by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore

The other day, my friend K. Chandramouli gave me a copy of his newly- published book Prajwala Kashi. The book is written in Kannada and is highly interesting and throws light on many aspects of Banaras or Kashi. In my busy schedule, I could not read it all these days but last week I took it and completed reading it. It has a chapter on Raidasa or Ravidasa. In the meantime, I also read another book Rosary of Saints by Meera S. Sashital which has a small section on Raidasa. The present account is based upon these two books.

Raidasa was born in 1414 at the village Karahiya near Varanasi. Actually it is very close to Banaras Hindu University. But according to others Raidasa was born near Govardhanapura. The main occupation of this community was to carry the dead cattle out of the village and clean the village. It is said that the child did not drink mother’s breast milk and hence the mother went for ashirvadam from the Saint Ramananda. He blessed the child and gave him the name Raidasa. Ramananda initiated him to the cult of devotion but he continued the work of a cobbler along with his father. Raidasa prepared the footwear and sold it for a song or gave it free of cost to Saints. Parents thought that he would become more responsible and got him married to a girl by name Lona. Finally, his father asked to set up a separate home for himself and his wife and continue the work of preparing footwear.

With the blessings of Ramananda, Raidasa became famous as a religious teacher and his compassion for men and women continued. In his ecstasy, he used to forget taking money from his customers and on such days, they had nothing to eat and survived on water. His wife never complained. One day, a saint came to his house and Raidasa treated him as the guest. He was supremely happy and while going, the saint wanted to give him a magic gem by which he can live happily. His wife came to know of it but without husband’s permission she would not touch it. Finally the saint hid it near the thatched roof. After sometime, the saint asked him about it and Raidasa without any concern replied that it must be there where it was kept by you. I have no desire to possess it. That puts me into the bondage of mundane desires. Hence I did not even look at it.

There is another story like this. His wife, though pious, was enamoured of a diamond studded ornament. A devotee gave it to her and she accepted it. She did not inform her husband about it thinking that it is a trivial matter. This came to the notice of Raidasa. He never rebuked her nor even spoke against her. He simply commented that if only you had half the desire to attain Moksha, you would have been in that blissful atmosphere. Immediately, she threw away that ornament and repented for her ignorance even though she was the wife of Raidasa.

Raidasa was a generous man and used to invite needy people to his house. Most of the time there used to be nothing at home. Raidasa’s wife was never worried because God would take care of the guests. One day four Brahmins appeared and requested her for food. She simply thought of her husband and went to the kitchen and lo! the kitchen had tasty food items in plenty. The four Brahmins had a grand feast and blessed the lady. Raidasa came home after sometime and she narrated all the incidents. He congratulated his wife saying that you are fortunate to have seen and fed the God but that fortune has not dawned on me. I am still a sinner and I have to purify myself further.

Meera Bai was another saint and she had great respect for this couple. Raidasa’s wife wanted to possess a diamond and learning of this Meera Bai sent a diamond to Raidasa. He simply ignored it and it was kept in an insignificant place. Some people wanted to test Raidasa and his wife and asked back the diamond given by Meera Bai. The couple replied we have no idea; it must be there where it was kept, go and search, and take it. It was lying there only. After this incident Meera Bai explained to the devotees the greatness of Raidasa. Thus, he had passed the test of Meera Bai also.

The name and fame of Raidasa increased in and around Kashi. The Brahmins could not tolerate a cobbler becoming famous. So they hatched a plan to humble him. They invited him to a religious debate in which Vedas, Upanishads and Sastras could be discussed. The Brahmins felt that Raidasa was a cobbler and could not utter a word of Sanskrit and hence could be defeated and insulted. The King of Kashi himself presided over the meeting. The learned Brahmins used high flown flowery Sanskrit language and asked questions to which Raidasa gave highly satisfactory answers. The Brahmins were exposed but they deviced another plan.

They brought an image of Shiva and placed it on a pedestal and people sat around. The King ordered that people should win over Shiva to their side. The Brahmins chanted mantras and performed Rudrabhisheka but nothing happened. The King turned towards Raidasa, who closed his eyes, composed some poems and began reciting them. After sometime, he became highly emotional and the image of Shiva marched towards Raidasa and sat on his lap. Everybody hailed Raidasa. ‘I have done nothing; Shiva has been generous to me; that is greatness,’ explained Raidasa. As per the conditiosn, the Brahmins carried Raidasa in a palanquin.

