being allowed to be built to the close proximity of the temple compound can harm this marvelous architectural heritage of our country. I hope ASI does something about it.

Close to Champawat towards Lohaghat, one comes across an ashram nestled in the thick tress of deodar and pine. This ashram is just 22 kms from Champawat.  The nine kilometer drive from Lohaghat to the ashram is lined with thick untouched jungle of deodar and pine trees. One can hear birds chirping and enjoying their freedom without the noise of outside modern world. Mayawati Advaita Ashram, situated at an altitude of 1940 metres is a calm and quiet place with its beautiful cottage built among the thick jungle. There is greenery and flowers all over. It is no wonder that Swami Vivekananda chose this place for spiritual quest. The ashram attracts spiritualists from India and abroad. The ashram also has a library and a small museum. The visit to this ashram is truly a divine experience.

As one moves toward Pithoragarh, sudden encounter with the grandeur of high mountain ranges takes one breath away. As the road meanders from Ghat towards the high mountains one feels like a bird going closer and closer to the sky. Pithoragarh valley with its natural splendor and historical heritage also known as mini Kashmir is worth a visit. Locally known as Sor valley, this township was established by king Pithora in the later part of 14th century. Later on it was ruled by Chand dynasty. Pithoragarh also known as Sor valley is a pictorial valley with the panoramic view of Panchachuli, and Nandadevi peaks. This can be viewed from picturesque Chandak hill which are seven kilometers away from the city.

Jogeshwar temples are situated on the route from Pithoragarh to Almora. Little away from the main road, amidst the deodar forests, these 124 odd stone temple structures are truly a treat for both mind and soul. These Lord Shiva temples built from 8th to 12th century is a famous religious place for the Shiv devotees. It is one of the twelve Jyotirilingas and are appreciated for their architecture and stone carvings.

Recognized for its healthy weather and visited and appreciated by the likes of Guru Rabindarnath and Swami Vivekananda, Almora is a beautiful hill station with scenic beauty far from the hustle and bustle of city life. The view of mountain range from Almora is magnificent with the mountains forming the shape of a horseshoe. The air is fresh and clean and a brisk walk around the place freshens up a person even after a long journey.

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Punjabis in Mauritius

Chaman Lal

THERE is a popular joke about Punjabis that one would find ‘Sher-e Punjab’ dhabha in remotest part of the world. Even Tenzing found it on top of the Everest. Jokes apart, Punjabis have traveled to the far off corners of the world. They have gone to African countries also in large numbers, but not so many in case of Mauritius.

Mauritius, which is otherwise Indian background people dominated country of West Africa, does not claim to be overwhelmed by Punjabis. Yet, whatever little number of Punjabis reached this small but beautiful country of about 12 million people at present, have made an impact, though little is known about it. Mauritius of today has just seven cities, some towns and hundred odd villages, but is absolutely clean and it beaches are most beautiful in the world.

Formed as an island many centuries ago, out of a volcanic eruption in ocean in West Africa, it remained unnoticed till about 1500 A.D., when some Arab merchants noticed it, but did not stay there. It was then discovered by a Portuguese Domingo Fernandez and named it ‘Cerne’ in 1500. But nobody stayed here till Dutch colonialists decided to take it and they captured it in 1598 and named it Mauritius in the name of one of their Prince Maurice. Even Dutch took long time to have a Governor here and they stayed here up to 1710.

In 1686, during Dutch rule only  269 persons lived there, which included 12 Indians . Dutch brought slaves from nearby Madagascar, Mozambique etc. and some slaves even in those days came from India as well. There is reference to Goan slaves in Mauritius. According to Dr. Vijya Teelock, noted Mauritian historian one Bengali woman slave Anna had took part in slave revolt against Dutch colonialists in seventeenth century.

