LUCKNOW: Allahabad is called Sangam not just for being the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, but also for the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb that it embodies, even in these times of rapid polarisation on religious grounds in Uttar Pradesh.
For the uninitiated, Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb is a cultural fusion of Hindu and Muslim elements, intrinsic to this part of the country. And, there is no better person to explain this than Anand Gupta, whose family is a living embodiment of this unique culture of peaceful co-existence and tolerance.The Gupta family holds a ‘majlis’ (gathering) of Muslim mourners for the first ten days of the month of Muharram at his house in Gud Mandi area of Allahabad.
They have been doing this for the last three generations, just to keep a promise made to the Muslim family which sold Anand’s grandfather Ram Murti Gupta their house before migrating to Pakistan after Partition.
“It’s the sangam (fusion) of two cultures and a legacy being carried forward from one generation to the other as a mark of love and amity. When the family was leaving, they made my grandfather promise that he would hold a majlis for the first ten days of the month of Muharram. My grandfather gave his word. It was a promise made decades ago and we are still keeping it as a commitment to our way of life in this holy city,” Anand told TSS.
The Gupta family and some of their neighbours make all preparations for Muharram with full devotion. “The women of my family and several Muslims and Hindus from the locality join the mourning on the 8th day of Muharram,” Anand said.
People from this Hindu-dominated locality contribute to upholding this long-standing tradition.“Not just the Hindu women, but the children also, come daily to clean the place, attend the majlis and listen to the story about the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. ‘Matam’ (mourning) is also performed by the participants,” he said. “Although, I don’t remember names of all the members of the Muslim family, we have named the locality after the head of that family as ‘Mir Kasim kaa haata’.”
The Guptas and the entire locality bear the expense of the majlis. “As we have to offer ‘Tabarruk’ (prasad), several people of the locality pool in various items,” Gupta said.Sahid Ali, a resident from the neighbouring Daira Shah Ajmal locality vouches for this. “We have been attending the majlis at the house of the Guptas for the last 30 years. They make all the arrangements as per Muslim traditions and have been observing the occasion with no lesser dedication, devotion and piety than Muslims,” he said.