An auditorium filled to the brim with proud Gujjars dressed in their traditional white attire, enthusiasm writ on their shining faces were ample proof of the love this community carries in their hearts for their language and culture. Over a dozen beautiful young Gujjar girls in their magnificent Gojri dresses, wearing the finery, and the eye- catching round red caps, gave the much needed colourful relief the audience richly deserved.
It was a perfect backdrop to the two-day literary conference on Gojri language and culture, held on 7 and 8 November at K L Saigal hall of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages ( Academy ).
Thirteen-year-old Gujjar boy Shakeel Ahmad was a surprise discovery, at this cultural event held by the Academy. He is a student of ninth standard in a government school in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir. Son of a school teacher named Mohammed Rafi, this fair, thin and quiet boy was bold enough to request permission to display his singing talent on the second day of the conference.
Thanks to the liberal attitude adapted by Dr Shahnawaz, the cultural officer of the Academy, the boy ( who was just accompanying his poet father ) could sing a Gojjri baith, which was highly appreciated by the encouraging audience.
Shakeel lives in a small village and comes from a poor family. He has not received any training in music, but learns by listening to the songs he likes. He is tuneful and deserves systematic training in singing. This small yet significant discovery is enough to validate holding of such conferences, regularly and periodically.
The format of this conference was rather informal and there were as many as three poetic soirees in which no less than 50 poets participated. These poets were invited from far flung places of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, such as Lolab, Uri, Shopian, Kulgam, Doda, Bhalles, Mendhar, Rajouri, to name a few.I would call it a commendable effort by the Academy.
” Most of these invitees are not professional poets. Poetry is just a passion close to their hearts.. They do not make a living out of writing poetry. Participating in such literary events is a dream come true for many amongst them. Reading their poems from the platform of the Academy, and, thereby, reaching urban educated audience is a matter of great honour for these simple and poor peasants, ” says Dr Shahnawaz, Editor Gojri and the cultural officer of the Academy. He sounds gratified. I notice a sense of fulfilment writ large on his seasoned, well chiselled face, hardened with grit and toil.
The poetic soirees were inclusive of several performances of Gojri music. A judicious mix of well known singers and the new breed gave the audience a deep sense of current scenario prevailing in the Gojri music scene. The poets who recited include well known poets like Haji M Zamrin, Bashir Lohar, Iqbal Gayat, Muntazir AhnedSsddam Saraf and Bilal Ahmed Zamzam whilst the singers included Bashir Mastana and Razia from Uri.
The inaugural session was houseful. Most of the participants were wearing traditional Gujjar attires that we see the Gujjars wearing in Jammu and Kashmir. A number of young Gujjar girls wearing colourful clothes adorned the otherwise colourless ambience of the auditorium. These were the girls who sang enchanting Gojri songs in their soprano voices.
Abdul Ghani Kohli, a Gujjar and former cabinet minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, dressed meticulously in Gujjar attire, presided over the proceedings of the inaugural session, alongwith Bharat Singh Manhas, secretary of the Academy.
The Academy honoured the renowned singer of Jammu and Kashmir, Seema Anil Sehgal, whose contribution to Gojri music is well known. ” The Academy is proud to acknowledge the huge contribution of Seema Anil Sehgal towards Dogri, Gojri, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi languages of Jammu and Kashmir”, said Dr Shahnawaz, the cultural officer of the Academy, as Abdul Ghani Kohli and Bharat Singh Manhas felicitated the celebrated singer before the cheering audience.
As a token of her appreciation and gratitude, Seema sang snippets from one of her old traditional Gojri song along with the song of a modern Gojri poet Bilal Ahmed Zamzam, giving the audience two facets of the language and culture of the Gujjars.
Gujjars are scattered in a number of Indian states. Besides our own Union Territory, I have seen them in large numbers in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Even Maharashtra has Gujjars, two of whom are even elected to the state legislature.
The beauty of the Gujjar community lies in their capabilities to adapt to the diversity of the places they live in without any social, cultural or linguistic clashes. They easily adapt to the local influences of the attire, language and cuisine whilst still keeping intact their own language, culture and social norms. Therefore, the Gujjars of Haryana speak in Haryanvi, and the Gujarat Gujjars speak in fluent Gujarati. Even the language is called differently : Gurjari in place of Gojri. And the Gujjars are referred to as Gurjars !
