Jalandhar’s pride that ends in prejudice
Taking pride in one’s birthplace is neither hubris nor arrogance. It also does not amount to embarking upon an ego-trip; rather it is a natural and lovely feeling. A place acquires uniqueness by virtue of giving birth to those who made their mark in enriching mankind, one way or the other.
Whenever I hear Malika Pukhraj sing ‘Abhi tau main jawan hun’ my pride in my city, Jalandhar, starts swelling in my chest because it was poet Hafeez Jalandhari who wrote this immortal poem. Born in 1901, he started writing at the age of 11. He was a poet of love and longing who wrote, ‘Agar yeh mere bas ki baat hoti, Hamesha wasal hi ki raat hoti (Had it been within my powers, every night would have been night of celebrating togetherness)’. Yet, he was a staunch nationalist who took part in the freedom struggle too. After Partition, he migrated to Pakistan and there also he earned respect by writing the national song of that country.
My pride raises its head again when I remember, how during the ‘80s, Radio Ceylon used to play daily a song sung by Kundan Lal Saigal at 8am at which time my car entered the factory gate and the security guard used to salute and smile at the same time, knowing fully well my craze for the singer.
Saigal was a legend and used to live in an adjoining locality in the heart of the city, albeit in a different time zone. It was a great feeling to know that my class fellow Vinay was closely related to him and he still lived in their ancestral home.
Though I didn’t know the house in Gobindgarh Mohalla where the family of film-makers BR Chopra and Yash Chopra lived, yet it was the area which gave me shelter after I ran away from home to marry the girl of my choice. The gurdwara of that area helped us tie the knot in true filmy style. The unfortunate part is that whereas in the West places connected with such legends are preserved as museums, we can’t even locate their exact origins.
The acme of pride issues from the fact that Swami Hariballabh,
the legendary musician, also belonged to Jalandhar. The annual Hariballabh music festival is the oldest such event being held for the past 143 years in his memory at the same venue in December. People keep sitting in biting cold, wrapped in blankets and quilts, listening to the artists, night after night. It has always been the dream of upcoming vocalists and instrumentalists to perform in this musical soiree to give a fillip to their careers.
The pride in the city does not pale here. When you think of literature, how can you forget the names of bigwigs such as Hindi novelist Upender Nath Ashq and playwright Mohan Rakesh? Rakesh, though born in Amritsar, lived in Jalandhar for most part of his life.
Talking of politics, at least one Prime Minister, IK Gujral, made Jalandhar proud.
Having waxed eloquent so far let me be honest and not hide the flip side. After all, everything cannot be hunkydory when it comes to an old city like Jalandhar. The name of the city itself springs from the mythological demon named Jalandhar, the emperor of Asuras (demons). I’m also not forgetting here that Pakistan’s ex-dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, who hanged the democratically elected prime minister ZA Bhutto. The general was born in Jalandhar.
My father used to tell that his haveli was just outside our street, from where we passed daily while going to the market.
However, despite the flip side, I love my city.
KL SAIGAL USED TO LIVE IN AN ADJOINING LOCALITY, ALBEIT IN A DIFFERENT TIME ZONE