“Seven ways to Fold a Betel-Leaf”:[1] Our Living Past
By Durriya Kazi
Since Partition, the debate about culture and identity has been monopolised by the elite of
Here we need to step back in history to the time that saw the transposition of a complex sub-continental culture by a culture defined by European aspirations. It created a drift towards indeterminate waters, a no man’s land where there was no arrival. Initially there was a whole hearted capitulation to the new world order. What Edward Said calls “the history of unchallenged Western Dominance”.[2] Islam came to be recognized as the last bastion of resistance to Western values and economies and we are familiar with the political aims of the Islamic resurgence which has been steadily building alternative cultural and economic structures. The other debate has centred around a post-colonial re-viewing of the past. Our Post-colonial intellectual elite interprets our predicament in the Victorian terms of being caught between two worlds, the one dead and the other powerless to be born. The inherent sense of defeat in this concept has led to the belief that salvation lies in returning to shore through an act of faith in the past. By reviving cultural practices of the past, inevitably high cultural practices, the past glories and sense of regional belonging could be resuscitated.
However, one can contend that “world ” never really died. Certainly it sank to the bottom where it thrives in its new environment. It became a sub-culture. Those who remained linked to their cultural roots have kept alive what our elite has abandoned. They did not learn English, go to Oxbridge, crimp their hair, and sit at dinner tables with three sets of cutlery. So was their survival made possible. Their children play gilli danda[3] not nintendo. They play Kabadi[4] not golf. The truth is nothing died. It merely altered its appearance, learnt to live in humbler abodes. Certainly it altered and one of the secrets of the vitality of this sub-culture is its ability to change without giving up its essential character.
We use the term popular culture to define this sub-culture. The point of entry into this sub-culture has been through recent excursions into popular art. The significance of popular art is as an expression of popular culture, that less than adequate term applied to the pluralistic sub-cultures that layer a society. The international use of the term really emerged within the specific context of industrial and post-industrial societies. It refers to cultural icons of homogenous mass consumerist societies, which mercifully we are not. We do not all watch the same ads, the same TV programme, hear the same music or read the same reviews. Most of us do not even read consumer reviews, do not own a TV – although our local dhaba[5] may have one.
So to start with we have to adjust our sets to re-define popular culture in a Pakistani context. A growing number of cultural theorists have attempted to expand the definition of poplar culture. If one were to chose an explanation closer to our experience, it would be one of Raymond Williams various definitions of culture which refers to “a culture actually made by the people for themselves”, a lived culture. Immediately one asks who are “the people”? It includes us all, even those who live in houses designed by Tariq Hasan[6] but weep through an Indian movie on TV from a takht[7] wearing comfortable kurta pajamas[8] and rubber slippers when no one is visiting.
One has to go to those non-westernised layers of society to realise that many aspects of our lived culture survived through to our times. Not only do the ordinary daily rituals continue such as sleeping on charpais[9] and niwar[10] beds, cooking in clay pots, the rituals of courtly life have also been threaded into the whole tapestry of common cultural expression: Classical music and poetry form the basis of both folk music and film songs. Poetry also exists on the back of trucks and buses; kamkhwab[11] and Ganga Jumna[12] is imitated by glittering nylon thread instead of real gold and silver thread; decorated mazaars[13] become the diwan-e-aam.[14] Alif laila[15] becomes jasoosi digest[16], baitbazi[17] becomes antakshsri,[18] mujras[19] become film totas[20], and chausar[21] becomes ludo. Banking is re-invented through the system of committees[22] and hundi.[23] We should remember people still drink thadil[24] and satoo[25], eat pan,[26] smoke biris[27], call people baji,[28] wear mogras[29] in their hair, wear long plaits, kill people with axes[30], put mehendi[31] in their hair to keep cool, wear glass bangles, dream of young men with curly hair, send cards with bleeding hearts, keep pigeons and fight batair.[32]
The aspirations, references, measure of success or failure of our elite is all within a borrowed frame. Greek Democracy is the only option although Hazrat Omar’s[33] Majlis-e-Shura[34] and Majlis-e-Aam[35] seem remarkably like a bicameral representative government; we follow European executive structures and never think of studying Akbar’s[36] mansabdari system[37]. Rather than wondering what strategies Ashok[38] used to hold together a country whose people speak over 300 different languages, we think global unity must follow the path of the UN and League of Nations; Machievelli’s Prince comes to mind rather than Kautilya’s Arthshastar[39]; we give our babies Woodwards gripe water rather than ilaich ka pani[40]. We look at Homes and Gardens magazines for inspiration rather than more climatically appropriate sahans[41] and jali[42] windows.
