Mohallas vs. the Gated Communities.

 Most of us have grown up in  the mohallas, and now live in the modern world of gated communities. A mohalla can refer to a neighborhood, where houses share walls and people live in close proximity, with no gate or fences for privacy. The gated communities refer to the residential community living in an area bounded by walls and fences.

Mohallas  (as I saw them) were, where each household knew what the other was cooking, (just by the smell of it - shami kebab?, biryani?, aloo-paratha?), and then it made it obligatory for the other to share food. It made life more fun, as treats of awesome food, came from all sides, especially if it was some festival or a public holiday like Independence day, etc. In modern modular kitchens it is the chimney which gobbles up all the smoke/ smell of the food. It not just deprives the neighbor, but the house members also of the precious moments'of the process' of cooking. I learnt the finer points of making roti at my neighbors' house, while sitting around the tawa, gossiping in cold winter nights. Living in a mohalla is all about communal living. Everything, and not just food could be shared. From clothes, to stories about  everyone and everything. Tais, and Khalas would also help in child rearing, baby-sitting, etc.  Sometimes, all this sharing of resources also led to quarrels (on water, on children, could be anything), and onlookers enjoyed these petty fights, mostly amongst women, from their terraces, windows (for a better look) or homes.

Help is at hand for everything in a mohalla. I once had a bad accident, where I broke my leg. Before I could reach home, seeing my bloody face, my neighbors took me to the hospital, got my leg wrapped in a plaster cast, paid the doctor, while nobody from my family even knew!  

Now, everybody is working, so less people stay at home, and gated communities ensure the privacy from unknown, unwelcome elements. Of course, in a mohalla nobody had heard of a bird named 'privacy'!

In Old Delhi, often faqirs frequent for alms and charity. Everybody had their favourite faqir who would give special 'dua' if you gave him the money, and also would affectionately pat your head. Nowadays, faqirs have been replaced by lumpen drug addicts! Thus, the gates.

 In a gated community, everyone is almost middle class, nuclear families having similar social and economic status stay together (as only they can afford paying for the amenities like guards, maids, etc.). They can be quite homogenous, in terms of how they look or behave. Houses have similar designs, people look similar, mostly well dressed, share maids, share childrens' schools, but they do not share lives' as people may do in a mohalla.They live side by side, but live in sanitized environments where touching is frowned upon!

Mohallas can be homogenous or heterogenous (depending on the community like Punjabis, UP walas, etc.). People can be well-to-do, or low class, may not even have anything in common, but share lives, and stay together for the communal and social joys that it offers. Younger generation may feel living under too much scrutiny, lack of privacy and may opt out, a reason why erstwhile mohallas are breaking up, and high rise apartments coming up in their place.

  

 

The Social Side of Hajj

Hajj is one of the basic fundamental principle of Islam, and at least once in their lifetime every Muslim should perform it. Like every religious duty, this also has many interesting social aspects attached to it. Everybody from my family, from my late parents to my elder brother and his wife have been on Hajj, except me! So, I cannot talk about the ritualistic aspects related with Hajj, but interesting social situations around it.

Great and Little traditions of Islam, the local Islam and what the 'religion' prescribes one to do, can sometimes be very different.

Social conventions start when people start congratulating (with a dabba of sweets) those who apply for Hajj pilgrimage (supported by state run Hajj Committee), and find their names on the Committee list.

The pilgrims then start their preparations for the 40-day long tour, and even start attending classes run by various groups like Tablighi Jamaat/ Hajj committee/ local Madarsas, etc.Hajj Manzil at Turkman Gate gets busy and crowded and roads around that area get traffic jams every year as a routine around this time of the year.

 In India, Hajj pilgrimage gets some subsidy from the government (something which BJP criticizes as 'minority appeasement', and scholars like Imtiaz Ahmad say it is too less, and should be done away with completely. As people who can afford it, should go on it paying for it entirely from their 'honest/ halal' earnings!).

 A few days prior to the pilgrimage, pilgrims start visiting their relatives and friends, etc. to ask for forgiveness for hurting them (knowingly/unknowingly) and try to clear any guilty conscience, and repair all broken relationships. The reason may well be historical, as in earlier times, people who went on a long and difficult journey like Hajj to Saudi Arabia, sometimes never even came back alive. As those friends/ relatives who do not get a visit from to be Hajjis, can also take offense at being ignored, so it is imperative for the Hajjis to visit or meet every important relative/ friend/ acquaintance etc. before they leave for the pilgrimage. 

