Is it all about Rainawari

"Why are you further dividing Kamal Hak, well known intellectual and writer, into the already fragmented community?" A young man, not more than thirty years old, asks me outside the regal auditorium of Sathya Sai Centre at Lodhi Road immediately connect his query to the ongoing day long Homeland Day programme being held that day at the venue and react accordingly. "How does this event divide the community?' I use an ancient debating tool of replying to a question with a counter question and soon realise the young man was referring to something else. "Oh! am not referring to this programme but am talking about the Rainawari Meet on 10 January ``''How does a get together of erstwhile Rainawarians divide the community?" I ask him. His reply genuinely not only surprises me but also alarms me on our rapidly dwindling appreciation for our past. "Kashmiri Pandits have more than 250 organisations for little over three lakh people and, you, instead of consolidating those are now dividing the community on the basis of their past localities," and before I can say anything in defence he goes on while the anger tightens the muscles on his brows and face, "you should not be doing this and if you are sincerely compelled to do it then organise a grand get together of all KPs living across NCR region and not only that of Rainawarians.

At this point let me caution my readers, the purpose of narrating the above incident or the narrative below is not about the story of the five immensely successful Rainawari Gatherings but about the great examples of keeping alive the exile consciousness and a lesson worth emulating for all with an inclination towards social service.

I didn't have to defend myself that day outside the Sathya Sai Centre. As usual, the matter was left to a non Rainawarian to handle. It always ends up the same way when this question crops up somewhere.

"Youngman, you are asking a wrong question", a gentleman listening to our conversation intervenes, ``instead of asking why are you doing it, you should be asking what is there in Rainawarians that makes them so strong in bonhomie and so resolute in mutual cooperation?" He went on, "you should be asking him how is that even after twenty six years you people still get excited with anything related to Rainawari or how is that in any huge social, religious or political gatherings Rainawarians invariably become conspicuous by automatically and unconsciously breaking the ranks and forming a separate assembly?"

Rainawarians have long enjoyed the reputation of being a united community with tremendous pride in their identity. It is also generally believed, and to a large extent correctly so, all Rainawarians know each other. They are also sensitive towards social issues and have a genetic stream of activism flowing through their veins. I am not too sure why it is so but there could be some historical reasons behind the way Rainawarians respond to social situations. Rainawari is historically a significant locality. There are at least a couple of versions about its origin, that I know, but I love to believe a legend, which associates it with the King Ranaditya. Rajtarangni credits Ranaditya with an unbelievable long span of rule over Kashmir going across three centuries. Modern historians attribute this to Kalhan's inability to fill in the gap. Nevertheless, it is an established fact Ranaditya was a great king who laid foundations of great temples including Martand, religious schools, and seminaries etc. Kalhan says, Ranaditya established a seminary on the peak of Pradyumn (modern Hari Parbat) and laid a spacious garden on the eastern side between the hill and the lake. This Ran Vatika, some call it Rajan Vatika, latter got corrupted into present Rainawari. In the modern history, Rainawari, though being adjacent to the old city with no more than a quarter of mile separating the too, was often referred to as a village. This could be because till early 20th century, the only connection Rainawari had with the rest of the city was through a network of river ways. Since, Rainawari is surrounded on three sides by water and those times, perhaps, Nalla Mar formed a hindering border on the land side of the locality it got isolated. The place then acquired its own distinct character, the traces of which are visible even now.

"Can I also join the Rainawari Gathering?" A known acquaintance calls me one night. "Yes, of course. Please register, pay your subscription and you are most welcome." I tell him. He has another question, a valid one which has been confronting us right since the 1st Rainawari Gala Gathering was organised in the year 2010,"why don't you officially throw it open for everybody?" Rainawari Gathering has never thrown it open to everybody officially. On the other hand it has never discouraged a non Rainawarian to participate in the revelry. Perhaps, understanding the concept would provide the answers as well as the learning about which talked in the beginning.

 

It all started sometime in year 2009, when two absolutely unconnected and parallel happenings started taking shape. The only thing common to the series of small unfolding thought processes was some Rainawarians being behind the both. A couple a Rainawari friends started expressing serious concerns at the shockingly low turnout of community people in protests at Janter Manter and elsewhere. They felt the absence of sizeable number of people in the rallies and protests was a reflection of serious erosion of our pain and growing insensitivity towards our exile. They felt a need of new paradigm that people could relate with and lend any gathering a critical mass. Elsewhere, a couple of other friends set up a Facebook page, enrolled erstwhile Rainawarians and named it RAINAWARI. The page soon attracted people in hoards, which lent the page an unprecedented vibrancy. The page saw some pleasant exchange of thoughts and debates. It also renewed the connections, created nostalgia, and gave birth to a longing of seeing each other in person. The RAINAWARI Facebook page also unwittingly saw the merger of two parallel streams of thoughts. An urge to reconnect socially and an experiment to collect the masses. The nature supported the merger as the historical Rainawari attitude instantly came into the play. Since then a couple of Rainawari gatherings have taken place in Jammu and five annual events have happened in Delhi NCR. And that is incredible. Here it is why?

 

Rainawari Gala Gatherings are paid events where participants are required to pay for each participating member. No receipts are ever issued as there are none. This is so because there is no organisation that organises these events. There is no coordinator. There is no managing committee. There are no books or accounts and you may be surprised, there is no 'Hisaab Kitab". No one ever asks about this. For that matter, but for a couple of people, nobody neither asks nor knows how much money is collected and how much is spent. There is no team to organise the flow of the events or menu for the day. There are hardly any glitches ever even when the budget for the programmes routinely runs over a lakh of rupees. There are no questions, no debates, and no discussions on the programme. At times a few of us may meet or simply talk over the phone occasionally to toss the ideas. There is no assignment of duties. People of their own volunteer for a task and ensure they accomplish the same There is no review before the programme and yet the events unfold with a clockwork precision. Nobody feels hurt or gets annoyed .There is no post event analysis. In fact the whole RAINAWARI programme is an antithesis of how not to organise an event. But it works Every year hundreds of Rainawarians come across from far off places, even different states, and countries, to celebrate what we lovingly call the Spirit Of Rainawari. 

 

RAINAWARI is a supreme example of faith and trust and that is why there are apprehensions A throwing it open for everyone. Every year Rainawan  wishes and hopes it inspires other equally strong Kashmir localities to organise similar events so that it eventually leads to mass movement for social integration of the community. It is a daunting task but

definitely doable. However, for the present a well known non Rainawarian personality walks up to me at the end of the latest gathering and says, "Only Rainawarians can pull it off so easily."

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are Kamal Hak   views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy: Kamal Hak   Koshur Samachar 2016, February