Madhushala Verse #3: I am you, and you, me

priyatam, tu meri haala hai, main tera pyaasa pyaala

apne ko mujhme bharkar tu banta hai peenewaala

main tujhko chhak chhalka karta, mast mujhe pee tu hota

ek doosre ki ham dono aaj paraspar madhushaala

Bachchan, while setting the stage, repeatedly points to the interconnectedness amongst us. Constantly, he reminds us that our stories (at the deepest level) are not different in the least. The manifestation of our individual lives may wary, but at the psychological level, we are one and the same.

This verse is not just praise for the reader. Bachchan says that there is great joy in recognizing the truth that we are one; we will then experience joy in each other. Not for nothing does he repeatedly use the word priyatam; we are dear to each other, we are each other's beloved. We can experience this only if we understand that we are the same.

"You fill me with yourself, and then you drink", he says. Bachchan is not going to proselytize; he is not going to reveal any great secret. He is going to be a mirror, and his relationship with you and me is that mirror. It is a very beautiful verse; extremely well constructed, and the words carefully chosen. main tujhe chhak chhalka karta...Bachchan says; he would leave us sated, satisfied, because in doing so, he fulfills himself.

When we recognize our oneness, we can be ecstatic in each other; for then we know that we can't hurt each other without hurting ourselves in the process. Note that this oneness is not a theory or a hypothesis; it is a fact. Therefore, it is not enough to believe in our connection: we have to recognize it. When we do, we can live cooperatively, creatively. Grief begins when we think we are separate from each other.

John Donne, the famous poet, said it best:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

The understanding of this oneness is central to the understanding of the Madhushala. It is not sentimental romanticism; it is a great truth; perhaps the only enduring truth. Later in the poem, Bachchan demonstrates how organized religion is completely irreligious, and how the only worthwhile freedom comes from the renunciation of all sects, creeds, ideologies and philosophical positions. In two lines, the Urdu poet Ghalib expressed it thus:

ham muvaahid hain, hamaara kesh hai tark-e rusoom

millaten jab mit gayeen, ajzaa-e imaan ho gayeen

We know the oneness of us all, our practice is the renunciation of customs

When religions, tribes, groups and sects were erased, they became parts of true faith and integrity

[muvaahid = those declaring the Unity of All; kesh = practice; tark = sacrifice, giving up; rusoom = customs,plural of "rasm"; millaten = organized groups; ajzaa = part, component; imaan = true faith]

In this day and age of divisions, polarized views and intractable positions, Bachchan reminds us of the simple solution to all these difficulties. Recognize our oneness, he says, and you'll neither hurt others nor be hurt yourself. It is a very difficult lesson to truly learn.

But then in Bachchan's tavern, the wine is true and fiery. It is not easy to drink, but it is the only wine worth drinking.

I love the last line. It is a line of hope, of the most positive attitude we can ever have. ek doosre ki ham dono aaj paraspar madhushala. [paraspar = interdependent; mutual]. I am you. You are me. As I write, so do you, and as I write, so am I the reader.