 Couple of days before the actual trip, relatives/ friends/ acquaintances visit the homes of Hajjis with dry eatables, etc. so that it can help them deal with food issues in a foreign land (those who can afford eat in Indian/ Pakistani restaurants, etc.). Some get clothes, and other gifts too (sometimes useful, sometimes bizarre!) to help them in the journey. Also, all those who give gifts also have a list of 'duaas' that they want the Hajjis to pray for them (as they are nearer to Allah, and have more chances of getting their prayers accepted and answered!), or sometimes even list of things that they would like Hajjis to bring for them from the developed Middle East (simple give and take of gifts). A farewell feast is organized for the Hajjis and for their near family members and friends/ neighbors, etc.

 At the Delhi International airport, there is a separate Hajj terminal to deal with crowds who come to drop/ receive Hajjis. It is usually madness/ mayhem at the Hajj terminal.

Hajj Committe website says 170,025 seats for India for Hajj, (of which 125,025 seats for Hajj Committee of India (HCOI) and 45,000 for Private Tour Operators (PTOs)).

To drop one haji, buses full of enthusiasts come from far off areas as relatives get a free trip to Delhi and its airport (plus, sawab too!). Airport terminal becomes a carnival/mela, with lots of people and Biryani, nahari, qorma, halwa, pakora stalls! Hajj terminal gets volunteers from Tablighi Jamaat and Hajj Committee officials who help with paperwork and other routine things.

 Once, they go on Hajj everyone keeps asking from the family about their well-being at different stages of the journey.

 Once, they come back from the pilgrimage the scene at the airport gets worse. As, it is believed that those who meet pilgrims first after their Hajj get a lot of 'sawaab', so now the numbers double up with everybody getting emotional after meeting their loved ones after so many days.

 There is not just rush but a traffic jam on road around the airport in post- Hajj days (Muslims with car stickers shouting Hajj Mubarak on their cars/ buses).

Once, Hajjis reach their homes,a  feast is organized to welcome them back  with usual qorma, biryani (no, we do not get tired of eating these two favourite Mughlai dishes on every occasion, ranging from birth, or marriage to death!)

Hajjis again receive lots of  visits from friends/ family relatives/ neighbors who come to listen to Hajj stories, along with gifts for Hajjis as appreciation of their new 'respectable status', as Muslims who have washed away all their sins by bearing and overcoming the hardships of the pilgrimage and its different rituals. Poor pilgrims do not even get a chance to relax and everybody starts asking them for 'tabarruq' or dates and Zamzam, holy water from the Holy land.

Now, it is the duty of the Hajjis to re-pay for all the gifts that they had received from their 'well-wishers' apart from dates and zamzam. Also they have to  bring some authentic stuff from the Holy land, which could be janamaaz/ prayer mat, topi, tasbeeh, burqa, scarf, some also get electronics or watches, etc to give away as gifts.

People even get upset if they do not get gifts at par with what they had given to the Hajis pre- and post their pilgrimage. Although with hajjis, religiously speaking everything is attributed to gaining sawab, but it has interesting social  norms attached to it as well (and of course, there is a class thing too, as poor people cannot afford it!)

Hope

And I walked....
Until my feet hurt..
Until my shoes broke..
Until the blisters came..
Until my throat choked..
Until the lights burnt..
Until the road turned..
Until my heart broke..
Until my lessons learnt..
Until the pain was no more..
Till my hope lived!

The Adaabs, Tasleems and the Salaams

It is interesting to see how Muslim forms of greetings have changed over the years, especially in the Indian sub-continent. Recently, I went for a classical music concert where the Ustad/ musician greeted the audience with Adaab (along with the usual Good Evenings, namaskars, etc).

Adaab means Hello in a very formal way, and is a polite form of 'secular greeting'. It is followed by a gesture where you take your right hand towards your forehead, with back of the hand showing and the palm spooning towards your face (unlike the Army salam, which is your palm outwards touching your forehead!). Adaab literally means 'etiquette'. Even non- Muslims who are connoisseurs of Urdu language, practice 'adaab' in their formal greetings (poets like Gulzar, late Anand Bakhshi, etc.). Tasleem is also very similar to Adaab as a form of greeting. Literally it means 'to accept'. 

