Budding dyarchy in judicial process.

The news heading 'Sharia courts to be set up in Mumbai' sent waves of alarm rippling through me as i conjured up visions of death by stoning, public be heading and chopping of limbs, the punishments to acts of transgressions and of criminal intent.

Was this a slow and steady overtaking of the system by fanatic islamists with the brazen approval of politicians hungry for power?

On a closer perusal it was clear that such courts were being set up to try the law relating to marriages and divorce of Muslims  and not criminal acts ,as an means to facilitate the quick disposal of cases.
Hindus and Muslims and Christians have been historically governed by their personal laws ,but with the constitution coming into force it was clearly established that whatever law is adopted in this field viz customary or shastras or shariayat it is the properly constituted courts that have the authority to adjudicate and decide.

The setting up Shariat courts cannot be justified by saying that it was an alternative dispute  redressal mechanism ,that are in vogue these days to settle disputes swiftly,since adr's are part and parcel of the judiciary.The shariat courts on the other hand is more or less like a parallel system of judiciary!

By honouring and recognising them the state will be conferring a legitimacy that is due only to courts set up under the provisions of the Constitution.Then won't khap panchayats [frowned by all] feel emboldened to seek similar legitimacy for the enforcement of their customary laws? And headman's start  demanding   that their say  the final word in all matters  ? A throw back to earlier centuries.

The setting up sharia courts  will only chip and erode the inherent, non transferable sovereign powers of the judiciary ,bit by bit and along with it ,the respect and faith it commands amongst the citizens will diminish correspondingly.
To me these courts are an assault on the Independence and authority of one of the finest institutions created by the constitution--the Judiciary.

Athigiri mantap.at Sri Vardaraja Perumal temple at Kanchipuram

sri Vardarajar with His consorts Sri Devi, Bhu Devi and PerunDevi Thaayaar at Varadarajar Temple

Two arasamarams/aswath trees/ flanked the  still greenish waters of the temple tank that has in its depths the wooden idol of Sri Varadharajar ,immersed to be taken out only once in 40 years and then worshipped for a month and then to be lowered into the watery sanctum till the next cycle .
One of the trees was in fullsome prime ,covered by huge swathes of green leaves through which it was impossible to see their support--the tawny branches.The other tree was quite bare and lean ,having shed the year old fatigued and worn out leaves and was unfurlng copper coloured leaflets all over its crown that was a perfect foil to its lush green companion as well as the leafy green pond below.

The mid day sun shone directly overhead burnishing the tender leaves on the top to gleaming deep red tassels whilst the dazzling reflection of the fiery sun from the tanks surface lit up those leaflets at the lower branches that were overshadowed by the ebullient red canopy that did not allow the rays to penetrate below, to a delicate rose  .
All this i watched from the steps of the steel enmeshed enclosed mantap built by Vijayanagar emperors that lies just outside the main temple of Sri Varadharajar at kanchipuram,when i took a short break from my leisurely and detailed examination of the wealth of sculptures adorning the huge and tall and numerous  pillars ,from its very top to its  base.Is it the unique shape and the feathery light weight of the leaf of the sacred fig tree/arasamaram that makes it catch the slightest whisper of wind ,to sway and dangle individually from its stem though growing in bunches like other trees, that makes it so enticing, attractive and eye catching?

Does its exalted status in Hindu belief since time immemorial apart from the various legends associated with it ,stem from this simple fact?That unlike other trees ,each leaf of Arasamaram is an individual in its own right and has an independent identity of its own, though they look alike and are dependant on the branches and roots of a single primary tree for its growth,stability and sustenance?

Now back to the highly sculpted mantap which according to a very sleepy watchman manning it is nearly 2000 years old!One familiar with history would put it to only 700-500 years ,since each sculpture bears the clearly artistic and unique signature of Vijayanagar emperors who ruled the Deccan from near about13 th cent --16 th cent ad. The temple however could be 2000 years or even older.Since all visitors and devotees are not familiar with history a notice board with a brief history would help in dispelling the ignorance shrouding the facts.

An leisurely examination by moving the head from the base to the high ceiling ,since every inch of every pillar has been painstakingly carved led to the conclusion that the mantap is more or less a dedication or a memorial of sort to the 11 th cent Sri Vaishnava acharya Sri Ramanuja--[1017--1137]His familiar seated form with the staff of a sanyasi held inbetween his folded hands adorns the base, mid section and the capitol of most of the pillars along with those of Vishnu, varahar, Narsimhar, Krishna , Hanuman Vyasa,Rama Sita and Lakshmi,carved all over .
AS the arsamarams leaves dangled in  a delectable dance and quivered in a rosy reflection over the green waters housing Varada ,the deity worshipped by Ramanuja who lived in Kanchipuram for decades, i couldn't help wondering at the energy and force that impelled him to carry on tirelessly to revive Hinduism that had become vague due to the wrong interpretation of Maya philosophy of Adi Shankara,[years after his departure], that dismissed every thing as mere delusions .