French Colonialists took over Mauritius in 1715 and ruled here till 1810, when they ceded this colony to British colonialists, who ruled till 1868. Strangely, French rule of 95 years has surpassed British rule of 158 years of Mauritius in terms of cultural and economic hegemony. Under the agreement in 1810, when French surrendered Mauritius to Britain, French interests were not to be touched. So the sugar industry, the only industry of the island remained in French hands along with hegemony of French language. Today the official language of the nation is English, yet all the official communiqués are published in French for public.

There is no English daily; only two weeklies are there, one of these is bilingual with French. But there are two French dailies. Mahatama Gandhi visited Mauritius on his way back from South Africa to India in 1904, when his ship was held up in this island for ten days. He stayed with a Muslim family in Moka at that time and was given a civic reception by British Governor. In 1909, Dr. Manilal, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, started ‘Hindustani’, a Hindi daily from Mauritius, but nowadays there is no Hindi paper or journal of repute published from Mauritius. Over the period Creole has become lingua franca, though it has no script yet, but this is the language evolved for public communication by this multi lingual, multi cultural and multi racial nation. Creole has been evolved from the mixture of French, Bhojpuri and African.

Indians have been coming or being brought into Mauritius for long. Thus during French rule in 1766, Indian population among a total of about two thousand stood at 578. It rose to fifteen thousand out of total 86,273 in 1827. In 1761, during slavery, the number of Indian slaves in Mauritius stood at 73 males and 26 females. In 1810, when British troops took over Mauritius from French, they came with 24000 troops including 9000 Indians.

In 1833, slavery was abolished by British Parliament and 6000 slaves including many Indians were freed. But they found the need for cheap labour on sugar farms, so Indian migration through indentured labour started in 1835 from India, which continued till 1910. In Folk Museum on Indian indentured labour migration at Mahatma Gandhi institute in Mauritius has records of this migration in 164 registers from 1842 to 1910. About 4.5 lakh Indians came to Mauritius as indentured labour from during this period on hundreds of ships sailed from Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, as these cities were called in those days.

Out of these about two and half lakh returned, but more than two lakh made Mauritius their home. Of about 1.25 lakh photographs of indentured labour are also there in these records. Majority of Indians went from Bihar and U.P., but large numbers went from Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Small numbers went from Bengal, few from Punjab too. There are references of people going from Nabha and Patiala state. Apart from Indians, Africans and Chinese, French made the Mauritius a multi cultural society.

These laborers shed their blood and sweat and suffered lots of tortures at the hands of British and French colonial masters to make this country ‘A Heaven without Snakes’ in the words of eminent Hindi writer Yashpal. Today, Indians form more than fifty percent of Mauritian population. There were 450 Arya Samaj Temples, 185 Sanatan Dharm Temples, 130 Tamil Kovils, 121 Mosques, 70 Telugu Andhra Mahasabha Temples, 42 Churches, 12 Pagodas, and Ten Marathi Temples in Mauritus in year 2000. The number of these religious temples must have increased in this period and One Gurdwara which has come into existence during this period was visited by me to take the feel of Punjabi population in Mauritus during my seven weeks lecture tour under scholar exchange programme of UGC. On an earlier occasion during seventies, a gurudwara was established in the home of a retired army officer in Mombasa area, but that continued only till his officer wife on duty stayed in Mauritius.

This new gurudwara near capital Port Louise has come on the land given by Mauritian Government and it holds weekly congregations on Sunday, sponsored by some Punjabi Sikh or Hindu working in Mauritius. As per  officials of gurudwara committee, there are only 5-6 Mauritian Punjabi families in the country and about 500 to one thousand Punjabis-Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims together might be in Mauritius on short term jobs, some on senior executive positions and some workers. Many from this or that side of Punjab have become Mauritians through marriage to Mauritian spouse. I met a young Muslim Punjabi from Lahore in a Sunday market in Qatra Bon, who had married a Mauritian girl. Same way the daughter- in- law of late Vice President of the country Ravinder Gharbharn, Anju  Monga Gharbarn came to Mauritius 28 years ago by marrying his son. Son- in- law of the present President of the country Anuruddh Jugannath, Dr. Malhotra is from a village near Ambala, which Dr. Jugannath visited during his last trip to India. However Dr. Malhotra with his wife has established medical practice in England now.

