Title: The Coming [Mehndi]
War
Author: Subhash Kak
Publication: Kendra
Date: February 9, 2000
Note: the words in square
brackets, [ ], are to be italicized.
We see the beginnings
of a new culture war in Pakistan. The first skirmish in this
conflict is the demand to ban the festival of [Basant], or Vasant.
An old sub-continental tradition, it celebrates the onset of spring with
kite-flying and other festivities. Much ingenuity goes into the design
of the kite and the string, to give it strength and agility to capture
other kites. The string is soaked in special compounds so that it
is able to slice other strings. When a kite falls, a great cry of
[Bo kataa] goes up from the rooftops.
I lived a few years of
my childhood in Jammu, where Vasant was celebrated with great gusto.
Some of my most magical memories of that period relate to the kite-battles
of Vasant. My father grew up in Kapurthala and went to college in Lahore
and he had done a lot of kit-flying in his youth, so he was keen I should
get an experience of Vasant madness!
When India was partitioned,
most Pakistanis abandoned the Vasant festivities as a relic of the Hindu
past. But over the years the memories of the festival have returned, and
in Lahore and elsewhere celebrations have resumed. But not everyone is
pleased.
Writing for a ban on
the festival in a Pakistani newspaper, Professor Anis Ahmad says that
``it helps in creating conditions where men and women can intermingle
indiscriminately while flying kites, by shouting [Bo Kataa] and by
singing suggestive songs, provoking sexual emotions among youth, and
ultimately promoting a promiscuous society.'' He reminds us that Pakistan
must be different from India in culture, values, vision of
life, concept of space and time, art and literature.
This carping about Vasant
is a small element of a much larger turning away from things which are
Indian or Persian in language or culture. For example, [Khuda], God, is
a Persian word of pagan conception, so some Pakistanis want it replaced
in the popular greeting of [Khuda-hafiz] by [Allah-Hafiz]. Etymologically,
[Khuda] or Avestan [Kshvataa] is related to the Sanskrit root [kshi-],
which means ``to rule'', from which is derived [kshatriya].
Thankfully, this struggle
over language or kite-flying excites only sections of the public. Some
disapprove of kite-flying because it leads to accidents. And not all Pakistanis
are aware that [Khuda] is a pagan word, just as they are not aware that
[wah-wah] of the [mehfils] is a remembrance of the [svaha-svaha] of the
Vedic ritual.
But [mehndi], or henna,
is something else. It is used as an integral part of the marriage celebration.
On [mehndiraat], women sketch intricate designs on the hands and feet of
the bride and the groom for good luck and then dance around them. This
ceremony is performed the same way by most groups in the Indian sub-continent.
Although it has been
long known that the use of [mehndi] is Hindu in origin, it is only recently
that Pakistanis have realized its deep religious connections.
The word [mehndi] is
from the Sanskrit [mehaghni], which is also a synonym for turmeric (more
commonly [haridra] in Sanskrit). The use of [mehndi]-- and turmeric--
is described in the Vedic books for a painting on hands and feet of the
outer and the inner suns. Vedic customs are meant to awaken the spirit
and so the gold of [mehndi] is the medium to tell a deeper story,
symbolically. A traditional [mehndi] design shows the sun on the palm,
which in this context represents the mind. Other designs are more
abstract, like yogic yantras. The [mehndiraat] songs speak of the mystical
power of [mehndi].
In many ways, [mehndiraat]
is the quintessential marriage ceremony for women because, traditionally,
they didn't accompany the [baraat] to the bride's house. When the
marriage took place the following day, not all the women relatives were
expected to be present. But this didn't matter as they had had their celebration
with dancing and singing. The ceremonial use of [mehndi]-- its pageantry
and religious connection to the Vedas-- is redolent of Hinduism's hoary
past and one of the symbols of Indian cultural unity.
The use of [mehndi] has
recently become popular in the West. As an icon of the world-triumphing
American pop-culture, its use for personal decoration is spreading everywhere.
Pakistanis are prepared
to play the [firangi] game of cricket because it is considered an activity
without any esoteric meaning. It is not viewed connected to Christianity
in the same manner that kite-flying at Vasant is seen a part of a ``Hindu''
activity. Ultimately, Pakistanis may even fly kites, but there
is general agreement that a line should be drawn at things that smack of
another religion.
Dean Swift in [Gulliver's
Travels] tells us how the Lilliputian fought an epic war about whether
eggs should be broken at the small end or the large end. The Pakistani
conflict may appear to be similarly trivial, but it will be fought with
the same intensity.
As the Hindu basis of
the use of [mehndi] becomes widely known, clerics will denounce it
strongly. Certainly, the homage to the inner sun that the use of [mehndi]
represents will not be tolerated. But are Pakistani women prepared to give
up a custom that has been a part of their collective memory for generations?
Will they give up an old practice that is being embraced by MTV and Hollywood?
(Subhash Kak is a professor
at Louisiana State University. He is the author of several books including
``The Secrets of Ishbar''.)