Not satisfied by this, they threw one more challenge on Raidasa. Saligrama (stone) should be thrown into Ganga and the Saligrama of Brahmins will float, they claimed. Raidasa said where do I bring a Saligrama? The stone I use to beat the hide (animal skin) is my Saligrama, he said. Ultimately the real Saligramas went inside the water and the hide beating stone of Raidasa began floating.

The King came to meet Raidasa during the night and requested him to initiate him. At that time, Raidasa was dipping the hide in water; he gave it to him as holy water. But the King did not drink it but his servant drank that water and she got enlightenment. The King fell at the feet of Raidasa and accepted his mistake.

Raidasa’s songs (padas) are full of deep devotion and religious meaning. Actually they are bhajans. These songs have been compiled by his disciples and some of them have been included in Granth Saheb (the Sikh scripture). One of them reads as follows:

Oh Lord, thou are the searcher of hearts

Though the servants of God we know God

Grant me that my body may be thy shine

Ravidasa sees God in everything.

The Queen of Chittore invited all caste people to a dinner but the Brahmins protested. They were made to sit separately when the feast was going on. Every Brahmin felt that by his side was a cobbler and a Raidasa. This miraculous multiplication of himself made the Brahmins feel the greatness of Raidasa. Finally, they all became his disciples.

The final teaching of Raidasa is nearer Upanishads. God is within you; Do not search for him only in temples or other religious places. Search within yourself; He will appear before you. That is the Sanatana Dharma which we have been trying to understand.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / The Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / January 24th, 2015

The Hindu Lit for Life 2015 – Poetry with Prakriti festival closes tonight with Delhi-based Hindustani classical musician Vidya Shah’s tribute to the music and poetry of the legendary singer Begum Akhtar in her centenary year. Excerpts from an interview with Vidya:

What drew you to Begum Akhtar and her work?

I learnt in the lineage of Begum Akhtar, taught by Shanti Hiranand, one of her senior-most disciples. So I grew up listening to vignettes about her life. Begum’s most important contribution to music was her singing of the ghazal, which is what drew me to her. Through this project, I’d hoped to highlight aspects of her life that reveal her greatness as a person, and the way in which she gave the ghazal a mainstream space in an otherwise hierarchical musical world. And since I’m presenting this at a poetry festival, I will look at the wonderful way in which she understood poetry, and the poets of her time, many of whom she had special relationships with. Her music was very much a part of that poetry, and it shaped her spirit and her singing.

Tell us about the process of creating this concert and its structure.

This concert is my understanding of Begum Akhtar, my perspective on her as a contemporary musician living in these times. I examine who Begum Akhtar was, her journey from being a bai to a begum, and in these journeys how she empowered herself with music and poetry. The performance is woven with a narrative that highlights interesting aspects of her life with anecdotes, some rare and others better known, which reveal how she could make such a fantastic impact on audiences even today. Choosing pieces from her vast repertoire was quite a difficult process. I was often overcome and overwhelmed with greed because I’d want to sing this song and that one too, because there are so many charming pieces she’s done. But ultimately, what I did choose are those that reasonably showcase the versatility of her singing, the richness in her choice of poetry and the journeys she made within her world of music.

What about Begum still resonates with audiences today?

It is musicians like Begum who paved the way for us. We don’t have the social baggage that they carried but we have the opportunities to present similar work. Begum was an assertive, independent feminist, who, despite the struggles in her life, was able to empower herself and others. For instance, in Hindustani classical music, the ritual of the ganda bandhan initiates one into a formal guru-shishya relationship. In her time, it was an entirely male practice. She was one of the first women to do it for her female students. So there was a lot of élan and strength to her as a person, and she found an amazing balance between her joie de vivre, and life’s struggles and sorrows. And that passion shows through in her music. Which is why she will remain relevant forever.

How has creating this project changed you?

Right at the start, I knew I could never reproduce or replicate Begum’s music. That would be impossible. The biggest advantage of her music, though, was the inherent quality that lets you imbibe it, absorb it, understand it, internalise it and make it your own. The project is now a year old and I’m still growing with it, still learning from it. It has given me a lot of humility and it’s been a humbling experience. It has also given me a lot of strength. I can now sense what must have been her greatness. And I’m excited to bring this now to Chennai, being a Tamilian myself, singing Urdu poetry here and sharing the life of a diva who wasn’t from here, but whose story still resonates here. I’m excited to be making that journey for myself.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Lit for Life / by Esther Elias / December 09th, 2014