It is very rare to hear Adaabs/ Tasleems these days. Adaab and Tasleem are cultural greetings whereas Salam  is religious. Salam means 'peace' (Assalamalaikum/ walaikum-as-salalm, literally meaning 'May peace be upon you'). Adaabs and tasleems have been taken over by Salam now amongst the Muslims. The new generation of Muslims may not even have heard of the previous forms of greetings.
  Salam is Arabic and Adaab/ tasleem trace their origin in Urdu/ Persian tradition. The prevalence of Arabic Salam now, also points at the way Muslim identity is being constructed now, leaning more towards the larger Muslim 'Ummah'/ community. Adaabs and tasleems prevailed when the Hindu/ Muslim composite culture was at its height. Nowadays, Urdu is not the court/state language anymore. Thus the greetings which formed the bridge between the Muslims and non- Muslims, have been replaced by more casual 'Hello/ Hi', which also, points at the English languages' dominance in present times.

 The form of greetings' reflect the prevalent norms and dominance of a particular language' in the society. Prevalence of Adaabs/ tasleems reflected prominence of Urdu, and importance of the Ganga- Jamuni tehzeeb (Hindu/ Muslim mixed culture). Religious identities are more sharp and more symbolic these days (Jai Mata Di, Har Har Mahadev, Jai Ramji, etc.) and therefore, Arabic Salam which stresses more on the universal identity of being a Muslim.
(Although, salam has a better literal meaning of wishing peace upon the other!)
   

Rejection in Interviews!!

 There may be many self- help books telling you how to crack your interviews. After a Doctorate, publications, almost three years teaching experience, almost five years  experience of research (excluding PhD research), I imagined interviews would be nothing less than a cakewalk! But, I was so  wrong. (And, mind you, these are not even permanent posts, thanks to the job crisis in academics in Delhi, these interviews are for temporary posts of four- five months or one semester!!) In this post, I am going to share after many interviews, my personal experiences of, you guessed it right, rejections. How to clinch defeat from the jaws of victory! Special gifts require special skills, you see. Its difficult, but it seems that I have made a habit of it. Let me list a few pointers, based on my experiences.

1) Dressing up/ dressing down- First things first, your impression or how you present yourself! There is a very thin line on getting it right or wrong. I almost thought, that I had a particular dress which I somehow assumed was lucky for me! Alas, I wore it for every interview for almost a year, until it became the most unlucky dress anybody could have ever worn!

2) Be submissive/ argumentative- Its an interview, so there are bound to be questions. It is up to you if you show too much passion, then discussion can easily become an argument. If you show too much respect, and do not speak much or question the interviewer, you will be labelled as dumb, or as having no opinion! During the defense of my  thesis, my examiner (whom I respected too much) severely criticized my approach and ravaged a one-sided war on me. At that moment in my head, I kept arguing with myself how disrespectful it will be,  if I talk back and argue. And even before I could settle the debate with myself, it was over! I got my degree, but it left some unfinished business lingering, some loose ends untied! I still have nightmares about the unsaid things, how I could have argued with him!

3) Long/short interviews- I had gone recently for an interview in a DU College, where I had the longest chat with the panel as compared to the rest of the candidates. I told my friends and family, that I enthralled everyone (all panelists) with my performance, and everybody was spell bound looking at me. Long chats do not always get you the job , was my lesson here!

4) Conservative/ technology- In some interviews the questioners usually try and gauge your technical abilities. Some may even ask you to show a few practical tricks by naming the most recent mumbo-jumbo and explain your hold over them. But, the glitch here is technology is forever changing bhai. How much can you keep up?? If you know the basics, you can adapt to anything, but who can explain this to these impatient people, who want to employ a mix of Superman/woman and Iron Man/woman!

5) Familiar/ Unknown- It is always a tricky thing if you know somebody in the panel sitting on the other side of the desk. They can be impartial (sometimes too impartial), can ignore you completely, or even if they acknowledge you, you can not know if that is a good thing or bad. If they know your positive side, they are also well aware of your negative side! People who do not know you, have to make a judgement about you in five mins, that is unfair! It was often my argument whenever I failed my interviews, but when people who do know you,then reject you, that is scary! This excuse does not work then, and you face the toughest Reality check!

6) Brain Freeze... Yes, it happens too, sometimes you can get intimidated by the panel, or have something  entirely different thing going on in your head (Sports/lover/ sick pet at home/ universe/ Chetan Bhagat/Rushdie/politics), that even after knowing the answers to the questions being asked, you can tie yourself in knots. The answers may be simple, but you have to indulge in the art of making it complex right at that moment! Well, you are too intelligent for the panel of course, which does not understand your point of view and rejects you! (Losers!Them not us, of course!)

 My dear friends, just like formulas for success can be many- reasons/ circumstances/ situations can be many for getting rejected in interviews too. These rejections enrich your experience, can make you wise, and more importantly, make you buckle up for the next interview ahead! Good luck!(Luck, sometimes that works!)

