Suvir

What Will Be, Will Be

My Slice of Life column from Mail Today by India Today for April 18th, 2020. 

Read by following LINK here or keep reading below.

Alfat by Sonam Kalra's Sufi Gospel Project reveals a most essential secret through poetry and notes

Love and life, music and religion, dreams and aspirations - it is in these that we see the oneness amongst our human collective. When we let go of organized chaos, rules and rituals, dogma and prejudices, generalizations and fears; we become one with self and the other. 

Tolerance is ones capacity to endure pain and hardship, it speaks of stamina and fortitude, it is about endurance. It is not tolerance that helps us rise to greater heights as a human with humanity. For that we need to learn and appreciate acceptance. 

Alfat, the new album by Sonam Kalra, teaches us how to do just that.

Where the Maharanis Meet the Aawam......

It is not everyday, and everywhere that one sees the privileged interact most happily and hungrily with the average man. 

The world is sadly as polarized today as one can stand it to be. Inequality has risen to epic heights around the world. Separating people into an ugly world where the haves and have-nots live apart, with nary a care, respect, or even a thought about the other. 

And so, it should hardly be surprising that the demagoguery of the likes of Donald Trump has become de rigueur. Humans have been divided by geography not just by race and religion, but also wealth, furthering the chances of derisive division. 

If it were not bad enough that we hate the other because of race and religion, now we can also throw in fortune, both of luck and hard work, into that mix. 

Such is the ugliness that holds true, when people are separated by walls, boundaries, neighborhoods, and lack of access for those under privileged and less fortunate.

Mona Ahmed - A Classy Act, Sadly, Not Seen By Many

Mona Ahmed singing, Aao Kee Ham Tumko, Batayen Kyaa Cheez Mohabbat Hotee Hai (Come so I can tell you what love is really about) for Kaka (Sardar Mahijit Singh), Deborah (a friend visiting Delhi from Wales), Charlie and some other friends of ours. Mona Ahmed is considered one of the jewels of the Hijras of Delhi. A visit to her home is like a pilgrimage. This time around, it was late at night, after a meal in Old Delhi, and upon our arrival, we realized there was no light at her house. And that she and her gang of homeless, who she gives shelter to, were all asleep did nothing to alter our plans. Of course they woke up (such is Indian hospitality), and Mona sang a few songs for us and charmed all present.Welcome to India!