Mian Tansen, the musical maestro and one of the Navaratna’s of Great Mogul King Akbar, once sang the raga “Deepak”. With his exceptional singing talent he could light all the lamps around, but it also had a negative effect on his own body. He started feeling a burning sensation himself and became unwell. Due to his physical condition, he could not sing the remedial raga “Malhar”, which had the power to reduce his suffering. Some other singer of a similar stature was required to sing raga “Malhar” to cure him.
In search of such a singer, Tansen reached a place called “Vadnagar” in Gujarat. Here he saw two girls filling their pitchers with only so much water such that the pitchers could perfectly produce the notes of raga “Malhar”. He requested the girls to sing the same raga for him. These girls were Tana and Riri. While the girls sang the raga “Malhar”, heavy rains occurred and after bathing in them, Mian Tansen was fully cured. He returned to Delhi and tried to keep this story a secret. But he could not keep it a secret for long and was ultimately forced by King Akbar to tell the truth. This story was overheard by two princes in Akbar’s family, who reached Vadnagar in the hope of marrying these girls. These princes were killed by Vadnagar people due to their bad behaviour. Then in a sad turn of events, Akbar’s army attacked Vadnagar and tried to bring the girls to Delhi. The girls committed suicide by consuming the diamonds out of their rings. The monuments in memory of these two amazing girls can still be seen in Vadnagar.
Indian history is full of people who never bowed in front of rulers who tried to get things done by force. The formation of a lawful society does require sacrifices of several brave and committed people.
Today when I am quoting this story to you, Shri Narendra Modi, the son of the soil of same Vadnagar has become the Prime Minister of India. Let us join hands with him to build a better and corruption free society by getting inspiration from stories of sacrifice of people of our own land.
Dr. Sunil Ji Garg
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