prasad1
Active member
What a movie, cabbie, saint, viral post tell about faith in India - Hindustan Times
Is it India’s fate now to be a country divided, infected with tensions among its communities and perpetually on edge? Will these divisions worsen?
It is hard to say, either way. But my scepticism is tempered by the quiet, distinct yearning I sense for peace at large.
The first experience came last month with Shambu, a taxi driver who, every year, takes my wife’s family to its annual gathering in the forested plateau in Matheran, south of Mumbai. Shambu, a devotee of Sai Baba, the popular saint of the Hindu shrine at Shirdi, reverentially bows — this is alarming because his foot is on the accelerator — to every Hanuman temple he sees. This year, I finally asked Shambu, 55, his full name. Shamsuddin, he replied, pointing to a kalima, a Quranic phrase, hanging from the mirror; Shamsuddin Jundre, Sunni descendant of weapon-makers to the Mughal and Maratha armies. He expressed not uncommon prejudice towards Shias, calling them “danger log”, dangerous people, and shrugged at his Hindu beliefs, simply saying that is how it has always been.
The second experience came only three days before this conversation. I accompanied my wife’s family, Sindhi Hindus, to their patron saint, Kamu Baba, in the heaving Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. There, in the quiet living room of what was once Kamu Baba’s house, I looked up at the photos on the walls: Sai Baba, Jesus Christ, the Kaaba, Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, friends and family, and John F Kennedy. Kamu Baba — there’s a photo of him, smiling and bearded with his saree-clad wife — has a varied mix of devotees, Hindu, Muslim and Parsi. After hearing of Kamu Baba for 15 years, I learned only last month that he was formerly a failed businessman, a genial man who preached common sense — and a Muslim.
Finally, I’d like to point you to a viral post written by Muhammed Hussain, a Hyderabadi and 23-year-old software engineer with Amazon. Hussain has a list of 12 things he wants to tell his “Hindu brethren”. He begins: “You guys rock! You’re very inclusive in your way of living and we love you for that.” He goes on to discuss issues of food, drink, love (jihad), patriotism and terrorism and ends with this: “Essentially, we love you guys, and I know that most of you reciprocate. Don’t let some bigot destroy this bond.”
I could not agree more.
Is it India’s fate now to be a country divided, infected with tensions among its communities and perpetually on edge? Will these divisions worsen?
It is hard to say, either way. But my scepticism is tempered by the quiet, distinct yearning I sense for peace at large.
The first experience came last month with Shambu, a taxi driver who, every year, takes my wife’s family to its annual gathering in the forested plateau in Matheran, south of Mumbai. Shambu, a devotee of Sai Baba, the popular saint of the Hindu shrine at Shirdi, reverentially bows — this is alarming because his foot is on the accelerator — to every Hanuman temple he sees. This year, I finally asked Shambu, 55, his full name. Shamsuddin, he replied, pointing to a kalima, a Quranic phrase, hanging from the mirror; Shamsuddin Jundre, Sunni descendant of weapon-makers to the Mughal and Maratha armies. He expressed not uncommon prejudice towards Shias, calling them “danger log”, dangerous people, and shrugged at his Hindu beliefs, simply saying that is how it has always been.
The second experience came only three days before this conversation. I accompanied my wife’s family, Sindhi Hindus, to their patron saint, Kamu Baba, in the heaving Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. There, in the quiet living room of what was once Kamu Baba’s house, I looked up at the photos on the walls: Sai Baba, Jesus Christ, the Kaaba, Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, friends and family, and John F Kennedy. Kamu Baba — there’s a photo of him, smiling and bearded with his saree-clad wife — has a varied mix of devotees, Hindu, Muslim and Parsi. After hearing of Kamu Baba for 15 years, I learned only last month that he was formerly a failed businessman, a genial man who preached common sense — and a Muslim.
Finally, I’d like to point you to a viral post written by Muhammed Hussain, a Hyderabadi and 23-year-old software engineer with Amazon. Hussain has a list of 12 things he wants to tell his “Hindu brethren”. He begins: “You guys rock! You’re very inclusive in your way of living and we love you for that.” He goes on to discuss issues of food, drink, love (jihad), patriotism and terrorism and ends with this: “Essentially, we love you guys, and I know that most of you reciprocate. Don’t let some bigot destroy this bond.”
I could not agree more.