Most illustrious person from Punjabi background in Mauritius was Kher Jagat Singh, a close associate of freedom fighter and first Prime Minister of the country Dr. Shiva Sagar Ramgoolam. Mauritian Labour Party formed in early thirties, had a constitutional struggle to achieve freedom for the country. Dr. Ramgoolam had close relations with Indian National Congress during his medical student days in London and Mauritius had great impact of Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore on its nation.

Kher Jagat Singh was actually Kehar Singh Jagat Singh and was born to a Sikh father Kehar Singh in Amritsar on 23rd July 1931. At the age of three months, he came to Mauritius with his parents. His father was a prison inspector in British service and he married a Mauritian woman. In his book ‘Petals of Dust’, published in 1981, Jagat Singh has depicted one of his visits to his ancestral place Amritsar in sixties, but the present living family of Jagat Singh has no contact with his relatives now. They don’t even know their whereabouts. Jagat Singh became an eminent journalist after completing his education and worked for ‘Times of India’ Delhi for some time. He co-founded ‘The Mauritian Times’, ‘The Nation’, ‘The Mauritian Today’ and daily ‘Advance’. He worked for ‘Slough Observer’ and ‘The Paddington Times’ of London as well. In 1958, he founded Triveni Cultural Centre, which today is an eminent cultural place in Mombasa. Since 1948, he became active in politics and joined Mauritian Labour Party and got elected to pre-independence Mauritian legislature in 1959 and got reelected every time till 1982, when Mauritian Labour Party suffered the worst defeat in elections, even Prime Minister Dr. Ramgoolam loosing his seat.

Mauritius gained independence on 12th March 1968 and Dr. Ramgoolam taking over as Prime Minister. Kher Jagat Singh served as Minister of Health, Economic Planning and Development and finally as Minister of Education and Culture. It was during Labour Party rule that Mauritius developed into a social welfare state with free public education, health service and old age pension. Kher Jagat Singh played a major role in shaping these welfare policies of Mauritian Government. His role was particularly appreciated in the field of education and culture. Under his stewardship, free education and school education reached in every nook and corner of the country. Today Mauritius is almost complete literate country, though lagging behind in higher education.

In 1980, Kher Jagat Singh was knighted by British queen. He remained General Secretary of Mauritian Labour Party from 1961 to 1982. However Mauritian Labour Party suffered worst defeat in 1982 general elections loosing almost all sixty seats of Parliament to opposition. As Dr. Ramgoolam was considered the ‘Father of the Nation’, like Gandhi in India; he was made Governor General in 1982, which he served till his death in 1985 at a ripe age. Kher Jagat Singh, a sensitive soul and a lover of literature and arts also did not live long and he passed away in July 1985 at the relatively young age of 53 years.

Jagat Singh is survived by his still active wife Lady Radhika Jagat Singh and four children. His eldest son is named after him and so is his elder daughter named after her mother. Her younger son is named as Kher Sanjay Singh and her youngest daughter, who must be just 3-4 years old at the time of his father’s death, is named Krittica. A dentist by profession, she wished to be named as Krittca ‘Kaur’ as per his grandfather family tradition. I met Lady Jagat Singh and Dr. Krattica twice and was presented with ‘Petals of Dust’ written by Kher Jagat Singh. A bust of Kher Jagat Singh has been installed in Mombasa area, where Kher lived for long time. This bust was inaugurated by present Prime Minister Dr. Navin Chander Ramgoolam son of Dr. Shiva Sagar Ramgoolam in 2008.

Kher Jagat Singh has such deep attachment to literature and culture that in 1977, when Abhimanyu Anat’s Hindi novel ‘Lal Pasina’(Red Sweat) was released in Delhi and the writer himself could not come, it was Kher Jagat Singh, who represented him and his country on that occasion. This classic novel of Mauritius has now been translated into French, whose introduction has been written by this year’s Noble Laureate of literature-Klazio.