Portrayal of Minorities in Films- Bollywood/ Hollywood

  I recently watched a film where the hero (Hindu) dies while saving lives of a Muslim family during riots. I have always been puzzled and have noticed over the years the similarity in the portrayal of minority' characters in Hollywood and Bollywood. Due to my lack of exposure to world cinema (and most of regional cinema in India), and extreme exposure to both Hindi and English movies (thanks to my father since childhood, and now my husband post- marriage, who have both been fanatic film fans) I can only compare these two industries. Industries because they are in serious business, as they produce/ manufacture/ distribute, and provide employment to millions of people.
 Now coming back to the topic of portrayal of minorities in stereotypical ways, as supporting friends, or characters mostly to provide comic relief (Bollywood has had Mehmood, Johhny Walker, Kadar Khan, Johnny Lever, etc. and Hollywood has had Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg etc.) or as important figures (like politicians or police officers). There was a period when Blacks and Muslims got portrayed as criminals or as Dons, and then heroes started romancing minority heroines which added to the tension in the storyline. A very interesting fact is that minorities in both industries have found employed in great numbers for both on-screen roles (heroes, heroines, character artists) and off screen jobs (writing, music, production houses, etc.) especially so for Muslims, in Bollywood.

 I had a Professor specializing in media studies, who had his own take on the film- 'Amar, Akbar, Anthony', a blockbuster hit of 1977, in which three brothers get separated at birth and are adopted by families of three different communities and are brought up by them. The way these three characters were portrayed, eldest brother Amar, the Hindu one, the most responsible brother, a police officer, who brings the family together again. The other two brothers (minorities)- Akbar and Anthony are mostly non-serious characters who create more troubles than solve them. According to my teacher, it was how Indian society perceives its minorities, where majority has to take more serious roles and decisions and be more responsible for the country.  
 There was also a brief period where all negative roles were being written for Muslims, and to be politically correct, and to balance a Muslim terrorist, an honest, patriotic Muslim police officer was thrown in the film's plot as well (Sarfarosh, etc). Similar films can be found in Hollywood as well showing Blacks as bad and good characters.
 It was the Hollywood which started showing a Black character as the President (Morgan Freeman in many movies) before Barack Obama actually became the President of the United States'. In India, Manmohan Singh, (from the minority  Sikh community)  became the Prime Minister while Indian films could never imagine a Sikh as PM, but only portrayed them as non- serious, adorable characters.
 Movies mirror society and its beliefs and prejudices, and its quite a paradox to say, if they are inspired by reality or they inspire people in real life.
  

Impenetrable Old Delhi??

Recently I was at a wedding where I met this lady. She was young, intelligent, opinionated, married with a kid, and was a Magistrate! We were discussing Old Delhi, and she believed that even today there are still some areas in Old Delhi in which even police does not dare to enter. She is not the first person from whom I have heard this stereotype. Shockingly, a lot of young, educated people have this opinion about Old Delhi.

Old Delhi is not one monolith place, since it was a walled city so its big and comprises of different mohallas and katras, and houses different castes and communities in them. Probably, since its streets have become narrower with growing population and time it is not open to prying eyes. It can give an impression of a closed society, with its busy, crowded bazars, and eateries, which are impossible to navigate through with cars.

 There are two ways to look at it. Having police at your back and call gives citizens a sense of security, but it also shows the penetration of the states' mechanism (Foucault). The part of Old Delhi around Jama Masjid   has had a difficult relationship with state being mostly a Muslim neighbourhood. Some right wing fundamentalists also refer to it as a 'mini-Pakistan', owing to its largely Muslim population. Even during the Emergency, when Government's bulldozers killed many innocent residents of Turkman Gate, the idea was to break this compact settlement of Muslims and disperse them in order to govern them better. The furore that followed made government give up that plan. But, it created a relationship of mistrust between the Muslims of Old Delhi and the state. Government now treads cautiously whenever there is talk of development or of any change in the structure in the city. This has also led to them turning a blind eye to rampant six storyed buildings coming up in narrow by-lanes. Police keeps an eye, but does not come unless it is a serious law and order issue. They have enough police posts in and around Old Delhi, which residents complain gives them a sense of being 'under surveillance' always! Especially in a world where terrorism is mostly attributed to just one community, they have to keep an eye on the trouble makers!

 So my dear friends, Old Delhi is no Naxal prone deep jungle where police cannot penetrate. There is far too much surveillance and too much police, just look around when you visit it the next time. Please visit without any fear and enjoy your Butter Chicken, while you are there!