September 21, 2009. It was World Peace Day.
And true to the spirit of the day, James Madison University celebrated the lifelong endeavours of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter to resolve the many conflicts afflicting our world.
On that day, in front of 7,000 well-wishers, the university awarded a global peace prize to the Carters.
The prize befittingly bore the name of Mahatma Gandhi, in honour of Babuji’s commitment to non-violence.
It was a celebration that I will not forget.
The university asked me to perform for the Carters as a tribute to their efforts to bring global peace.
And as the world now collectively says goodbye to President Carter, a year after we mourned the passing of the First Lady, I remember how, on that special day, the Carters energized us all with their presence and their message of global peace.
I chose two songs and rendered them in a classical style which has been my life-long talim.
One was Mahatma’s favourite bhajan: Vaishnava janto. And the other, Rebel Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Sri Jono Chanday. For me these two songs captured, in many ways, the essence of the occasion.
Vaishnava janto is a popular Gujarati bhajan written by poet Narsinh Mehta in the 15th century.
The bhajan encapsulates the qualities of a true Vaishnav and emphasizes virtues such as empathy, humility, purity of thought, and selflessness.
The bhajan gained widespread popularity and significance when it was adopted by Mahatma Gandhi.
The bhajan’s overall emphasis on freedom from greed, deceit, desire, and anger and its focus on empathy and on understanding the pain of others captures the essence of what I believe describes the philosophy of the Carters.
Sri Jono Chonday, one of Nazrul’s many magical poems, on the other hand, speaks of Natoraj’s dance of destruction but from which springs new hope and creation.
In reflecting this seeming contradiction, creation from destruction, I wanted to symbolize that often peace comes through a journey of sacrifice.
And, for the Carters, they sacrificed much to devote themselves to serve others.
The two songs represent the incredible differences that define South Asia.
First, in terms of languages: Gujarati and Bangla, two of the many languages of our sub-continent.
Second, the poets are separated by centuries and come from different religious backgrounds.
Yet, despite these differences, they draw on common cultural and devotional roots in composing their poems.
The two songs thus remind us that the differences are merely a reflection of the diversity that unifies us.
For the Carters, their journey to find peace where conflicts divide nations was built on the message that there is unity in our diversity which can bind people. Focusing on people rather than boundaries that define nations is a reminder that we are all on a common journey.
That the world perspective of peanut farmers from Georgia could be inextricably linked with that of two poets from South Asia despite being separated by time, language, religion, and culture was, in my mind, a true celebration of the lives of Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter.
I am grateful and humbled that in the presence of two global heroes I was a small part of an incredible celebration of world peace at James Madison University.
Rest in Peace President Carter.
You and the First Lady have made this world a better place for all.
Dr Samia Mahbub Ahmad, a Bangladeshi-American, is a North Indian Classical vocalist and a proponent of Kirana Gharana.
Her performances have taken her around the world, and she has been recognized as Master Artist of the State of Maryland, US.
