Riding into the sunrise There are many functions to mark New High stakes Year’s Day but probably two unique Now about the annual tonga race in which events were the Kulkuain or pigeon- participants were from Delhi, Mathura, fancying competition and the tonga race Agra, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Aligarh, from Mathura to Agra or Mathura to Firozabad and Kasganj. The stakes were Delhi. The most famous pigeon-fancier high and the winner got a hefty amount had some 2,000 pigeons, which he took and a safa or ceremonial turban tied to his from Delhi to Agra via Mathura and then head, usually by the District Magistrate or flew them in 10 lots at Akbar’s tomb in Superintendent of Police of Agra district, Sikandra, where the main Kulkulian while for the local race in Delhi this was competition took place on January 1. The generally done by the Lt-Governor amidst chaudhury of the tonga race was much applause. People lined up at the Mohammad Qureshi Pehalwan, who ran starting and ending points of the race with an eating house in the Jama Masjid area garlands and whatnot, some of them and owned several fancy racing tongas, keener than the others because of the different from the usual ones as they bets they had made-and these ran into were lighter built and could seat two thousands of rupees a long time back, persons, though a third one could also when the buying power of money was squeeze himself into it. The horse was a much more and there were no ₹2,000 and full-bred, strong and not emasculated like 500 notes. But a hundred-rupee one was the one seen in the street-run tongas and enough for a lower strata family for a ekkas. week and ₹ 1,000 more than enough for a 1 | Prepared by Team Current Affairs Review month, with rice and wheat at ₹1 a seer barely 40 miles from Agra. The first fell (flour is ₹240 for a kg now), mutton ₹130 after doing less than 25 miles and the a seer and vegetables dirt cheap other 28. Perhaps, it was too much to compared to present day prices when expect the horses to cover the distance of even potatoes cost ₹ 25-30 a kg, and 40 miles at one stretch in the heat of an onions also that much, Chana dal 4 annas October afternoon; for even though the a seer, with the one given to horses just race began early in the morning, the about an anna or two. So the tonga race horses were reported to have been racing winner became a lakhpathi in one go in for five hours. After Mathura, the next those cheaper times. stage was to have been Palwal and the By the time of the prize giving ceremony last Delhi. the crowd grew manifold, joined by those Punishing pace returning after the New Year service from The Mughal emperors used to ride the the Sikandra church, where once the 18th distance. But it was in easy stages, with Century printing press pioneer, William change of horses every few miles. The Carey worshipped and later the two many monolith Kos Minars on the Delhi- “Wolf-Boys”, rescued from the jungles of Agra road are said to have marked the Bulandshahr and Mainpuri, one of them staging points. named Dina Sanichar as he was found on a Saturday. It is said that a drummer was posted atop each monolith and would start beating his One can cover the distance between Delhi drum as soon as he saw the emperor’s and Agra on horseback no doubt if in this entourage approaching in the distance. age of cars, trains and planes one cares to. No doubt, horses were often driven hard At a leisured pace, in stages, it might even and sometimes to death then, but to ride be enjoyable if the sun is not too hot. But horses at a gruelling pace for a long to make a race of it would be killing. And stretch for no reason, except a bet is that was what it was, when two Delhi foolish and cruel. horses, one owned by the hotel owner in Jama Masjid and the other by a resident As for the pigeon-fanciers, even now in of Bazar Sita Ram, ran the course from the Walled City of Delhi there are several Agra. The bet was reported to be ₹ 10,000 mohallas where the kaboortarbaz, as they for the winner and there were are called, make the morning and evening transactions running into 10 times the ring to cries of “Aah” to call back the air- figure. borne pigeons. However, there was a time when, like the patangbaz or kite-fliers, they too went to open spaces near the Leaving the usual margin for exaggeration Yamuna bank to engage in kulkulain or common to such occasions, it was without competitions after feeding coarse grain to doubt a heavy