Sri Ramanuja established that life is real and Iswara is full of good qualities and is worthy of worship in any form and that archa  or deity form is  the easiest and tangible way of paying obeisance to the ultimate .

He was also an extra ordinary  revolutionary  In those early centuries viz 1000 AD when caste barriers were strictly upheld and its transgressions punished immediately with ostracisation ,undeterred by societal pressures to conform ,he honoured knowledge and devotion where ever he found it on whom so ever it may be and thus pestered a Sudra , a very pious man to become his guru and was overcome with such a rage at his wife's treatment ,[customary demeaning but the norm those days] whilst serving food to his guru that he immediately expelled her to her parents and instantly took up sanyasa .  Ramanuja was a brahmin.  
--
And when he learnt the closely guarded mantra for moksha from a Brahmin to be passed only to Brahmin's with repercussions for transgressions he chose to climb a nearby temple tower and to proclaim it loudly to all those interested to the way to moksha .His guru's fury abated with his reasoning that he didn't mind going through the vicious cycle of birth and death if 1000 others are enabled to gain entry into Vaikuntum or  attain moksha!

A rare , bright individual whose personality overcame all hurdles thrown by society and authorities.


He attracted followers from all strata of the society as well as castes and he embraced them all into his sect --Sri Vaishnavisim by following the earlier aazhwars--mystic vaishnavaite saints dictum that a devotee of Vishnu was more dearer than Narayana himself1But he did all this with missionary's zeal .He made 74 families--his followers [and not any mutt ]responsible to carry on vedic, sri vaishnavaite traditions ,visishta dwaita  philosophy  as well as the thorough reading of the Ramayana and the Gita compulsory , with clear injunction to never stray away.And i have descended from one such family.

Sri Ramanuja lived in times when royal patronage was necessary to practise and propagate one's religious convictions and beliefs.As Brithrahari had observed in 1 cent AD itself that there were only two gods  --Siva or Vishnu , the same was true in the times of Ramanuja a 1000 years later as well .

The Tamil king was a staunch saivite who couldn't tolerate the popularity that Ramanuja was acquiring , hence went on the path of persecution that made Ramanuja to leave Sri rangam and live in karnataka in exile for more than a decade,returning after his son ,who wasn't all that dogmatic suceeded to the throne.  .Another religion that was in dominanace was Jainism to which the ruler of karnataka subscribed to,which he relinquished to embrace Sri Vaishnavism , overwhelmed by the ministering abilities of Ramanuja who cured his daughter of her hitherto incurable ailment and gave him his full patronage.

However Ramanuja had to face stiff resistance to his all embracing policy to his fold and in his quest to standardise the form of ritualistic worship in temples  in neighbouring kerala  as well as, orissa ,where the priests couldn't stomach such ideas and literally beat him and left him for dead .The Brahmins of Kashmir were also equally jealous in guarding their own ways of worship and unwilling to share their philosophical thoughts  ,when Ramanuja visited that place .He was driven away overnight.

Was the rapid spread of Islam an factor in the relentless endeavour of Ramanuja to throw open the spiritual secrets guarded jealously by Brahmins for centuries to all irrespective of caste and creed, to keep the drifting flock intact?By now Ghaznivadis were established at Delhi and were spreading their power, influence and religion in the principalities of their conquests.He might have wanted to consolidate all Hindus under one banner --Sri Vaishnavism as a bulwark against the rapid spread of Islam in Bharat,

There is a story held to be factual that when Ramanuja requested the Delhi sultan to hand over the processional deity of the main deity of the temple at Melkote, karnataka , which was heaped along with other idols raided by the marauders , the king's daughter was so attached to that idol which was her favourite doll that she wouldn't let go ,though her father acceded to Ramnuja's request ,and followed him to Melkote and remained there till her premature expiry.

In commemoration of this unique attachment and devotion  of that young Muslim girl an idol known as Bibi nachiayar,   standing in supplication at the feet of the idol ,was installed at the sanctum of the vishnu temple at Melkote and it remains there till date.There is also a sannidhi for this 'Tulaka Nacchiayar' at the second prakara [circumbulatory passage] of Sri Rangam temple .And the daily prasad cooked at the temple kitchen and offered to Sri Ranganathar includes chappathi, butter and dhal ,in honour of that  muslim girl's devotion to the idol of Narayana.This practise is continuing till today.

Sri Ramanuja's sphere of influence endures till date  in Tamilnadu, Andhra pradesh and Karnataka.


 

Half hearted telecast.

