Bhagat Kanwar Ram's anniversary: 5000 lamps (ddiiaa) to be lit

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

Bhagat Kanwar Ram's anniversary: 5000 traditional Sindhi lamps
(ddiiaa) will be lit at Ruku Railway Station and sufi singers will
give a musical tributes at the spot where the Saint was martyred.

(For my tribute to the Santu (saint), and information about the Saint,
please see earlier posting

yangtze.cs.uiuc.edu/~jamali/sindh/sindh-l/archive/her/msg00415.html
)

From: Javed Qazi
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 12:10:26 -0700 (PDT

The day is getting closer, the 4th November on which he was murdered
almost 67 years back, at Ruk Station.  Sindh has woken up to remember
their heroes, those who said us that God is one and is for every one,
those who taught us love and peace, those who fought for peace and
just.....

On this 4th November there will be first time ever a candle light
vigil at Ruk Station and we all will wake all the night to pay a
tribute to this great martyr at Ruk Station, I in my humble capacity
will also deliver a sermon on Bhagahti and Sufi movement and how
important it is for us that to hold that torch.....

Please you all come forward to contribute in this great event. Your
paying a cost of one deeaa that is Rs.10 is worth thousands of
Deeaa. So please come forward. ..

There will be sufi music arrangements at Ruk Station.  We have that
shepherd boy, who has now turned a very old man who heard the shots of
assailants and saw the body of Bhagaht Kanwar over the Ruk Satation
platform.  He will spot that place and narrate that whole seen:

"Moon see Ditho Maau Jin Ditho Preean(a) khay"
[I saw those, O Mother!  who have seen the Divine]

javed Qazi
         **************

From: Gul Agha <gul.agha@gmail.com>

I will be glad to register my support.

Please see if it is possible to use traditional ddiia (rather than
mass produced candles), and then they can be donated to the needy in
areas they still use the ddiaa.
         ************************

>From: javed qazi <javedqazi68@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 17:10:39 -0700 (PDT)

Saeen Gul Agha,

highly thanks for your very immediate and a positive note. please rest
assure the ddiia will be traditional and indeed will be donated as you
sugest. i will request to friends that they should quickly respond
since we have hardy two weeks left.

javed
        ***********************

>From: hotumalani das ghansham <hotumalanighansham@rediffmail.com>
To: javedqazi68@yahoo.com, sindhyana@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Amar Shaheed Sant  [Immortal Martyr Saint]  Kanwar Ram

Dear Javed!

First of all accepts heartiest sentiments from a Sindhi -in-exile, on
remembering Amar Shaheed Sant Kanwar Ram in such a great way. I think
Bhagat Sahib, as sant Kanwar Ram was called by his beloved disciples,
deserve more not in Sindh, but all over the Indo-Pak subcontinent, as
a vocal and practical propagator of centuries-old humanist Sindhi
traditions of universal brotherhood, patience, peace and cooperation.

You maybe knowing that my grandfather late Shri Hotumal was among one
of those disciples.  Not only generosity but humbleness and humility
of *Amar Shaheed Sant Kanwar Ram* was also exemplary. He would start
his letter with *ghulam Kanwar ji wachani* and end with *daasu
Kanwar*.  He would call his disciples piyaarra and saeen sanwariya. I
am fortunate to have original copy one of those letters in my custody.
           **********************************

>From: Dr. Ahmad Bhutto <ahmad_bhutto@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: sindhyana@yahoogroups.com

My tributes to Saeen Bhagat Kanwar ram, and Salutaions to you Javed
for engaging yourself in this noble cause. Please send us the contact
info for my contribution.

God bless you
           ****************************

From: Suraiya Makhdoom <smakhdoom3@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:59:07 +0100 (BST)

Dear friends,

I applaud Javed Kazi's initiative to celebrate the life and works of
our great artist/hero, Bhagat Kanwar Ram.  From UK, Dr Haleem Bhatti
and myself are donating £10.00 each, which will make about 2,000 Rs.
Javed can buy ddeeas or anything else for the Project.  If Javed
e-mails me his bank details, i.e., Account No, Bank Code, the money
will be in his Account before 4th Nov. I would also like to announce
that Dr Bhatti and myself will contribute each year: indeed at least
£15.00 each next year, maybe more.  For the next year, I will also try
to find some more donors.

