It’s not always you
come across a long billed Pipit (Anthus similis),
and to add that the Himalayan foothill specie differ from the peninsular hill ones
(jerdoni as against
travancoriensis). Caught up with this one on a late noon
walk through the mountains on the outskirts of Dehardun (Uttrakhand), he had just
landed on the wall of a little hill temple, did few minutes of show off and
there he went.
So
says Rahim
Body,
a paper toy
turns into pulp in a trice
strange, so says Rahim
yet filled with much pride
turns into pulp in a trice
strange, so says Rahim
yet filled with much pride
After Kabir the most
popular dohas is undoubtedly that of
Rahim’s. Rahim is very much part of collective conscience. As Kabir invoked his
own name in his dohas –kah kabira,
Rahim too wrote Rahiman Kahe (so says
Rahim), thus making his name extremely popular among common people. Savor this…
Bade
badai na karain bade na boole bole
Rahiman heera kab kahe lakh taka mero mol.
(The truly great never reveal their worth. Nor do those who are truly worthy of praise, praise themselves. Says Rahim, when does a diamond reveals its value)
Rahiman heera kab kahe lakh taka mero mol.
(The truly great never reveal their worth. Nor do those who are truly worthy of praise, praise themselves. Says Rahim, when does a diamond reveals its value)
Rahiman
dhaga prem ka, mat todo chatkai
Toote se phir na jude, jude gaanth pad jaye
(Says Rahim, don't allow the (delicate) thread of love (between individuals) to snap. Once it snaps, it cannot be rejoined and if you do rejoin it, there is a knot in it)
Toote se phir na jude, jude gaanth pad jaye
(Says Rahim, don't allow the (delicate) thread of love (between individuals) to snap. Once it snaps, it cannot be rejoined and if you do rejoin it, there is a knot in it)
Even the most popular
lines during school Bada hua to kya hua, jaise ped khajoor/Panchi ko chaya
nahi, fal lagat ati dur (What’s the point in being big (tall) like a date
palm/ It doesn’t give shade to even a bird and the fruit grows so far), being
a short thin fellow it helped me a lot in getting even!!
If you are in Nizamuddin part of Delhi,
while moving from Humayun’s tomb towards the Railway station you will come
across a rather run down but well maintained ‘makbara’ on the road side itself.
Chances are 
you will not give a second thought to it (believe me I have passed
through this place more than few hundred times!!). Even when you decide to pay
a visit (it is charged, that keeps the hooligans out) you will not realize that
this is Rahim’s tomb. Such is the ways of people who decide these things. They
could have kept few popular dohas in
the walkways so on, this would have helped people connect, as also it is a
tribute to the great man as he is cherished by the people for the same reason.
So what we have here is neat but staid description of his life and architecture
(which ofcourse is marvelous), one may not even finish the read. Clearly the
people who thought about these didn’t have their heart in the right place, they
wrote a paragraph and worked out the garden –for people to picnic, I reckon. Just
another hangout spot on weekends rather than about Rahim, Market driven
literature refers to it as quality time, in a civilized world it is nothing but
non violent vandalism. Further, if you ask anyone about Rahim’s makbara they wouldn’t know, even the
regular rickshaws plying the place, you have to refer to as Khankhana, asking
for Khan-e-Khana will get response like ‘yahan khana nahi miltha!!”.
you will not give a second thought to it (believe me I have passed
through this place more than few hundred times!!). Even when you decide to pay
a visit (it is charged, that keeps the hooligans out) you will not realize that
this is Rahim’s tomb. Such is the ways of people who decide these things. They
could have kept few popular dohas in
the walkways so on, this would have helped people connect, as also it is a
tribute to the great man as he is cherished by the people for the same reason.
So what we have here is neat but staid description of his life and architecture
(which ofcourse is marvelous), one may not even finish the read. Clearly the
people who thought about these didn’t have their heart in the right place, they
wrote a paragraph and worked out the garden –for people to picnic, I reckon. Just
another hangout spot on weekends rather than about Rahim, Market driven
literature refers to it as quality time, in a civilized world it is nothing but
non violent vandalism. Further, if you ask anyone about Rahim’s makbara they wouldn’t know, even the
regular rickshaws plying the place, you have to refer to as Khankhana, asking
for Khan-e-Khana will get response like ‘yahan khana nahi miltha!!”.
Khanzada
Mirza Khan Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana (17 December 1556 -1627) aka Rahim was one
of the Navratnas (Nine Gems) in
Akbar's court. The surprise here is that he was the son of devilish Bhairam
Khan, the man who caused immense atrocities on common people. Akbar was
sickened of
Bhairam Khan attics so once he came of age and attained his
bearings, he send him away, and is speculated that got him killed. Infant Rahim
was adopted by Akbar as his son. Rahim was multilingual and quite comfortable
in Sanskrit,
Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindi (even Braj Basha), in the meanwhile he also became
a powerful army general and commanded Akbar’s armies in many battles. These are
interesting facts since people always read Kabir and Rahim in same context and
assume that Rahim too was living as a mendicant or like many others in the fringes
of society as these dohas were sung
by people seeking alms. Another interesting fact was that he was a devotee of
lord Krishna and wrote many religious couplets. He was also quite conversant in
philosophy and literature (I am not mentioning astrology since it’s dealing
with nonsense and works on insecurities of people, pseudo science is the
nearest claim for credibility). Rahim translated Baburnama (“Babur’s memoirs” from original Chaghtai language to
Persian) that remains an authentic and one of the widely referred source of
medieval Indian history.
