Shishunala Sharif

Last updated

Shishunala Sharif
ಸಂತ ಶಿಶುನಾಳ ಶರೀಫ
Santa-Shishunala-Sharifa-pic.jpg
Born
sharif

(1819-03-07)7 March 1819
Shishuvinahala, Shiggaon taluk (in Haveri district), Karnataka
Died3 July 1889(1889-07-03) (aged 70)
Resting place Shishuvinahala
Parents
  • Imam Saheb (father)
  • Hujjama (mother)
Shishunala Sharif
Senior posting
GuruGuru Govind Bhatta

Santha Shishunala Sharifa was an Indian social reformer, philosopher and poet.

Contents

Birth and early life

Santa Shishunala Sharifa was born on 7 March 1819 in Shishuvinahala, a village in Shigganvi (now Shiggaon) taluk (in Haveri district), Karnataka. He was the son of Imam Saheb, who was a disciple of Hajaresha Qadri, whose dream was to unite Hinduism and Islam. Hajaresha Qadri used to give "Linga Deeksha", or initiation by tying a linga around the neck of a disciple, as per the Lingayat tradition. His father used to teach him Ramayana, Mahabharata, and even the teachings of Allama Prabhu. Legend has it that Shishunala Sharifa was conceived with the blessings of Basavanna.

When Sharifa was a boy, he was taught the tenets of both religions. In his birthplace Shishuvinahala, both Hindus and Muslims revere him as a saint at the same temple.

Meeting Govinda Bhatta

Govinda Bhatta, a Brahmin, was famous in the region as an unconventional Master. He cared little for caste or religion, and spent more time with anyone who invited him, and ate anywhere he felt like eating. Other Brahmins could not stomach his way of life.

One day, Govinda Bhatta came to Shishuvinahala, and Sharifa's father found him seated under a tree. He asked him to accept his son as disciple. In front of the father, Govinda Bhatta called the young boy and said, "Sharifa, who is your father?" The villagers laughed, but were shocked when the boy brashly said, "What kind of question are you asking? Your father and mine are the same!". Govinda Bhatta laughed, patted the boy on the back and said, "Excellent, Sharifa! The land is fertile, the seed will sprout well. O Imam, leave Him to my care! From today, He is my son!"

Sharifa followed Govinda Bhatta back to his village. The boy was found to be curious about matters beyond logic and the world, and about the secrets of creation. These qualities were nurtured by Govinda Bhatta. Society was surprised by their closeness. In the eyes of Muslims, the boy was a Kaafir (infidel) and for Brahmins, the Master was a Mleccha (outsider).

Thread Ceremony

One day, Govinda Bhatta was seated with some Brahmins at the village crossroad. Just then, Sharifa comes by. The Master calls him to sit, and the two sit very closely. The others were offended, and say, "Does that Muslim look like a Brahmin to you? You have no sense of cleanliness or social status!" Bhatta laughs, saying, "Just because you are born a Brahmin, do you think you’ll become one? None of you is a greater Brahmin than this boy!". He takes off his sacred thread puts it around Sharifa, embracing him tightly. Sharifa, overcome with feeling, prostrates himself at the Master's feet (Hakida janivarava sadhgurunatha). The Brahmins were highly offended.

The Mullah

One day, a Mullah asks Sharifa, "So, I see you’ve stopped coming to the mosque! Do you even remember what Namaz is?" To this, Sharifa calmly replies, pointing at his own body, "I dwell in this mosque, so why go and come? I am in constant worship of "I AM", so what can be greater Namaz?"

Later years

Sharifa's parents force him to marry. Sharifa goes to Bhatta and asks, "If I become a Samsari, won’t I get stuck in desire and illusion?" The Master replies, "Why are you worried? Even in the worst rain, does wind become wet? Does light become soaked? So go and get married!"