I couldn't believe my luck .The sacred dip of processional deity of kallaazhagar in river Vaigai was being shown live on TV [pvt channel--25 .4.13].
Though i have witnessed this  annual religious event that is conducted on Chitra pournami , in person, from the bridge spanning  the river Vaigai in Madurai under scorching sun, it was decades ago and my  fervour for religious  rituals  and interest in them , wasn't, much.

The telecast live on TV followed the procession of the deity on a horse vahanam ,carried on the shoulders of a large posse, for an hour and just as the culmination was at hand  viz-dipping of the deity in the water of the river the telecast was abruptly cut and faces of the technicians was played and the next programme unconnected with the former followed after a spate of ads.

Seething with anger and disappointment ,switched on to another channel .In this the dip was shown but it was blurred and a very very long shot ,that left one guessing as to what was actually happening.

This further  fanned my  frustration.What is the big idea of making one sit for an hour and not show the actual religious act? Is this the effect of Perriyarism/atheism?An half hearted one.If so why isn't the same treatment accorded to the live telecasts of Katrthigai deepam and makra jyothi when the lighting of the sacred fire is shown in entirety?Or is it  a impotent form of selective secularism , a tease,that it may hurt some viewers sentiments[who anyhow will not see it nor would  very very orthodox Hindus who would rather see it in person]  or that viewing such a hoary tradition with aid of only a remote would radicalise the ignorant and the innocents and spawn hordes of Hindu fanatics?..

Chitra pournami---rising reddish coloured full moon photo

The debate on secularism......comment

The debate on what constitutes secularism has taken an earnest turn with journo's doing a lot of frank introspection , touching on topics that have been so far a taboo due to decades long fears of snapping the avowedly  slender thread of communal balance ,that has been so very punctiously cultivated over several decades by the media.
Politicians do not care  . It is only the so called conscience keepers writing saccharine coated articles ,who refuse to delve deeper and face that which actually ,is.It is generally what ought to be.

This is a comment of a journo's article in first post regarding his views on secularism .
Found most of his views , broadly agreeable but some points kept needling and  me hence this post and one in particular viz that of slicing off 20 % of population that of SC and st from that of Hindu population to arrive at his point that it is not 80 but 0nly 50 %!.

Isn't the author perpetuating the same atrocity of our ancestors by keeping that segment of population [those who did not convert]away from  the undeniable main civilisation and religion of this land that is accused of [rightly] keeping them away as outcasts,for long?I thought we had moved on and that freedom fighters , social reformers and the constitution saw to that , such dehumanising differences do not, cannot and shouldn't exist.

And why is it proclaimed that Tamilnadu is also out of bounds of Hinduism owing to the domination of dravidianism?Such atheistic, anti brahminical and pseudo secular views are those of few ,in politics and not amongst the populace.Though antipathy to  Brahmins has percolated widely ,anti Brahmanism is not equal to anti or non Hinduism.Yet paradoxically a Brahmin's services are still in demand from the lowliest to the highest--monetary as well as caste wise .And every street has a temple of Amman[shakthi] or Ganesh or Hanuman under the sacred fig tree-arasamaram and the deities taken care of ,by  priests---both brahmin and non brahmins, with sincere devotion.

At his conclusion his convoluted reasoning for the efficacy of secularism ,a warning of sort to right wing is sure to create insecurity and strengthen the urge to consolidate.

Salutations to Sri Rama by Sri Desikan and Khambar.

Sri Rama, Sita Devi , Lakshman  at SrinivasarTemple at Tirumala

**Chathur mukai ,kshvarmukahai ,putra  pautradhi shaline|
Namaha seetha samethaiya Ramaya grihamedhine..................from Mahavira vaibhavam by Sri Desikan.

meaning: Salutations to Sri Rama the father of four faced Brahma and grand sire of Siva and who beholds the entire universe as his household,with Sita always at  his side.

**Nanmaiyum selvamum naallum nalgume ,
thinmaiyum pavamum sidhaindhu theyume,
janmamum maranamum indri theerume,
immaiye Rama yedrirende yezhuthinaal......................From Kambha Ramayanam by Khambar

Meaning:  Good fortune and wealth will increase daily,
misfortune and sins will disintegrate and wane,
the problem of the cycle of birth and death will be solved ,
Now itself ,by uttering just two letters Rama   ['Rama' is encompassed within  two letters in Tamil]

Heavy dose.

All of a sudden the unmentionable ,unseeable and unhearable's visage and views were plastered all over the TV channels,whose cutting, sniping and ostracising tactics are honed to such perfection that it would put the Reid technique and khap panchayats to shame.

