Aarti After Azaan

           Everyday at the break of dawn in sleepy Kharkheri, a place at the foothills of Aravalis, the muezzin’s azaan- a call to worship- rings out loud and clear, urging believers to invoke Allah with the “farz” namaaz, the first prayer of the day. At around the same time, Hindu devotees are awakened by the strains of “Om Jai Jagdish Hare” that wafts in from the village temple amid the tinkling of bells and clanging of cymbals. So, there will be aarti at sunrise.

       Chandbhai’s family in Kharkheri responds to both the features- some quickly do the wazu (ritual washing of hands & feet before nawaaz) and the rest head for a bath before aarti. So, for Chandbhai and other members of the community, this is how it has been since ages. If Harivansh Rai Bachhan’s “Bair badhate mandir masjid, mel karati madhushala”, i.e., “Mosques and Temples create differences but the tavern unites them”, holds true for any group, then it is this.

          In our country, puja & namaaz go side by side. Muslims recite Koran as fluently as the Hindus recite Hanuman Chalisa. Hindus celebrate Holi & Deepawali as fervently as Muslims observe Eid & Ramzan. Then why are we separated? Why do the differences creep in time and again? Can’t we be known as “Indians” before being called “Hindus/Muslims”??

          Yes, we can be called “Indians” but only when we are educated because only education will make our minds clean and clear of all kinds discriminations, orthodoxy that exists in our society and the hollow principles that we have been following over the years. It’s high time we believe that God can be found only through personal purity and service to others.

.....@ Debashish