My God, Your God

The noted communist historian Hiren Mukherjee had said that in the last 200 years India has not produced a single outstanding atheist: the point being that religion was so ingrained in the Indian psyche that Indians cannot think outside its framework. As communal violence rears its ugly head around the country ranging from Orissa to Karnataka to Kashmir the truth in these words ring true.

Before we analyze the communal problem it should be noted that India/Indians should get credit for creating the most secular environment in the world which allows all the major religions in the world to co-exist peacefully. A similar experiment in Yugoslavia failed miserably even though it was fraction the size of India. But in spite of this what is the reason for the occasional communal flaring?

Communalism has to be analysed in three dimensions - religious, social and economic. Each of these dimensions act and react upon each other. Lets take a look at the religious dimension. There is a minute clique in each religion that has a perverse sense of religious superiority which give rise to proselytizing tendencies. Its almost like a 'My-God-Your-God' attitude that disturbs the prevalent peace. Such a fringe is sidelined normally by better-minded secular people of that religion. However when religious sentiments are incited this fringe takes control and acts as a self appointed guardian of the community and the masses sway in their direction. This is true of all communities.

Even social structure plays a role. If one community is aggrieved by the social imbalance that leads to another community progressing ahead of them it acts as a catalyst when religious sentiments are incited. Here the root cause of the social imbalance is the culprit but religion falls prey and becomes an excuse. Similar is the case with the economic disposition of communities where an essentially rich - poor problem gets a communal hue. In both these cases religion is hi-jacked by various socio-economic problems and misused. This causes communal disharmony in the society.

Among the three the religious dimension is the most crucial and dangerous. The religious dimension creates a schism which is broken open by the other two. In absence of this aspect the other two become powerless and get decoupled from religion. So if this is taken care then communalism can be greatly reduced. But how can it be done?

Its not easy as the noted historian's quote suggest religion is so ingrained in us that we cannot think beyond it. Hence a total 'ban' on religion will only aggravate the passions. A better but painstaking approach would be to inculcate the habit of treating all religions on par and thinking each one as a product of its time and an interpretation of how to lead a good life. The responsibility for doing this lies on each family as it does on the government of the day and the communities themselves. This is nothing new, India has been doing this for thousands of years.

When each one of us starts to see all religions in the same mirror then we will not succumb to any communal incitement. As Vivekananda told 'Each hindu should be a good hindu, each muslim should be a good muslim, each christian should be a good christian'. If this is followed rather than playing a 'My-God-Your-God' game peaceful times await us. Will it happen. Let's hope so.

Fantastic Five : Top Actor - Singer Pairs

Hindi Films and their songs have been an integral part of modern Indian society. Indeed they form an important glue in joining the fabric of Indian society. There is one phenomenon which is peculiar to Indian film songs which is the fact that the singer and actor emoting the song could be different persons hence giving rise to the concept of the playback singer. Though this is prevelant in other societies too its all pervasive in the Indian context. And this has always fascinated me, as to how a voice matches a face so exactly, so much so that you percieve it to be the same person. In this edition of Fantastic Five' I profile five Actor-Singer pairs which best exemplifies this fact. So here goes...

1. Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar
Legend goes that when Kishore kumar crooned 'Mere sapno ki rani' in Aradhana for Rajesh khanna people believed that Rajesh khanna was indeed singing it himself. That was the kind of face-to-voice rapport this pair had. No single Actor-Singer pair in hindi films before or since has been so prolific and they deserve the top billing. The number of solo hits given by this pair is endless covering all moods and situations. From the happy-go-luck 'Jai Jai Shiv Shankar' to the melancholic 'Chingari koi bhadke' this pair had everything. Their careers also coincided with that of genial RD Burman who composed hit after hit to form somewhat of a holy trinity. Though the partnership lasted for a short while during the haydays of rajesh khanna's superstardom they gave memorable hits.

2. Shammi Kapoor and Mohd. Rafi
The tough part in choosing a face for Rafi was that he sang so brilliantly for all of them, imbibing their characteristics when rendering the songs. In an era when Rafi sang for everyone and everybody - from comedians to heroes , such was his versatility, Shammi Kapoor was the one actor he had the most hits with. In fact if it was Shammi on screen it had to be Rafi behind the mike, such was their chemistry. Probably it will be a good quiz question to ask some one to sing a Shammi kappor song not sung by rafi! The songs are plentiful with personal favourites being 'Tum mujhe yun bhula na paogi' and 'Asman se aaya farishtha' among others. A truly memorable pair.

3. Raj Kapoor and Mukesh
Mukesh was the third of the triumvirate that ruled hindi film music from the 50s - 70s. And where would Raj kapoor be without Mukesh? The question can be posed the other way round too such was their combination. Indeed they shared a great off-screen rapport too. So much so that when mukesh died raj kapoor reportedly said he had lost his soul and never acted in a film thereafter. The chemistry was so strong that its hard to imagine a Raj kapoor song without mukesh. Similar to the Rajesh khanna - Kishore - RD combo Mukesh and Raj kapoor had a very successful combination with music directors Shankar-Jaikishan. Starting from 'Dum dum diga diga' to 'Jeena yaha, marna yaha' they created some ever green melodies.

4. Amitabh Bachchan and Kishore Kumar
After the Rajesh khanna era the hindi filmdom got a new superstar in Amitabh Bachchan. Kishore kumar with his natural baritone voice was the automatic choice for him. Though this pair was not as prolific a the previous combination, they gave some awesome hits. The point to be observed is how Kishore kumar adapted to Amitabh's on screen persona and sang his songs so beutifully. Though Rafi and Mukesh sang a few of Amitabh's songs kishore was the main singer for Amitabh untill his death in 1987. The songs that one recollects instantly are 'Khai ke Paan Banaras wala' and 'My name is Antony Gonzalves' and many others.

5. Salman Khan and SP Balasubramanium
This was the most unliklyest of combinations. A typical south Indian singing for a muslim pathan. It was the most disparate combination one could have come up with. But it worked. At a time when SPB was singing only for sothern exports such as Kamal Hasan and Rajnikanth music directors Ram-Lakshman took a gamble and made him sing for Salman in 'Maine Pyar Kiya'. What resulted was celuloid magic and it lasted for a better part of a decade before Salman started drifting to other singers and SPB became busy down south. But the time they lasted it looked as if they were made for each other. SOngs such as 'Dil deewana' , 'Bohoth pyar kar the hai' and 'Didi tera devar divana' spring to mind instantly and make you wonder why they are not at it nowadays.