This was  a heavy dose .The exhausting exposure of the rustic on the turf of the unbreachable cosy club of sophisticates does raise one's eyebrows and furrows one's forehead seeking the lurking motives behind this sudden dawn of enlightenment.
The tough gent's views on governance supported by his deep thoughts put into action expressed in a simple and humorous way was  that a govt should be like a good parent , providing all amenities and security to a child but allow it to grow freely as per its abilities and inclinations .Neither, indifferent nor overbearing, patronising and domineering .A voluntary relinquishment of control to facilitate the development of individual's personality to its hilt viz--self reliance,self respect and confidence .A liberal outlook.

Had a good laugh at the question posed to the govt whether tigers were secular and lions communal so as the latter was  to be in receving end of a miserly tight fist.

However comparing the lethargic serpentine movement of the files in offices to chardham pilgrimages is in variance to the strong hindutva image woven around his persona. That derisive comparison is typical of pseudo secular's.
In a odd congruence, whether a politician is a pseudo secular or pseudo Hindu it is Hindu beliefs that come in handy to make and score points in jocular fashion in public platforms and despite themselves the audience laps it up!.
When i wrote about 'pappu' i had to suffer the stench of a dead rat that all of a sudden found it fit to expire in the unreachable depths of my washing machine, for 2 whole days, the mechanics elusive and unavailable. A show of 'power'ful disapproval.

Subsequently when i had a good laugh at the net name 'feku' ,received  blistering looks   in the house for daring to do so at the  doer backed by statistics.

I was made to realise that i was no longer young and eager to strike out  with hero's to look up to and  worship ,but old and fit only to analyse and weigh.

A maiden repartee on MSm.

It was a verbose presentation by the charming prince at a tid for tat competitiveness for the  race  for the chalice of poison or the kumbh of  amrit for the service of the motherland as per one's look out in a fledgling [ compared to UK that is nearly 800 yearsold!] and  evolving democracy.

I am rubbing my hands in gleeful anticipation of some more of such presentations and debates in the future.It is bound to get hotter and therefore more interesting to armchair analysts and  inspiring  to youngsters.

It at first seemed like garble but a patient hearing of what RG was trying to convey one could make out that what lay close to his heart was participatory democracy,like that advocated by Anna and co .Nothing wrong only that it was odd that being the 2 nd most powerful person in this country for a decade or so  that he should be wringing his hands in utter helplessness to put his ideas into action .

The speech was at one instant  was  politically divisive with the harping on the special care that need to be extended to minorities, dalits and others.Aren't thay part and parcel of what makes this country whole enjoying equal rights and duties?

The drama regarding China was enjoyable.The veiled reference to Kalki avtar in the usual uppity pseudo secular manner could have been given the slip.

PS. the  shameless oligarchs have already  read and digested this as i wrote it at 7 pm on 5.4.13 as and when it was distilled and chisiled out of me by employing the dirtiest tricks possible with help of technology, manpower, wealth and merciless onslaught of brain washing techniques on me ,family and arm twisting of others connected to me  .this is for others if they are allowed to read and not a part of the hallowed coterie.[ and we call this democracy? joke]

Metro.

On our return ,after visiting an ailing relative ,his son who was at the wheel and who had left this metro of his childhood a couple of years back to another metro for livelihood ,found it foxing to maneuver through the various  one way traffic routes that has become the norm these days owing to a large sections of the roads right in the middle of the city , dug up for facilitating the construction of the metro rail project
.
The conversation naturally touched the on going metro project and notes were compared with the progress with that of ,at his metro .

As i wiped the thin mist formed over the glass of the car window caused by an overactive AC to have a passing look at the machinery's doing the job,my pride at the project plunged  downwards as i remembered reading somewhere that the metro rail in Russia, USA  and UK are more than 100 years old!And i blurted sthis out loud and clear to the quick stiffening of others listening in at this unintended prick to our nations pride.
I too had blistered in similar fashion when my aunt [by marriage] on one of her yearly visits to the land of her birth and education , from the US had observed much to my indignation and dismay that US was way ahead by nearly 50 years .
As a patriotic teenager i refused to believe her and dismissed it as a case of sour grapes reasoning that since they couldn't get a good job here to keep them ,where they longed to be , she was deliberately putting us down .Wasn't the developments in my country one of the best in the world? So i blindly believed then ,That was 40 years back.
My recent readings of articles etc clearly justifies her claim .Massive skyscrapers with huge underground drainage systems, metro rails crisscrossing the nether regions of huge cities were all built nearly a 100 years earlier over there!
In such as well as in several other areas the lag is now nearly 100 years an century!Hmm i was stuck in my teens for an  inordinate extended period of time.

Despite this gloomy comparison ,the pride in one's country , never dies,does it? Since it does stir up whenever a new project is  announced[ supposedly latest and world class] and a rocket [though yet to carry a human ,no not even a cat or  a dog ] is shot off to the space.
  .