Now I would like to put forward some suggestions for this venture:

Bhaghat Kanwar Trust should be established with the remit to:

1.  Organize this event every year. We agree with Gul Agha that after
the ceremony, the ddia should be give to the needy people and the
shrines, such as, Uddero Lal's shrine as they traditionally light the
'ddiaa'.

2.  People should be encouraged to give yearly donations to the
Trust.  Dr Bhatti and myself have already committed do so.

3. Music at Ruku station should include Bhagat Kanwar’s kalams.  Abida
sings Bhaghat's two kalams very beautifully, which are:

*Nale Alakha je

*Keenyan reejhaayaan tokhe

Other singers too have done so. Music programme should also be an
annual feature on 4th Nov. The Trust can then sell the
tapes/CDs/Videos of the programme music. We will definitely buy the
same.

4.  Place Bhaghat's music tapes/CDs/record on display/sale:
Insititute of Sindhology Sindh and India have produced beautiful
tapes/CDs.

5. Bhaghat Kanwar Trust should commission the Bhaghat's biography.

6.  Speeches too should be an annual feature:
Writers/researchers/music experts/lover, etc should be invited to
present their views.

Suraiya.
             **************************

From: javed qazi <javedqazi68@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:41:04 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Those who shown interest in the Bhaghat Kanwar's death anniversary

Friends,

I agree with Surriya Makhdoom that we should create academy/fund or
foundation on the name of Bhaghat Kanwar. Soon after this 4th
Nov. program at Ruk, we shall take some efforts in this respect. This
is just the beggeing it will be great festival tomorrow irrespective
of cast creed and religion and that was precisely the message of our
Bhagaht Kanwar.

Let me mention those who endorsed to this noble cause and have
contributed or contributing:

Takhleeq foundation or Mr Yaqoob has been extraordinarily with me in
this thick and thin, the chief executive of daily Halchal Mr. Younis
Mehar, Sindh TV and Dr. Karim Rajpar, my sweet friend Imdad
Soomro, Zulifqar halepoto, Jami chandio, the friends like Sattar
Zangejo, Shabir Bhutto from sukkur, my friend and singer Hanif Lashari
and his team (who will sing without getting any penny from us) and
also the faqirs of Baidal Baikas Dargah of Rohri, our repected adi
Surriya and Dr. Bhatti, and Rafiq Mangi, my friend Lala Rehman, and
yes without mentioning the name of Saeen Gul Agha it is all
incomplete.

And there are writers like, Agha Salim, Saeen Sarki, Tajal baiwas,
Hidayat Baloch, Ghaffar Tabasum, Sami Baloch, Aijaz qureshi, Mushtaq
Meerani, who will go with us at Ruk and contribute in the payment to
air-conditioned coach that we have booked from Karachi, which will
also take us back to Karachi.

I am thankful of Shaeema Kiramani that she most probably will go with
us and perform a street theator.

And there are many others which I will let you all know after 4th

And most of all I am thankful of Uzair Soomro who is resident of Ruk,
he has done a tremendous job for me.  From getting permission of
Railways to many many small and yet very important things in the
process, and even contributing a good some amount.

We have ordered almost 5000 thousand earthen lampr (ddiiaa).

Those friends who want to contribute as Surriya Makhdoom asked my
Account no. it is PLS A/c No 2476 IDBP main Branch Karachi.

After program I will make the whole list of expenses and the fund
generated so that every thing should be transparent to we all.

This is highly noble cause. And it is very encouraging to see the
people responded to my call despite being too different in our
perception but for us all the moot point is Sindh and the peace in
subcontinent.

god bless you all
             **********************************

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto <zhalepoto@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 02:50:36 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Javed,

I am happy that the idea you have been talking since weeks, to pay
reverence to Kanwar Bhagat and RUK STATION is now materialized. You
are a restless soul and Sindh needs folks like you so that Sindh shall
survive its very cultural values, indigenous ideals and legends.

I already informed you that unfortunately I will be out of Pakistan
during these days but my full support is to you for this magnificent
duty/cause. I feel proud to offer 50 DEAS from me and 50 from Munaiza;
I hope the light of these DEAS will provide us the hope that Sindh is
a land of secular, liberal and democratic people

I also feel delighted to offer 50 DEAS from my lovely two year son
Saif-ul-Zulfiqar, I hope the sparkling light of the DEAS of his share
will bestow to him the inspiration that Sindh is a land to be lived
and loved.

Wishing you a very great levitate and a successful dawn on the next
day at RUK STATION

Cheers

Zulfi