Bhairam Khan attics so once he came of age and attained his
bearings, he send him away, and is speculated that got him killed. Infant Rahim
was adopted by Akbar as his son. Rahim was multilingual and quite comfortable
in Sanskrit,
Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindi (even Braj Basha), in the meanwhile he also became
a powerful army general and commanded Akbar’s armies in many battles. These are
interesting facts since people always read Kabir and Rahim in same context and
assume that Rahim too was living as a mendicant or like many others in the fringes
of society as these dohas were sung
by people seeking alms. Another interesting fact was that he was a devotee of
lord Krishna and wrote many religious couplets. He was also quite conversant in
philosophy and literature (I am not mentioning astrology since it’s dealing
with nonsense and works on insecurities of people, pseudo science is the
nearest claim for credibility). Rahim translated Baburnama (“Babur’s memoirs” from original Chaghtai language to
Persian) that remains an authentic and one of the widely referred source of
medieval Indian history.
Known for his philanthropy and
charitable acts, there is an interesting episode in this context that is worth
relating. Rahim was humble about giving alms and would never look at the face
of the people seeking alms, instead he kept his gaze at their feet, Tulsidas (another
of Navratnas in Akbar’s court) while
emphasizing his benevolence questions his demeanor in form of a couplet
Aisi deni den jyun, kit seekhe ho sain
Jyon jyon kar
unchaya karo, tyon tyon neeche nain
(Why do
you give alms like this Sir? Where did you learn it?
Your hands
go high, but your eyes are so low)
Touched by Tulsidas’s kind words, Rahim answered with his own verse, and I must add that these subtle acts are quite rare and defining moments in our civilizational understanding, reminds me of Ghalib in context to Zauq.
Denhaar koi or hai, bhejat jo din rain
Log bhram hum
par kare, taso neeche nain
(It is not
me who gives, but the one who augur in day and night. I lower my eyes so the
people do not give me credit for the acts of charity)
Unfortunately
Rahim’s life took a nasty turn after the demise of Akbar. Rahim had tutored Prince
Salim (later Jahangir) but came to dislike him and opposed his ascension to
throne which turned out to be a futile effort. Once Jahangir was crowned the emperor
he had Rahim stripped of his powers and
expelled him, he even executed his two sons (indeed his nephews), and in a
chilling act their bodies were left to rot at Delhi’s Khooni Darwaza (“Bloodied Gate”).
Rahiman baath agmay ki, kahin
sunun ki nahi
Jo janath wo kahath nahi, kahath the
janath nahi
(Rahim says,
truth cannot be described. Those who know don’t tell and those who tell cannot
know)
This metaphor
of chess is indeed quite smart…
Jo rahim oche bade, tho athi
ithraye
Pyadha se farzi bayo, tedo tedo
jaye
(Rahim
says, when a petty person gets promoted he shows lots of pride.
Like in a chess
game when a pawn becomes a rook it start to move crisscross)
Jo baden ko lagu kahe, nahi rahim
gati jaye
Giridhar murlidhar kahe, kachu
dukh manath nahi
(If you attempt
to degrade a great person, they don’t get degraded
It is not considered
demeaning to call ‘mountain bearing lord Krishna’ as just a flute player)
Rahiman weh nar mar chuke, je kahu
mangan jaahi
Unthe pahle weh mue, jin mukh nikhsath
nahi
(Rahim
says, those who beg are like dead people
But those
who don’t give even after begging are already dead)
Jo Rahim Uttam
Prakriti, Ka Kar Sakath Kusangh
Chandan Vish Vyapth Nahi, Lipte Rahat Bhujangh
(Says Rahim, one who is of inherently noble nature, will remain unaffected even when he associates with bad people. The sandalwood plant does not absorb poison when the snakes wind around it)
Chandan Vish Vyapth Nahi, Lipte Rahat Bhujangh
(Says Rahim, one who is of inherently noble nature, will remain unaffected even when he associates with bad people. The sandalwood plant does not absorb poison when the snakes wind around it)
He has written some nasty stuff too!!
Kheera
mukh te kaatye, maliyat laun lagye
Rahiman karue mukh ko chahiyat eehi sazaye
(To cure a bitter cucumber, we cut its head off and rub in salt. Says Rahim, to cure a bitter mouth we should apply the same remedy)
Rahiman karue mukh ko chahiyat eehi sazaye
(To cure a bitter cucumber, we cut its head off and rub in salt. Says Rahim, to cure a bitter mouth we should apply the same remedy)
So next time you see this pavement chaatwala cut the head of cucumber and
rub in the salt recall Rahim’s doha and
get some vicarious satisfaction!!
My collection of books runs into thousands, despite
my best efforts it keeps increasing!!
From my scribble pad…
Colours of the day
The earth get lit into green and blue
The lower half green and upper blue
Sometimes the puddles carry the blue
And trees take out the green
Trembles the clear world into blurs
That seeks chaos
The egret slashes through the puzzle
With it whites, ruff, chitter chatter
From green to blue and blue to green
So it goes on till the lights are off
