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who would secretly pass on as precious a gift as that of the 'fruit of
eternal life' amarphal graciously given by her husband, to her paramour, a mere
keeper of her husband's stables; or a Kaikai who would not stop short of
creating storms in the life of a prophet. But the Punjabi woman falls to oblige
this chauvinist in the search or re-search.
As opposed to Kaikai, Punjab is also the home of Mata Kaushalia, the
selfeffacing wife who would not thwart a commitment made by her husband to a
rival, even when that would make her own life an unmitigated agony. Mata
Kaushalia is the blessed mother of a prophet who is the soul of the scripture
Ramayana that sustains till today. Her birthplace is at Ghuram, which is
situated on the ancient highway that connected the Shivalik to the Aravali
range. Ghuram is a village in Patiala District, which has become a site of
revealing historical excavations.
At Ram Tirath, not far from the city of the Golden Temple, Amritsar is the
landmark com-memorating Rishi Valmiki's hermitage, where Mata Sita begot her
twin sons, Luv and Kush. Luv founded the great historical city, Lavpur, now
called Lahore. Kush founded an equally famous town, Kasur, about 40 miles east
of Lahore. Both these places are in Pakistan today.
In his autobiographical composition entitled the Vachhitar Natak (The Marvellous
Drama), the tenth Master of the Sikhs traces the origin of the castes of the
Bedis and the Sodhis to the dynasties of Luv and Kush. Guru Nanak, the prophet
of Sikhism was a Bedi, Guru Gobind Singh was a Sodhi.
Punjabis venerate Mata Sahib Devan as the mother of the 'Khalsa'. She outlived
her husband Guru Gobind Singh. She saved Sikhism from the schism into which it
was about to fall after Banda's death. It was at her bidding that the
martyr-saint, Bhai Mani Singh, was appointed the head-priest of Harimander, now
famous as the Golden Temple. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, leader of the Sikh
Confederacy before Ranjit Singh, was given the title bandhi chhor or the severer
of the fet-ters by the ladies of the Punjab.
Sada Kaur, the brave mother-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
The role of Punjabi women as commandos on the battlefield is no less glorious.
Sada Kaur, the mother-in-law of teenaged Ranjit Singh, shadowed her son-in-law
in all his major engagements against the Mughals especially after the Afghans
had routed the Marathas at Panipat and became so powerful, that the Moghul
throne survived but only under their duress. She is remembered as one of the
greatest generals of her time even in the Afghan records.
Rani Sahib Kaur, sister of the infant ruler Sahib Singh of Patiala, successfully
defended her brother's kingdom against the attacks of the Marathas, Afghans and
European adventurers like George Thompson and chased them away from the
battlefield.
In the Sikh Ardas, God's name is taken thrice at the mention of 40 Muktas. Mukta
is a word derived from mukti or moksh which means' release from the bondage of
maya. These forty souls would have been remembered as black sheep, but for the
intervention and action of a Punjabi lady called Mai Bhago. Pressed by the
Moghuls, Guru Gobind Singh was leading his small force through guerilla routes
towards the desert areas of Punjab around Khiderana, so that for lack of
victuals and water, the large Moghul force would become inoperative. The
hardships caused to the Sikh force in this inhospitable tract were no less
painful. Under the strain of the misery forty war-riors of the Guru's force led
by their commander, Mahan Singh, wrote a note of desertion to the Guru and fled
the field. However as they reached their houses, their womenfolk, under the
influence of Mai Bhago, refused to let them enter their homes and lamented at
them endlessly, "You wear the bangles and run the kitchen while we join the Guru
on the battle-field." The taunt proved too sharp for the erstwhile warriors who
decided to return to the Guru and to the battlefield. Mai Bhago took them under
her command on their return journey, to ensure that they would not escape
somewhere else.
Mai Bhago
By the time these forty saint soldiers, under their female commander reached
Khiderana , the Guru was already engaged in a battle with the Moghul forces. Mai
Bhago's band surprised the Moghul commander, who was already being stiffly tried
by the Guru's forces. By the time he decided to run from the field, only wounded
Mahan Singh was left alive gasping for breath. The bodies of others, including
that of Mai Bhago lay dead on the battlefield. Soon the Guru was at Mahan
Singh's side; "Be so gracious as to tear our note of desertion", were the last
words he uttered before his Guru as he breathed his last Because of Mal Bhago's
sacrifice, the dune of Khiderana is the flourishing city called Muktsar, the
giver of redemption.
Punjabi beauties, Heer, Sassi, Sohni; Sahiban, have immortalised a woman's love
for her lover. Anarkali suffered cruel decimation at the hands of Akbar the
great, but did not forsake her love for Shahzada Saleem. Today, she lies buried
in a street in Lahore which bears her name. This bazaar, Anarkali, is as much
the soul of Lahore as Chowringhee is Calcutta's or Chandni Chowk, old Delhi's.
The poet has been able to epitomise the great beauty of the Punjabi women only
in images. Eyes like a doe's , lotus hands and feet, waist thin as a spindle and
swaying like a whiplash, the gait of a peacock, voice like a nightingale's, hair
like sunlit cascades and complexion glowing like amber: such are the images
through which the Punjabi has cherished the beauty of his consort throughout the
ages. So compulsive is the beauty of the Punjabi women, that people have noticed
it in spite of themselves and in spite of the context under which they are
looking at the Punjab. To quote a few lines from Mahatma Gandhi's writings:
"God be thanked that the beautiful women of the Punjab have not yet lost the
cunning of their fingers ". vol. XIX p.453). The Mahatma was admiring the
ability of the Punjabi women in spinning but could not help commenting on their
beauty and slender figures.
The women of Punjab had an equal share in the re-building of India through Kuka,
Nirankari, Arya Samaj, Dev Samaj, Congress and Akali movements and played an
equally commendable role in the freedom struggle against the British.
Noor Jahan, Amrita Shergil and Amrita Pritam hold a place of pride in music,
painting and literature. Social worker and freedom fighter who was put in jail
for her patriotic activities, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur gave up the pleasures of a
princely home to fight for the independence of India. This princess of the
Kapurthala ruling family, became the first Health Minister of India. Captain
Surinder Kaur, one of the commanders of the Rani Jhansi Regiment of the Indian
National Army, gave her life while fighting for India's independence in Assam.
Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur
It was a lady from the orthodox Kashmiri Brahman family of Lahore, Smt. Swarup
Devi, whose quiet influence 'was to mould the whole lifestyle of the Nehru~. She
kept the lamp of Indian culture burning in a home deeply swayed by Western
influences, and gave India one of her most precious jewels Jawaharlal Nehru.
"From the simplicity, freedom and modesty of the women of Punjab, the Gujarati
women have a lot to learn," said Gandhi. (ibid Vol. XIX p.453).
(Article courtesy Joginder Singh from 'Women of Punjab' by Yash Kohli)
Status of Women in Sikhism
Guru Nanak rendering Gurbani Sangeet
With the decline of the Vedic era, and the influx of foreign marauders all over
India, the status of women deteriorated rapidly. At first, women were secluded
for their protection; later, subordination became the rule of the day. When Guru
Nanak came on the scene, the position of women In India was indeed miserable. He
wanted to build a nation where dignity was accorded equally to men and women.
In'Asa dl Var,' Guru Nanak asks, "Why then revile women, who giveth birth to
great heroes?"
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