wager. But nobody seemed their flocks. Now, because of to have reckoned the odds. The horses, encroachments on the river bank and beautiful specimens both, died before consequent lack of space, the pigeon- covering even the first stage to Mathura, fanciers compete only from their 2 | Prepared by Team Current Affairs Review rooftops. There’s even a Kabootar Bazar recognise the breed of a passing-by where pigeons are sold and exchanged. pigeon by just examining its droppings. Hafiz Mian was a great kabootarbaz in the Dennis Bhai had greenish eyes, just like last century and his main rival was Deen some of his pigeons, and when he married Badshah. Each of them had pigeons, both he found a Muslim girl with the same kind of Indian and foreign breed. There were of eyes, making a friend remark, ‘Wah Russian, Turkish, Afghan and Burmese, Dennis, dulhan bhi khoob chuni hai. and some other South Asian breeds, and Aankh se aankh mila di,’ (Bravo, you have of course, those from all over India. Their found a bride with matching eyes). Dennis cost even then was great, with the Bhai is dead but his dulhan, Kesar still acrobatic Lotan kabootar occupying place survives as a tall, fair, slim pretty lady of pride in the kabootar-khana or specially ageing with grace, whose eyes glow with built wood and wire mesh cages, with excitement whenever she sees a flock of pigeon-holes for the birds to roost. The pigeons darting across the sky to the greybaz was also a highly prized bird like frenzied whistling of a rival kabootarbaz. the Kabuli. Dennis Bhai’s old father, Elias Source: http://bit.ly/2TNUowb Sahib used to say that his son could Moving recitals at Urs Such as Christmas comes every year Baghdadi (Raz), the 31st descendant of coinciding with the music season in Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the 19th Chennai, the second Urs of Qutubul descendant of Baghdad’s patron saint Akhtab Hazrath Hafiz Syed Habeeb Hazrath Abdul Khader Jeelani (Father of Mohammed Hasan Moulana Khadiri 3 | Prepared by Team Current Affairs Review Khadiri order and leader of Aulias), was but following a rhyme pattern, both held at the Dargah on December 13. subtle and smooth, this poem is a As the ancient clock at the heritage masterpiece in Arabic literature. Joining structure struck 10, H.Habibullah Shah, the chorus was Dr. Mohammed Sajjad-e-Nasheen and Muthavalli began Salahuddin Ayub, the Chief Khazi to the the proceedings with zikhr majlis. The Government of Tamil Nadu, who was names of Allah were chanted and soon among the ulemas and dignitaries who the congregation joined in the recital of attended the Urs. poems and hymns in praise of Prophet The traditional flag hoisting ceremony, Mohammed. Childhood friends Afzal Bijli, which marks the beginning of the Urs was Tahir, Ameen, Yousuf Qureishi and held on December 8. H. Habibullah Shah, Samiullah rendered the salaam (salutation who authored the biography of the saint to the Prophet). (Hayat-e-Qalandari), said, “The sufi saint, In this age of technological revolution, it who was born in Baghdad came to was heartwarming to see the oral culture Hyderabad to propagate the spiritual being preserved through the recitals of aspects of Islam. Having gained training Qasidas (Burdah and Ghousiya). The from his mentor, Hazrath Syed Saleh beauty of Qasida Burdah, a poem written Maulana Madani of Colombo, he was by Imam Busiri in praise of Prophet conferred Qutubiath (highest order in Mohammed, is that each verse ends with Islamic spiritualism). Spreading the Arabic alphabet mim in a style called message of peace and love, the saint was mimiya. revered by the people of Chennai in general and the locals of Mannady in On the other hand, Qasida Ghousiya particular.” establishes a spiritual connection between the reciter and Hazrath Abdul Khader Source: http://bit.ly/2RO6xPr Jeelani (a gifted saint crowned with the crown of perfection). Longer than a ghazal 2 | Prepared by Team Current Affairs Review Find the missing ‘you’ A mudra is a kind of “seal” in that its So what did the sages understand from this purpose is to seal a thought in our mind. simple mudra? The index finger is the Yoga mudra is also called cin mudra or individual — the self or the ego. The thumb jnana mudra. There is a well-known story is the Divine. The other three fingers are the behind this mudra. Siva, representing the three qualities of the mind and nature Divine, once took the form of a boy of (sattva, rajas and tamas). When the mind sixteen.