Qamar Dagar
Although I keep talking about Baba endlessly, now that I am writing about him, I do not know where to start.
Hazrat Amir Abdullah Khan, popularly known as Mastaan Baba was a Sufi (mystic), a master calligrapher, a unique mentor, a connoisseur of the arts especially poetry and Sufi music Qawwali, Dhrupad as well. He was a father figure to me as also to almost my entire family.
Listening to Qawwali was a way for him to remember his lord, to meditate. What a beautiful, sublime moment it was to watch him soak in complete abandon, in prayer just as during namaaz, this is expected of one to visualize Allah in front.
And those who truly believe, love Allah intensely (Al-Bakra 165).
Or his love of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) made him hear this qawwali often. Simplicity in all its splendor and power was compelling even for those who did not know or understand anything about the literature, music, or Sufism.
One plateful of nourishment! One multi-layered couplet, recited, sung simply, followed by others, mostly provided by Baba, on the same spirit and theme, like one seemingly simple musical note that carries with it an entire universe or, (as also I was to understand later), a calligraphic stroke as one entire lifetime, an interplay of dark and light, opaque and transparent, confusion to clarity, as in the profusion of substance that reveals itself gradually as one tries to understand life itself. Pulsating with faith and surrender to Allah Almighty!
It was an ex
perience!
He never imposed his thoughts or will on anyone but influenced the lives of those around him in a gentle and extremely endearing way.
Children held a special place in his heart. He would cook a kind of porridge every Thursday evening to distribute among poor children. No adult was allowed to eat from that dish.
He had a childlike chuckle when watching movies, playing Carrom board, Scrabble, or Ludo with us, when we were young children and even until his passing away in the year 2005. He had a way of Indulging with children as also with those who he thought were worthy of his pearls of wisdom. They were also, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds that were life-altering. No one could remain untouched by his generosity, love, and unique way of involving people, to get them on the right path.
What do I say about calligraphy? To watch him creating those masterpieces was meditation. An experience beyond words!! While creating Tughras, he would give this work to one he thought would know the exact size and numbers of circles. Amazingly this process took longer than calligraphy. Then Baba would take over. In 45 minutes flat, sometimes in much less time, he would transform blank white sheets into magnificent artworks, so exquisitely unique to him!
As for my learning, watching, observing, writing, reading peacefully as instructed were all part of the curriculum. I remember getting gently hit by him on my knuckles for not holding the qalam right. He taught me, that the value and quality of one’s work is enhanced when done at the time it appears in their imagination when one is reflecting.
What left me awe-struck was the amazing way he would write the abjad (consonants) first, the harkaat (vowels) later with equal speed if not faster, the precision, perfection, skill, beauty, mastery over the text were all on majestic display meant only for a few fortunate ones to look in wonderment.
Looking back, the most striking thing about Baba was his boundless compassion and endless patience. Everyone came with some request, query, something they wanted from him, from a Taveez (amulet) to dua, to unreasonable demands to write the Tughra immediately, etc. Baba would indulge them all, sharing endless cups of tea and food as well.
Memory takes me back to one personal experience. Some years ago, I was invited to the Sufi Rang festival in Ajmer Sharif for the annual calligraphy exhibition. Although I had written some Asma-e-Husna (99 magnificent names of Allah), I was keen to write Ya Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s (RA) for the occasion. Try as I might, nothing that I could take to him as an offering was revealing itself. It was uninspiring, ordinary and less, how could I make my offering to Ghareeb Nawaz. As I come from a busy household, it is often a challenge to find a quiet place. Our parents taught us to understand this aspect and find peace wherever else or within, so less agitation and demand meant a greater urge to look for that space. This comes in handy even now. I am basically accustomed to it but even then, sometimes it just doesn’t work.
Suddenly it dawned on me that I must visit Baba’s bazaar which is right in the midst of the over-crowded, loud, and chaotic Delhi-Jaipur highway.
There are fewer places as peaceful as this one that I know. I feel only Baba could have created this sense of peace in such chaos.
It was a spontaneous decision as if I had received a call. Around 9.30 pm, my house was packed with family and friends, I asked my brother to take me there along with some other young and enthusiastic Baba followers for this out of the blue picnic. After all, this is one thing we have learned from him, “To enjoy, revel in seemingly simple moments and acknowledge them”.
As if with a magic wand, Baba’s grace was revealed to me in full glory. I had been struggling for weeks, drawing a blank, but here I got into the rhythm almost instantly, but certainly not before I had sincerely prayed, apologized, and requested Baba. I managed to create Ya Ghareeb Nawaz, quite close to the way I had imagined it.
I felt an intense sense of belonging to Baba and his resting place. Surely, this simple ordinary looking space, has unlimited treasures for those who can identify with this connection.
It was also a lesson that I may have been taking this grace for granted, my effort was not in sync with my inner self, so essential, especially for this work!
There is no physical evidence of what happens but something changes internally. After all it is not something that happens on its own. Power of dedication, surrender to Allah’s will and the dawn of reality that one is but just a tiny existence in the large-scale creation that our universe is, helps one to stabilize emotionally and spiritually. One becomes the doer and the onlooker at the same time to get in touch with one’s inner life.
Thank you, my Allah for your grace and my beloved Baba for personifying this grace!
Paintings by Badhrunissa Bhat