Though small in numbers, Punjabis did play an important role in making Mauritius beautiful and colorful and in lone gurudwara, there is always more non Punjabi Mauritian than Punjabis, listening soulful rendering of Gurbani, thus further contributing to multi-culturism of the nation.

[The author is Chairperson, Centre of Indian Languages, J.N.U., New Delhi prof.chaman@gmail.com]

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“Category Is Not Destiny”
The Multiracial Experience

Interview by Sonya Weakley

AMERICA’S youth, lacking memories of racial segregation and the integration movement, offer unique perspectives on the concept of a multiracial society. Indian American author Chandra Prasad, editor and contributor of Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience, says her urge to explain her mixed-race identity and get past uperficial categorizations inspired her to create the book. Race still matters, but so do other factors, she says.

What does it mean to be American?

To nurture and provide for family, community, nation and planet. To keep the lessons of history in your back pocket and refer to them frequently. To protect the young, impressionable and vulnerable. To

make mistakes, get up, brush off your knees, wipe the sweat from your face and try again—harder this time. To see equal beauty in difference and commonality. To listen to people from other places with different perspectives. To have faith and proceed boldly. To create, refashion, imagine and invigorate. To hold dear the words democracy and freedom, and to hold just as dear every human life.

When did you realize that race and ethnicity are factors in how people interact?

I can pinpoint the exact moment and it’s a rather silly one: elementary school, first grade, recess. I’m one of several earnest, excited girls discussing the fact that a fifth-grader from our school had gone to New York to audition for Annie: the Broadway Musical. The character Annie is a slight, freckled redhead who laments her “hard-knock life” in an orphanage. I loved Annie—both character and musical. Despite being blackhaired and dark-skinned, I wanted desperately to be the next Annie and couldn’t understand why my classmates seemed skeptical when I mentioned this. Later, my mother broke it to me: “A half-Indian Annie? Well…I’m not sure.”

Can individuals successfully challenge ethnic labels or categories society imposes?

Race, ethnicity, and class are categories people use to make sense of differences. It’s a human tendency to categorize; the process helps make a complicated world a little simpler. Sometimes compartmentalizing is useful, but just as often it’s misleading. All human beings have multifaceted identities that cannot be quantified simplistically. Time and again, in sports, politics, arts and on the world stage, determined individuals beat the odds, proving that category is not destiny.

To me, this is the most beautiful aspect of America: one’s destiny is not carved from either categorization or the circumstances one is born into. President Barack Obama’s inspiring, largely unpredicted rise to America’s highest office supports this. Our ancestors came to America because it is the land of opportunity, where anything is possible. This is still true.

Bracketing people based on appearance has led to isolation and reduced opportunities, and more devastatingly, holocausts and eugenics. If President Obama’s leadership has taught us nothing else, I think it shows that we must recognize difference, and acknowledge the context for it, but also realize our extensive common ground.

Do you see signs of our society moving away from categorizing people by race?

My son, who was born in America, is Indian, Swedish, Italian, English and Russian. When he gets older, I have no idea how he will self-identify. I want him to know about his ancestors and the lives they had and the sacrifices they made. I want him to know that this country has transformed many times over. My husband and I want him to know history. But how my son looks ahead: that’s up to him.

As I write in the foreword to Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience, multiracial people can literally act as the solder between communities. They can straddle cultural expectations. Since multiracial teens resist classification, they have the capacity to view the world in a broad, open-minded way, to resist stereotypes and to show others that many boundaries are false.

America’s young people are already making a lot of positive change. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of online communities for mixed-race kids and teenagers. In high schools and colleges across the nation, diverse student groups are proliferating. There are all kinds of avenues for advocacy, outreach and networking across racial and ethnic lines. Most didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Yeah, race still matters. Of course it does. But so do many other variables and factors. I advocate—in all parts of life—more focus on the inside, less on the outside.

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