Sharifa married, and had a daughter. He worked as a schoolmaster in Karadagi, to support the family. However, his wife passes away shortly. Sharifa's neighbours adopt the child, and Sharifa quits his job. He starts participating in folk dramas, teaching simple lessons through daily experiences. Sharifa went through extreme poverty, often going without meals. However, Govinda Bhatta stood by him through all His troubles.

After Govinda Bhatta died, Sharifa lived on for another twenty years. When he started falling ill and realised his days were few, he decided to give up his body according to "Sharana" tradition, in which ash is smeared on the body, and the feet of a Jangama, or Shaivite monk, are worshipped. The monk's feet are then placed on the head, and life is given up. Nobody agreed, but on his insistence, a Jangama by name Hirematta Karibasavayya agreed. Shishunala Sharifa left his body on 3 July 1889 AD.

The people were left confused. Sharifa was born a Muslim but lived with Hindu. The leaders of both communities came together and agreed to perform the last rites as per both religions. The Quran was read simultaneously with the Hindu Mantras.

A Samadhisthan was constructed in Shishuvinahala, in a vast compound. There, statues of both Govinda Bhatta and Sharifa are visited by both Hindus and Muslims, to this day.

Teachings

Sharifa was known to compose poems as per the situation and sing them to spread the message. Though he never wrote down his compositions, by word of mouth many of them have been passed down to future generations. The composition "Sorutihudu Maneya Maligi" can be traced to Great Famine 1876-1888 that plagued southern and western India. People dying in millions resorted to blind beliefs and faiths some even asking him to control the famine. Though the source cannot be cited, given his composition and the dire situation the people were in, this particular composition must have come during the famine years. [1]

Famous Compositions

  1. Kodagana koli nungitha nodavva thangi
  2. Gudiya Nodiranna Dehada
  3. Alabeda Thangi Alabeda
  4. Tharavalla Thagi Ninna
  5. Biddiyabbe Muduki
  6. Soruthihudu Maneya Maaligi
  7. Ellaranthavanalla Nanna Ganda
  8. Mohada Hendathi Theerida Balika
  9. Sneha Madabekinthavala
  10. gudugudiya sedu nodo
  11. lokada kalaji
  12. Duddu Kettadu Nodanna
  13. Na Na Embudu Nanalla [2] [3]

Film

Santha Shishunala Sharifa is a Kannada feature film directed by T.S. Nagabharana in 1990. The main character was played by the Kannada actor Sridhar, and the supporting cast included Girish Karnad and Suman Ranganath

Sharifa's songs have been sung by famous playback singers, notably C. Ashwath, Shimoga Subbanna, Raghu Dixit and Archana Udupa.

Raghu's self-titled debut album launched by the popular music director duo Vishal–Shekhar [4] contains two songs "Soruthihudu Maniya Maligi" [5] and "Gudugudiya Sedi Noda", [6] which are compositions of Sharifa. [7] His next album Jag Changa also has 2 songs originally written by Shishunala Sharifa "Lokada Kalaji" and "Kodagana Koli Nungitha". [8]

Related Research Articles

Sugama Sangeetha, a variety of Bhavageethe, is an Indian musical genre in which poetry in the Kannada language is set to music. It gained recognition with the work of P. Kalinga Rao in the mid -20th century. Mysore Ananthaswamy and C. Aswath developed the form further in the 1960s and 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Ashwath</span> Musical artist

Channarayapatna Ashwath was an Indian music composer and exponent of Bhavageete in the Kannada language. He was also a singer, and sang many of his own compositions. He was credited with singing Bhavageete songs and making sure that they reached the common man.