When Maulana Mohammed Ali Jauhar[43] went to
Turning to popular culture is not a rebellious foray into a seedy sub-culture fed by a dismissal of the lifestyles of our upper classes, as our cautious and fearful elite would think. Rather it is in order to find the threads of history. Mohammed Iqbal[45] proposes that as a child acquires sense of worth when it learns to remember and link tomorrow with its yesterday and hence create its own history, so must we “Break not the thread between the past and now And the far future.”
The key to acquisition of the past lies in determining who are its custodians. Certainly not the current intellectual elite who would do well to learn from what lies beneath their noses instead of what lies elsewhere. Ziauddin Sardar, in his “Postmodernism and the Other”[46], distinguishes between tradition and traditionalism “Tradition is a way of knowing; traditionalism deals only with the imperishable content of what is known. “Preservation”, he says, “ cannot build anew”. We should not seek to “submerge ourselves into an illusory past” but rather acknowledge traditional ways of knowing.
During a recent visit to the Kafi shrine in Sehwan Sharif[47], its custodians were asked how they felt about re-plastering and re-tiling a 500-year-old monument. The unhesitant reply was that it was not an object of the past but a vital living place. Preservation of the past is a debatable concept. When does the past become truly the past and when is it living history? By listening and looking at the lived practices of people who have not become culturally disembodied, one can find the way towards cultural authenticity and so cultural autonomy. Why is thori see to lift kara day blaring from every car rather than bheegi bheegi ratoon mein ?[48]
We do not need “a nostalgic investigation of the lost roots of (one’s) own identity” ( Spivak)[49] We do not seek to be what Spivak calls “ native informants for first world intellectuals interested in the voice of the other”[50], nor do we seek to honour the culture of our refined ancestors. We truly search for ourselves.
The way is to first become aware of cultural continuity. Cultural and religious rituals are more visible: wedding rites, taazia[51] processions, milads[52], chaliswans[53], eid and bakra eid[54], looking for the new moon[55] and so on. Personal attire and habits are another area. Many still use miswak[56] not Colgate, put oil and not gel in their hair, wear turbans instead of baseball caps. Men put mehendi[57] in their hair and on their feet to keep cool. Hikmat[58] is the preferred curative route. The unquestioning acceptance of three yellow pills followed by two pink ones springs from the unlabelled tonics the local hakeem[59] provides. Men wear florescent pink shalwar kameezes[60] rather than Hawiian shirts. The examples abound if one looks for them. Similar links can be found in customs associated with hospitality, tiffin lunches[61], dhobi[62] vs washing machine, kajal[63] in babies eyes, keeping goats as pets instead of rotweillers, halva puri[64] for breakfast instead of pancakes, dastarkhan[65] meals instead of Queen Anne dining tables, wearing dhotis[66] for comfort instead of track suits, taking one’s shoes off on entering the house.
There exists a continuity of Sufi institutions and culture with thousands of ordinary working people 'ba'ait[67] in silsilas[68], with all its attendant manifestations as a social institution, the regular visits to one's shaikh or shaikha[69], dam wala panee[70], ta'wiz[71] and dua[72], religious and moral instruction, counseling and support system.
Another area of productive study is the confidant adaptation of past practices to the challenge of changing times. This was touched upon earlier in this article as regards poetry, dance and music. A more detailed look at popular Art as seen on transport decoration is a revealing journey.
The pioneers of this art, Haji Hussain and sons, were in fact, mural painters from the courts of the Rajas of Katch Bujh[73]. They turned their art to transport decoration after partition. Truck owners, mostly tribal and uneducated, now had access to craftsmen that were reserved for the ruling classes of a recent past. The images on trucks reflect the interests and pastimes of the upper classes - hunting deer, falconry, the hunting chalet presented as an image of paradise, gardens of leisure peopled with peacock and grouse, travels to far off places. Literary references, e.g. The Buraq[74], a favourite of poets from the Turko-Persian tradition. All trucks, in fact all decorated vehicles have a mandatory verse usually full of bittersweet longing or nostalgia in the tradition of classical Urdu poetry.
