Our great Nation is talking. Issues, after all, are earthshaking. What a shame it would have been otherwise, if the fastest growing economy of the Earth, with fast spreading education, cutting across mountain ranges and rivers, had been walking silent today !!
Conversation this morning in the Park, therefore, sounded naturally lively and highly critical. At times sarcasm flew liberally, like thrown away Akademy Awards and Burger packets. I was eager to catch up from behind, despite Doctor's advice not to walk faster than my normal pace.
They calmed down while I smiled. They were zealous about their privacy. I avoided the topics they were on though I heard their animated defence of the secular fabric of the Nation. Luckily I saw a litterateur among them. He returned my smile. I did not lose the opportunity. "Would you help?" I asked. He readily agreed.
I recounted the first two lines of the famed Muslim Devotee of Lord Jagannath-- Bhakt Salabega's Bhajan-- " Ahey Neela Saila, Prabala Matta Barana; Mo Aarata Nalini Banaku Kara Dalana" and pleaded that he told me the meaning of these lines.
There is perhaps no habitation in Odisha which is not acquainted with either Bhakt Salabega or this famed Bhajan. Very often I suspected that the acquaintance with the Bhajan was not even skin-deep with many, particularly with the youngsters. It was only the tune most of us were familiar with. Most of the words-- so simple-- have turned Greek to even many elders. The litterateur friend tried; his friends came out with different interpretations and soon the group got engaged in inventing meanings. I quietly walked past them.
This heart-touching Bhajan (Prayer) of a Muslim devotee had perhaps been the most preferred lullaby millions of Odia Hindu mothers sang for generations. How many of the young mothers today would be able to explain to their children when they grow up the true meaning of the words Salbega used hundreds of years ago?
I remembered a young girl of the premier Women's College/ University of Odisha who was photographed just the other day, standing regally through the roof of an expensive car (Was it Audi?) flanked by two girls riding two horses. She was contesting the Students' Union Election. Her car represented the sleek slide India's youth has been induced to sit on, by the shortsighted politicians.
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16th October, 2015
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