Sacred feminine: Power of a poet

Srinagar: Poet, holy woman, saint—there are several ways to describe Lal Ded, the medieval mystic of Kashmir. But what makes her a common thread in Kashmir are her verses which are recited by Hindus and Muslims alike.

The Soul The soul, like the moon, is new, and always new again. And I have seen the ocean continuously creating.

Since I scoured my mind and my body, I too, Lalla,

am new, each moment new. My teacher told me one thing: live in the soul. When that was so, I began to go naked, and dance

It is around these verses perhaps that the legend of Lal Ded the mystic Kashmir poetess revolved. No one know what Lal Ded looked like but base on the verse "When that was so…I began to go naked and dance", some images of her been conjured.

The legend of Lal Ded has always been abstract. Some think that she would walk naked, some say that her Vaakhs (four-lined stanzas) have been wrongly interpreted and that by mentioning the term naked Lal only meant naked before god. Experts say that though Lal was a Kashmiri Brahmin but her poetry was a fusion of Shaivism and Sufi culture.

“Lal Ded is the founder of Kashmiri language and literature. Her greatness lies in synthesizing several ideas the confluence of which took place in the 14th century. She represents the centuries-old Shaivite tradition and Islamic mysticism too,” says Dr. Shafi Shauq.

The cult of Lal Ded is a very open ended term. While discussions regarding her personality go on, she continues to be the pivot of Kashmiriyat. Lal is revered and recited by Kashmiri Mulsims and Hindus alike. To every Kashmiri she is not Lala but Lal Ded which means mother Lal.

"Lal Ded is considered to be the mother of Kashmiri poetry. Everyone reveres her. Lal Ded’s followers revere each other’s and they don't clash,” says Naseem Shafai.

As Ded’s poem says:

On the way to God the difficulties feel like being ground by a millstone, like night coming at noon, like lightning through the clouds.

But don't worry! What must come, comes. Face everything with love, as your mind dissolves in God.

(With inputs from Nilanjana Bose)

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