Almost all the Gujjars living in our union territory are Muslims whereas the others states have a lot many Hindu Gujjars too. Bakarwals, a nomadic community is considered a part of the Gujjar clan. They are nomads who move lock, stock and barrel with their goats and sheep and live a life Jammuites urbanites will shiver to learn about.
Funds received from the central government in the names of the Bakarwals, are mostly usurped by Gujjars who wield political power and are educated is the lament I heard during my intersections with a few Bakarwals I have met. They need urgent political intervention and protection hitherto denied to them.
Incidentally, at least 10 percent of the IAS ( Indian Administrative Service ) officers from Jammu and Kashmir are Gujjars, at any given time. It speaks volumes about the tenacity of this Scheduled Tribe. But, complete literacy still shies away from this community of hard working Gujjars and Bakarwals.
To spread the light of knowledge to the Bakarwals, the government has provisioned for the ” moving schools”, which travel with these nomads. But, alas, lack of supervision by the administrative machinery has resulted in their depletion in numbers.
We all have heard of this famous proverb : you can take a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink it. This proverb perfectly befits every community of poets who gather to recite their poems at the mushairas – a generic term for the poetic soirees. Let me explain :
You invite , say, 30 poets.They all appear at the appointed time and venue, dot on time. It is a paid event for them, along with applicable travelling and dearness allowances. As the mushaira progresses, their number keeps depleting with a strange regularity. Almost all the poets vanish into thin air after reading their poems, one after the other.
They have no decency to give respect to other poets who recite after them. Courtesy demands they stay put in the auditorium to give an ear to others too. This results in almost no audience for the senior most poet who, as the traditions demand, reads at the end of the mushaira !
This is a shocking trend representative of the vanishing social, ethical and moral values in our society. I would even call it sacriligious. Friends, organisations like the Academy can provide us the platforms for promotion and preservation of our cultural values and heritage, but they can neither be expected nor held responsible for ensuring that we behave in the manner a civilised society is expected to. I was pained to listen to the laments of a poet who had only three poets as audience, as he was called upon to recite.
Are we looking at Bharat Singh Manhas, the genial secretary of the Academy to hold classes for the poets, teaching them how to behave at a poetic soiree ? Poets from all languages must think about this and impose self restraint. They need to think and resolve to willingly bind themselves in a moral code of conduct and universal decency.
A disturbing trend popular amongst the singers also needs to be curbed forthwith. I noticed singers failed to mention the name of the poets whose lyrics they were singing for the audience. Such a practice can only be termed as a disrespect to the poet who has provided you with something so endearing to sing, permitting you to gather name, fame and accolades. Please respect the poets you sing.
Acknowledge them during your performance.
The invitees to the Gojri conference were greeted by a number of musicians playing traditional instrumental music, which gave a very enchanting welcome to this literary event. It showcases thoughtful planning. How I wish similar attention is paid to the cleanliness of the toilets in this cultural hub of the city called Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
I am a witness to the plight of the Academy officers facing nonchalant responses of the concerned subordinate staff. Even proper, legal and valid instructions to maintain the cleanliness are disregarded by the subordinate staff. This results in poor maintenance of toilets and other facilities in the Academy premises.
This behaviour is a pure act of insubordination, which must not be tolerated. Errant staff must be warned and, if they don’t heed, disciplinary proceedings should be initiated.
Today, it is common knowledge with regular visitors to the literary and cultural events of the Academy, how a few employees “installed” by the previous administrators, against the laid down procedures, flout all norms of behaviour expected of a government employee. Knowledgeable cultural activists confide in me that outside powers are still active to instigate and sabotage. Higher authorities need to take stock of this unwarranted outside political intervention.
All the lovers of literature and culture in Jammu, as also the general public, must stand by Bharat Singh Manhas and his team to ensure ethically and morally correct behaviour by the employees of this cultural body paid from the public funds. Over to you, dear Mr Secretary.
I quote from a nazm by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, which, according to me, reflects what Bhagwan Krishn told Arjun , in the battlefield of Kurukshetra :
tum ?hauf-o-?hatar se dar-guzro
jo hoa hai so hona hai
gar hansna hai to hansna hai
gar rona hai to rona hai,
tum apni karni kar guzro
jo hoga dekha jaega
Forget about the fear of the unknown
Whatever has to happen, shall happen
If destined to laugh, you shall laugh
If destined to weep, you shall weep
You just perform your duties well
Worry not about the result -6543
Follow our WhatsApp channel