Ponna (c. 945) was a noted Kannada poet in the court of Rashtrakuta Dynasty king Krishna III (r.939–968 CE). The emperor honoured Ponna with the title "emperor among poets" (Kavichakravarthi) for his domination of the Kannada literary circles of the time, and the title "imperial poet of two languages" for his command over Sanskrit as well. Ponna is often considered one among the "three gems of Kannada literature" for ushering it in full panoply. According to the scholar R. Narasimhacharya, Ponna is known to have claimed superiority over all the poets of the time. According to scholars Nilakanta Shastri and E.P. Rice, Ponna belonged to Vengi Vishaya in Kammanadu, Punganur, Andhra Pradesh, but later migrated to Manyakheta, the Rashtrakuta capital, after his conversion to Jainism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Govinda Pai</span>

Manjeshwar Govinda Pai, also known as Rastrakavi Govinda Pai, was a Kannada poet. He was awarded the first Rashtrakavi title by the Madras Government. Rashtrakavi M. Govinda Pai was the one who put Manjeshwara(now in Kerala) on the literary map of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashtrakuta literature</span> Historic body of South Indian literature

Rashtrakuta literature is the body of work created during the rule of the Rastrakutas of Manyakheta, a dynasty that ruled the southern and central parts of the Deccan, India between the 8th and 10th centuries. The period of their rule was an important time in the history of South Indian literature in general and Kannada literature in particular. This era was practically the end of classical Prakrit and Sanskrit writings when a whole wealth of topics were available to be written in Kannada. Some of Kannada's most famous poets graced the courts of the Rashtrakuta kings. Court poets and royalty created eminent works in Kannada and Sanskrit, that spanned such literary forms as prose, poetry, rhetoric, epics and grammar. Famous scholars even wrote on secular subjects such as mathematics. Rashtrakuta inscriptions were also written in expressive and poetic Kannada and Sanskrit, rather than plain documentary prose.

Nijaguna Shivayogi was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the Kannada language. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the Veerashaiva faith, which he attempted to reconcile with the Advaita Hinduism of Adi Shankaracharya. Tradition has it that Shivayogi was a petty chieftain of Kollegal taluk in modern Mysore district of Karnataka state, India. Considered a visionary of his time, his Vivekachintamani, written in encyclopaedic proportions and in prose style, and the Kaivalya Paddhati, a musical treatise consisting of songs are considered his most enduring works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijaya Bhaskar</span> Indian music composer

Vijaya Bhaskar was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 600 feature films, Bhaskar worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu and Konkani language films as well. He was a part of all films of director KSL Swamy (Ravi) and also shared a great association with acclaimed directors Puttanna Kanagal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

Psycho is a 2008 Kannada-language suspense thriller written and directed by V. Devadattha. The film stars Dhanush and Anita Bhat in lead roles. It was produced by R. Gurudatth under the banner 4D Creations. Raghu Dixit composed the music, marking his debut.

<i>Just Maath Maathalli</i> 2010 Indian film

Just Maath Maathalli is a 2010 Indian Kannada romance film written and directed by Sudeep starring himself, Ramya and Rajesh Nataranga in the lead roles. The film follows Siddharth's search for Tanu to confess his love for her.

Kote is a 2011 Kannada-language film directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by Manjunath and GN Murthy. Prajwal Devaraj and Gayatri Rao are the lead pair of the film. Raghu Dixit has composed the music for the film. Ashley Mendonca & Abhilash Lakra have scored the background music. It is one amongst P. Ravi Shankar's three films he acted in before he gained massive recognition through Kempe Gowda. The other two being Halli Krishna Delhi Radha and Mana Mecchida Sose.

<i>Shyloo</i> 2011 Indian film

Shyloo is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film written and directed by S. Narayan. It is a remake of the 2010 Tamil film Mynaa which itself was reported to have been inspired by the 2006 Hong Kong movie Dog Bite Dog. The film stars Ganesh and Bhama.Jassie Gift was the music director of the film.

<i>Potugadu</i> 2013 Indian film

Potugadu (transl. Hero) is a 2013 Indian Telugu language film directed by Pavan Wadeyar. It is a remake of the 2012 Kannada film Govindaya Namaha, also directed by Wadeyar with starring Komal. It was produced by Sirisha and Sridhar under the Ramalakshmi Cine Creations banner. The film has four heroines, Sakshi Chowdhary, Simran Kaur Mundi, Rachel and Anupriya Goenka. Achu scored the music, and two tunes from the Kannada film - including the "Pyarge Aagbittaite" - were used in the Telugu version. The shooting was wrapped up in a single extensive schedule and the post-production work was simultaneously in progress. Reportedly Potugadu was going to be the biggest movie in terms of budget in Manoj's career. The film released on 14 September 2013 and was declared a 'semi-hit' at the box office.

