Soul Bride

possessiveness

But in urdu we say :

“Nahin pasand mohabbat mein milaawat mujh ko,

tum taras nahin khaate bastiyaan jalane mein

through the halls of hell

Forgive me,

It’s quite hard for us

To bring to mind the true picture of Nanak.

Legs dirty with the dust of winding paths,

Cracked heels,

Dry beard, tangled by the turbulent wind,

Skin toughened by extreme hot and cold weather,

Sunken cheeks,

And from the sockets of his face,

dazzling and sharp eyes.

Eyes which refute

Hierarchy

Monarchy

And clergy.

The real Nanak can be proven to be very dangerous for us.

We cannot bring to mind the image of such a Nanak

Who can shatter homely institutions

Can spoil our kids

Can point his feet towards the Kaaba 

And lay in the circumambulation area to make a point,

Can make our legs be fractured or chopped,

And may instigate us for many more deeds that seem wrong.

For instance,

We can see the hollowness of religious symbolism,

We can create a manifesto to divert superstitions

And break societal constructs.

We are wary of this dangerous Nanak,

All we want is benevolence, comfort, tranquility.

We need luxurious graces,

A flourishing family tree,

And subsequent wealth.

For us, the Nanak of Sobha Singh’s paintings suits best,

Tranquil, meditative,

Hand raised in blessing, like the goddess Lakshmi,

Ensuing grace from his palm,

Eyes overflowing with genteel grace,

White Sunsilky beard,

Chubby pink cheeks, Fair and Lovely,

Rosy Tipsy lips,

Soft Gemini feet,

Delicate Barbie hands,

Prophetic robs, cleaned with Ariel.

The walls of our homes

Can only hold Nanak’s Sobha Singh depiction.

The true image of the dangerous Nanak that rejected the mainstream,

Our walls cannot bear.

Forgive me,

We cannot afford to lose our houses that we we killed ourselves to make,

We cannot afford to lose the children we begged from God,

We cannot bring to mind the image of the real Nanak.

Forgive me.