The cab itself can be seen as a king’s throne room. The structure above the cab, called tellingly a taj or crown, recalls the jharoka or balcony from which the king would see and be seen. The seats refer to the rich silk and brocade textiles associated with kings; the ceiling is adorned with interpretations of the sheesh mahal or the palace of mirrors, a favourite architectural device of Mughal kings. The Palace became accessible to the new “King of the Road” as is often written on vehicles. New materials that appear in the market are immediately given a space in existing art forms, which are in this way constantly being renewed and revitalised. Eccentric Japanese wall clocks will find their way into Taazia decoration, reflective tape has created a whole new style of Truck decoration. These urban crafts have their own acceptable or unacceptable aesthetic rules. The innovation becomes more meaningful poised as it is on the edge of change and tradition. It is apparent that these images are what Coomeraswamy calls ”memory pictures”[75], which he says, are a key to understanding South Asian iconography. This is a reflection of a lifestyle not the lifestyle itself. Realism is not the issue. The idea of the memory picture is not just a matter of lack of opportunity for direct observation but rather related to both Muslim concepts of Fana and Hindu concepts of Maya. The appearance is not the reality . The intention is not about communicating a physical observation but arousing particular kinds of emotions and aspirations. This was a device used eg. In Ragamala paintings[76], in canons of poetry, particularly by the sufi traditions of the Indian sub-continent. The saturated colours communicate the intensity of experience and are a device used for festival decoration to enhance the experience and its significance. The imagery is primarily symbolic, either consciously or as an unquestioned hand down from tradition referring to literary and religious sources. Symbols become points of entry, gateways to a glimpse of eternal truths.
Some examples are:
The Buraq, a commonly used image of a flying white horse with a woman’s face based on literary references, is symbolic of the spiritual journey ( miraj) of the Prophet Mohammed to the seven Heavens and to God. The image evolved through the works of Persian poets such as Fariduddin Attar, Nizami and the Turkish poet Ghanizade in whose work the Buraq, which means lightening, evolved into the mythic flying horse with a woman’s face and usually a peacock’s tail. The saviour on a white horse and of the winged beast and the pari also exists in legends across the middle east region. Hazrat Ayesha[77], as a child, played with a toy horse with wings referring to legends associated with Hazrat Sulaiman[78] . It is also seen in Indian legend as, e.g., Kalki, one of the avatars of
Traditions of the Near East and Central Asia abound with composite animals and even a seal from the Indus Civilisation shows a bull with a human face, the trunk and tusk of an elephant and hind legs of a tiger. The Mughal Emperors, Akbar and Jehangir developed pictorial carpets with winged horses dragons in forests and fantasy folklore. The Ancient Indian texts the Puranas also mention 16 composite animals each with 16 poses ie 256 forms that serve to ward off the evil eye.
A variety of birds are painted. The peacock is a favourite from palace to mud hut. The parrot is a symbol of humour coupled with intelligence. The eagle and the falcon are, as everywhere including in Iqbal[79], a symbol of ambition and power.
The cypress, a favourite symbol of Indo Persian poetry reflects the qualities of the perfect man. It also conveniently doubles up as an image of “home” for the majority of truck drivers who are Pathans[80] and so is a frequently used image.
The Red Rose is used in everyday life on all occasions from birth to death, a rose garland will celebrate the passing of an exam the completion of Haj, to honour bridal couples, decorate the bridal chamber, is spread over a grave or, for no reason at all, just scents one’s room or wrist. The tradition is that during the Miraj drops of the Prophet Mohammed’s sweat fell to ground and a fragrant rose appeared Generally his presence is associated with the scent of roses. In Truck art, anything that is dear is shown nestling within a rose.
