Guest guest Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 > > Rashid proves perfect fit for Iskcon > > > > REUTERS [ MONDAY, JULY 15, 2002 12:06:20 PM ] > > > > MUMBAI: Every day, just after dawn, Abdul Rashid walks to a grand Hindu > > temple in suburban Mumbai to start a full day's work. > > > > This isn't just another daily ritual of faith in a country where religion > > dominates people's lives: Rashid is a Muslim tailor whose creations adorn > > the statues of a worldwide chain of temples belonging to the International > > Society of Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), dedicated to Lord Krishna. > > > > Nothing -- not even the recent religious carnage in Gujarat in which more > > than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died -- has deterred Rashid. > > > > He and his team of 20 are now working hard to assemble a line of > > tinsel-and-sequin clothes for a grand festival on Krishna's birthday in > > August. > > > > "It brings me pain when people fight in the name of religion," said > > 52-year-old Rashid as he put finishing touches to a coat spun of gold thread > > in the tailoring room of the temple in Mumbai. > > > > "Why do we identify anyone as being a Hindu or a Muslim? We belong to one > > country and we have to learn to live together." > > > > Iskcon's saffron-clad devotees who shave their heads, but for a tiny > > ponytail, believe in the scriptures found in one of the important holy > > books, the Bhagwad Gita -- a philosophical treatise in verse in which > > Krishna advises the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield. > > > > The group, which started out 35 years ago with one temple in New York, now > > has nearly 300 around the world, mainly in the United States, Britain, > > Australia and India. > > > > Silk and satin: Just weeks before the festival, Rashid and his team are hard > > at work -- cutting and sewing silk and satin to make long skirts, blouses, > > sarongs, shawls and halos for Krishna idols and those of several other Hindu > > gods found in the Iskcon temples. > > > > After 27 years in this line, Rashid said he had made thousands of dresses, > > including the five grand outfits he sews every year for each of the 10 main > > marble idols in the temple in Mumbai. > > > > Each grand outfit, embellished with gold cords and artificial pearls, costs > > about 30,000 rupees. > > > > Temple authorities say Rashid sometimes worked all night to meet deadlines > > before festivals, when the kohl-eyed idols are dressed in their finest > > clothes. > > > > On other days, the deities are dressed in simpler but nevertheless rich > > attire. At night, they change into plainer "nightwear". > > > > Rashid is married to a Hindu and both religions find expression in his home: > > Posters depicting Krishna hang on the walls while the Koran, rests on a > > table. > > > > His parents and brothers, who live in Uttar Pradesh, were worried when he > > migrated to Mumbai and took up the job many years ago. > > > > "I assured them that my faith in this work was stronger. Nothing could go > > wrong," he said. > > > > "Call it a gift of God, Allah or Krishna. I feel in this job there's > > honesty, a lot of satisfaction. It's a form of worship." > > > > Working in harmony: Although it is common for Muslims and Hindus to work > > together or run joint businesses in India, relations between the two > > communities are sometimes tense, often erupting in clashes and killings. > > > > Rashid blamed such events on "uneducated people with selfish motives up to > > mischief". > > > > "They create problems. If we behave responsibly there can never be trouble." > > > > Devotees at the temple said they could never have got a better tailor to > > outfit their idols. > > > > "Rashid is like any of us. So what if he is a Muslim?" asked Swami > > Ramarupadas, head "pujari" or priest, of Iskcon's Mumbai temple. > > > > "He is a dedicated worker. He makes the finest embroidered clothes." > > > > Despite the recent violence in Gujarat, India is has syncretic culture, said > > Asghar Ali Engineer, a Muslim reformist who runs the Mumbai-based Centre for > > Study of Society and Secularism. > > > > "In most villages you can see that both communities are rooted in the same > > culture, follow similar traditions and rituals," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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