of Benaras and the Election

ibn e mariyam hua kare koi
mere dukh ki dawa kare koi...
that she'er written by the unparalleled Ghalib, describes my agony best these days.
i watched the election cavalcade march on, and today, as i write this we wait for the last round of polling tomorrow.
votes will be cast in Benaras too tomorrow, which for me in many ways symbolizes the issues at stake in this election, as well as the quantum shift witnessed in the style and content of electioneering.
benaras is the quintessence of Indian civilization, and by that i mean,not just its Hindu antecedents , but also the eons of multicultural harmony that has been its wont.
kashi is said to be founded on the Trishul of Shiva,on the banks of the mokshadayni Ganga, and is one of the holiest places for Hindus as death here grants vaikunth, access to the abode of the Gods and release from mortal sins. it has been large hearted enough to absorb the Buddhists and the Jains and the followers of Islam and evolved a syncretic ambien where diversity was food for thought. it became the centre of learning, nay indeed wisdom.
the Nawab Aziz ul Mulk, built a naubatkhana, opposite the kashi visvanath mandir, the shehnai used to play there during morning and evening aarti in the mandir. the Gyan vayapi Mosque is situated right next to that mandir, never has there been an issue between the temple and the mosque,the mullahs and the priests.
all that in the past. my fear is that this harmony may well be lost, that peace exiled and that animosity may become a welcome resident of the city.
 this city, able at best to support a populace of 4 lakhs, has 35 lakh residents, resulting in squalor and a crush that has to be seen to be believed.
there is on the river such pressure of human sins that its ability to regenerate is all but lost, no one seems to care.
the meaningless rituals of yester years go on regardless, with nary a thought for the city or the river that was once its life line.
the same seems to be true of politics in India. the politicians carry on regardless, with nary a thought for the land or its inhabitants.
regardless of who wins or who loses,what was at stake here in this microcosm, and in the macrocosm of this election was the idea of India. an India that is inclusive and diverse, or one that is exclusive and shut in, that consciously defines itself in narrow terms. growth becomes an exclusively economic entity, growth for whom and how are questions no longer of any relevance in the mainstream.
the fever and pitch of the campaign were such that they defiled my sensibilities, the rough and tumble not quite my cup of tea
i fear that i may be in a minority here...and that though times are about to descend on people like me...and much like the once glorious benaras, i will be consigned to history, as a relic of the past...
ending with a prayer that Ghalib had for Benaras...
तआलिल्ला बनारस चश्मे बद्दूर,
बहिश्ते ख़ुर्रमो फ़िरदौस मामूर...

( प्रभु! बनारस को बुरी नज़र से बचाना,
यह नन्दित स्वर्ग है, यह भरा-पूरा स्वर्ग है...)

इबादतख़ानए नाक़ूसियाँ अस्त,
हमाना काबए हिन्दोस्ताँ अस्त...

(यह शंखवादकों का उपासना स्थल है,
निश्चय ही यह हिन्दुस्तान का काबा है...)

-मिर्ज़ा गालिब

(dear Lord, save Benaras from the evil eye,
this is the garden of heaven, the fullness of paradise
it is the worship place of the conch sounders
the Kaaba of Hindoostan...)
vinny jain 
11/5/14