The flowering plant in a pot is a symbol of prosperity, of life and its gifts. At the classical end are, e.g., the naturalistically rendered Persian Guldans[81] seen at
The symbolism of the fish is less simple to trace. Its association with the river and the sea notwithstanding, it has a complex heritage filtered through historical events and Indian astrology seen eg. in the gateways of
Animals presented as symbols of human qualities and human action is a well known tradition dating at least from the Kalila and Dhimna, the inspiration for Aesop and itself inspired by the Sanskrit fables of Bidpai.Other well known stories mentioning animals are Tota Kahani, Alif Laila, Bagho Bahar, and the works of Luqman and Fariduddin Attar. Animals such as the Lion, a favourite, represent manly strength and the ability to overawe the enemy. In
Truck art re-interprets the court or aulic aesthetic through the folk art of Western regions of the sub-continent. The use of folk art techniques : circles dots lines hooks spades etc can, of course, also be seen in the miniatures of Rajastan and
There is also a link to the faith invested in mazaars[82]. A truck driver will tell you that if he does not honour the source of his livelihood, there will be no “barkat”[83] in his business. Clues to superstition are all over the decorated truck. The eyes that ward off the evil eye and keep a watchful God awake - a tradition that spreads from Turkey to roadside shrines in India, the “manat” cloths or religious pledges that hang from the truck body, the poetry that suggests that the owner owes his prosperity only to God, or that a mother's prayer will open the doors of Heaven, or simply spreads a message of good will to all. Minibus drivers even hide a slipper behind the engine grill of their bus. Every truck route is lined with shrines outside which stand people day and night who collect a token coin or rupee to ensure a safe journey. In fact at one level the act of decorating the truck is perhaps a parallel to the activity when visiting a shrine of showering scented red rose petals or a cover woven with strung red roses or a gilt cloth on the grave of a shrine.
The role of the sufis in the development of vernacular poetry in Sindhi, Punjabi and Purbhi, is well known. Equally significant is its role in developing vernacular and popular art. The sufis were often manual workers. The patron saint of craftsmen was often a mystic and after his death, his tomb became a centre for craftsmen especially at the annual Urs or gathering of devotees usually accompanied by a fair. Eg Bahauddin Naqshband of
Shared cultural codes always connected class: patron and craftsman worked together to create the havelis[84], jewellery and textiles that are the icons of our sumptuous past. Today, a rich person is more likely to go to
An equally close look at other rituals and customs around us would reveal insights into understanding our cultural aspirations and the commonalties underlying both the sophisticated and the brash expressions of them.
Language differences have been a great class divider and led to superficial understandings and misunderstandings. Language is more than a form of communication. We speak of the privileging of the English text. Because of the practicality of English as an international language, we think of bilinguality as an easy interchange. But deeper than that, language moulds and preserves the nuances and tone of a culture. The communicable part of crossing over of language is a fraction that is more often than not misleading. In the process, not only does the gulf widen, but much is lost.
More and more frequently English words are included within all Pakistani languages, as if they are magic mantras which will transform a mundane life, what is being communicated, as well as the life of the speakers. While a fascinating area for cultural studies, and in keeping with the notion of popular culture’s ability to incorporate change, language is not a superficial acquisition as is chamak patti[86]. It alters perception and dictates the pre-lived associations we bring to the assimilation of our experiences. There are expectations that western culture is linked to a more prosperous future, while expressions of indigenous culture or language are signs of poverty and backwardness, not being 'fast', modern, 'with the times'.
At a deeper level, this use of English, and the now obligatory shirt and tie for all interviews is symptomatic of a deeper failure, the failure of a people' s belief in themselves and their own culture, a failure of nerve, that we are not lean & mean enough, that we, as we are, are simply not presentable to the world or indeed even to each other. Interestingly the pressure to westernize is not applied to women.
Social mobility of recent times has eroded the clear class distinctions that were once based on differences in lifestyle and are now based simply on economic disparities. The tides and currents are mixing.There is a two-way absorption of cultural aspirations. In recent times what filtered down is now filtering up again. Dars[87] has replaced coffee mornings. Nusrat Fateh Ali[88] and basant[89] have become tres chic, as has Yusuf Salahuddin’s [90]tour of Heera Mandi[91]. The newest Indus Vision[92] is heroically trying to bridge the gap and amplify cultural expression. Regardless of the attempted management of culture, there are so many forces at play including the satellite culture, that things are changing rapidly and criss-crossing rather than following a simple upward-downward change. How do we become the authors of our change? Perhaps we only stay witness to it. In any case, it is only possible if we first become aware of all the players and their scripts. Its time Papasallis[93] met Café Piyala[94].
