Lalla Ded - Meri Dreshti Mai By Prof. M. L. Koul 

Date:- 31/08/2023

Lalla Ded - "Meri Dreshti Mai" By Prof. M. L. Koul 

The Martand

Reviewer: Bilhan Kaul

Lal Ded, as we know, was controversial in life and she still remains 650 years after her death. She was controversial during her life time and she challenged several established cannons of social norms but the legacy she has left behind has been fractured and distorted from time to time.

Bimla Raina, a poetess, wrote a book in Hindi "Lal-Ded Meri Dreshti mai". In the book she claimed that Lal Vakhs handed to us are not in original state. Therefore, she proceeds to hack them and add her own words. But even a casual reader will tell that Bimla Raina's tinkering with vakhs are not convincing. Prof. M. L. Koul has answered her in "Lalla Ded Meri Dreshti mai" A critique. Prof. M. L. Koul gives cogent arguments why Bimla Raina has neediessly fiddled with vakhs.

The book begins with "possibilities of Lalla Ded reconstruction" chapter. in the chapter Prof. Koul stresses that all is not well with all the vakhs of Lalla Ded but at the same time tells us that "Despite ravages wrought by time and transmission from generation to generation, Lalla Ded vakhs in Dr. Grierson's collection do have a semblance of pristinely in word, phrase and form". In the same chapter Prof. Koul makes us to ponder why have Lalla-ded Vakhs stood the fury and flux of time and Nund Rishi Shrukhs have suffered a chemical transformation. Politics and religious intolerance are the prime causes, he suggests.

Prof. Koul sharply attacks Bimla Raina in his 2nd Chapter and calls her a poet of fantasy. Prof. Koul is not unconvincing in his attack. It is true that poet has to convey the realism and should be contemporary That is very important because poetry should be about flesh and blood and not hanker after some nondescript mystical experiences. Mrs. Raina has religiously in her two books tried to be clone of Lal Ded. In the third chapter "Lalla Ded Meri Dreshti Mai" Prof. Koul disagrees with Bimla Raina on viewing her beyond the parameters of "Panth" and Jati. However, there is nothing wrong in viewing it beyond the parameters of caste. But as Prof. Koul suggests there is political fallout in doing so and political capital to be made out by distorting her identity.

Prof. Koul talks about seventy nine vakhs Handled and mishandled by Bimla Raina. He launches into diatribe against Bimla Raina for distorting the vakhs and charges her not being conversant with Shaiva World View.

Chapter 4 is titled sample survey of Bimla Raina's fiddling’s. It objects for replacing Aamipana with Ompana and thus mutilating the whole vakh and then replacing the word Jin with "Yazi" in the vakh "Shiva vakeshva va jinva...." Prof. Koul argues that Jin is a name given to Lord Buddha.

Anybody can understand when Prof. Koul finds Vachun replaced with Vakhchun in the vakh "Goran kunnuy Vachun. and also replacement of Nanguy nachun with "Nihanguy nachun". Prof. Koul is again critical for replacing the word Divar vata by Dehvarvata and then hacking "Hoota Bata" to "Hyata ba hatha" The author says it is a word Jugglery.

Bimla Raina has changed the expression of VAAKH LALLA BA DRAWYAS LOLRE......... by changing DRAWYAS into Bodhi ayas and Prof. Koul charges her for changing lyrical expression into non lyrical one. I have attempted to give glimpse of Bimla Raina's word fiddling which has been answered by Prof. Koul, a professor of literature, with cogent reasons.

It is clear that Mrs. Bimla Raina has much to answer for and will find it difficult to defend herself reasonably. For, as I have said before, even an amateur reader of Lal Vakhs will feel that most of the changes are not unnecessary and what is more they do gel with Vakhs and because of them vakhs look totally alien. To her credit, Bimla Raina has attempted to argue scholarly in her book but that still has come to cropper.

It will be not out of place to mention that those Brahmins who memorized her Vakhs were highly superstitious and they thought it their divine duty to memorize the Vakhs in correct form. They took lot of pains in transferring from generation to generation every single line and every single word. Anybody who has knowledge of ancient Brahamanical practices knows this. Hence it is unlikely that Lalla Ded Vakhs came to us in distorted form. Besides, had they come to us in distorted form she could not have remained a world class poet. Because the hacker should be on par in his or her abilities with Lal Ded. It seems unlikely. It is also to be stressed that top class poetry is all action, thought or ideology is also important but takes a back stage behind feelings and lyricism. Lal Ded wrote poetry in a fit of ecstasy tampered with cool mind. Lal Ded was discriminated in her life and she answers and expresses herself in top class poetry which in Kashmiri can be translated as "Rath myon kangar vuch myan dhav".

Prof. Koul's book is of 57 pages with no price tag attached to it nor is publisher's name mentioned. The booklet is a useful addition in understanding Lal Vakh's more precisely. Prof. Koul has taken pains in making us understand where Bimla Raina has erred. And according to Prof. Koul she has erred badly.

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article.

Courtesy: The Martand- The Official organ of All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference: 31st August, 2009