(3808 words)
Durriya Kazi
[1] Title of book by Michael Ondatje
[3] A local game played with a roughly hewn stick and a smaller stick used as a puck
[4] A local team sport
[5] Inexpensive roadside restaurant
[6] a successful Pakistani architect
[7] a traditional couch
[8] Traditional casual clothes
[9] woven rope bed
[10] woven cotton tape bed
[11] brocade cloth
[12] embroidery using gold and silver threads
[13] shrines of saints
[14] public audience chamber of Mughal emperors
[15] “1001 nights”
[16] monthly magazine with suspense stories
[17] a popular competitive poetry game where the teams recall a verse starting with the last letter of the previous verse read by the opposing team
[18] a similar game using film songs popularised by Indian satellite TV chanels
[19] courtesan dances traditionall performed at weddings, parties etc.
[20] film clips of risque scenes edited as a “film”
[21] chess
[22] an informal neighbourhood banking system
[23] an informal system of transferring foreign exchange back to
[24] a drink made from almonds
[25] a drink made with wheat
[26] betel leaf eaten with various ingredients enclosed in it
[27] a local smoke made with tobacco wrapped in a leaf
[28] sister
[29] jasmine blossoms strung as bangles, necklaces or for the hair.
[30] Village people carried axes for firewood and safety. This also became a weapon of aggression.
[31] henna
[32] a partridge
[33] the second caliph of Islam who established the administrative structure of the new religion
[34] Council of learned people
[35] Council of common people
[36] Mughal emperor of the 16th Century
[37] district level government officers
[38] Mauryan Emperor of the 4th century BC
[39] political theorist of the Gupta period 5th century AD
[40] cardimom infusion
[41] courtyard
[42] filigree windows and walls
[43] freedom fighter of the early 20th century
[44] tradional balcony
[45] Indian Muslim Philosopher or the early 20th century
[47] shrine of saints in a village of
[48] two local songs by Adnan Sami Khan
[51] Modelof the tomb of Imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, who was matyred. Taazia processions are taken out on the 9th and 10th of the Islamic month of Moharram.
[52] Gatherings to celebrate the qualities of the Prophet Mohammed through poems and readings.
[53] The fourtieth day after the death of someone. Prayers are read for the departed.
[54] Two religious festivals, the first marks the end of Ramadhan, the second the end of Haj.
[55] Islamic months are lunar and the sighting of the new moon has special significance.
[56] A twig of special medicinal trees used as a toothbrush.
[57] Henna
[58] Traditional medicinal practice
[59] Traditional medical practionor of Hikmat.
[60] Loose trousers and long shirt worn by men and women in
[61] Lunch taken or delivered from home in stacked containers.
[62] Laundry man.
[63] Eyeliner made from the soot of herbal oils
[64] Local breakfast of bread and sweet semolina
[65] Meals are traditionally eaten sitting around a cloth spread out on the floor.
[66] A wrap around worn by men and women.
[67] Oath of allegience.
[68] Sufi orders.
[69] Sufi guides, male or female.
[70] The ultimate cure is drinking water prayed on by a person with spiritual powers.
[71] Protective amulet
[72] short prayer.
[73] Located below Rajastan on the coast of western
[74] A lgendary winged horse that folklore says carried the Prophet Mohammed to Allah and the seven Heavens.
[75] Located below Rajastan on the coast of western
[75] A lgendary winged horse that folklore says carried the Prophet Mohammed to Allah and the seven Heavens.
[75]
[76] Miniature painting illustrating the themes of Indian classical music- raags.
[77] The Prophet Mohammed’s youngest wife.
[78] The Prophet Solomon.
[79] Mohammed Iqbal, poet and philosopher of
[80] Ethnic population of
[81] Flower vase
[82] Shrines of Sufi saints.
[83] Blessing
[84] ancestral home.
[85] Kite string coated with crushed glass for competitive kite flying.
[86] Florescent coloured tape used in vehicle decoration.
[87] Meetings for readings and explanation of the Quran
[88] A qawwal or performer of religious poetry set to music who became internationally famous in the 90’s
[89] Spring Festival of the Hindus marked by communal kite flying in the Pakistani version.
[90] Prince of
[91] “ Diamond market” The famous red light district of
[92] A local TV channel.
[93] A chic restaurant chain serving Italian cuisine to the rich.
[94] A famous tea shop catering to the less privileged.
Comments
Post a Comment