H. K. Narayana was a well-known singer and music composer from Karnataka, India. He was an icon of Light music and played an important role in popularizing the genre of Sugama Sangeetha in Kannada. Nadavirada Baduke by Nissar Ahmed, Brundavanake Haalanu Maaralu by Kuvempu and Shubha Nudiye Shakunada Hakki by D. R. Bendre are some of his well-known numbers. He is popular through Navasuma and Geetaraadhana in Radio.

<i>Anubhava</i> (film) 1984 Indian film

Anubhava (transl. Experience) is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language drama film starring Kashinath and Abhinaya. Actresses Abhinaya and Umashree made their debut with this film. The film is directed, co-produced and written by Kashinath and produced under Sri Gayatri Productions banner. It was remade in Hindi twice - first in 1986 as Anubhav starring Shekhar Suman directed by Kashinath himself and second as Chadti Jawaani. The film was dubbed in Malayalam as Aadhyate Anubhavam and in Telugu as Anubhavam. Sunil Kumar Desai worked as an assistant to Kashinath on this movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. G. Dattatreya</span> Indian actor, theatre personality

Harihar Gundurao Dattatreya, popularly known as Dattanna, is an Indian actor who has appeared in more than 204 films and several plays. Alongside his career as an actor, he served in the Indian Air Force as an Aeronautical Engineer for over 20 years and also occupied academic positions with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). He is best known for his work in Kannada cinema, in which he appears in mostly supporting roles. In a film career of almost three decades, he has won two National Film Award – Special Jury Awards, one National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and two Karnataka State Film Awards. He is known for his performances in Munnudi (2000), Bettada Jeeva (2011) and Bharath Stores (2012).

<i>Jag Changa</i> 2013 studio album by The Raghu Dixit Project

Jag Changa is the second studio album by the Indian band The Raghu Dixit Project released on November 23, 2013 through Wandering Minstrel Records. The album features songs in Hindi and Kannada. The album features artists including Raghu Dixit as the lead vocalist and others he met during his concerts in the UK. It includes members of the British folk band, Bellowhead, American clawhammer banjo player, Abigail Washburn and sarod player Soumik Datta.

Santha Shishunala Sharifa is a 1990 Indian Kannada biographical drama film directed and co-written by T. S. Nagabharana and produced by Srihari Khoday and Mahima Patel for Yajaman Enterprises. The story is based on the life of acclaimed saint poet Shishunala Sharif who wrote several moral poems striving towards social reformation. A collection of Sharif's poems are set to tunes by C. Ashwath, who also did the major playback singing. The soundtrack consisting of 16 poems was extremely popular upon release. The dialogues for this movie was written by Gopala Wajapayi, a well known theatre figure and translator of Bertolt Brecht's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

<i>Chitti Chellelu</i> 1970 Indian film

Chitti Chellelu is a 1970 Indian Telugu-language drama film, directed by M. Krishnan Nair and produced by AVM Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Vanisri and Rajasree, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.

<i>Garuda</i> (2022 film) Indian Kannada film

Garuda is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Dhana Kumar. K and written by Siddharth Mahesh. It stars Siddharth Mahesh, Srinagar Kitty, Aindrita Ray and Ashika Rangnath. While Raghu Dixit composed the soundtrack and background score, cinematography was handled by Jai Anand.

References

  1. "To listen Shishunala Sharifaa's songs". Kannada Audio.
  2. Kannada Songs (28 October 2016), Kannada Songs | Naana Embudu Naanalla | Santha Shishunala Sharifa Movie | Sridhar,Girish Karnad , retrieved 23 March 2019
  3. Array (2 February 1999), Naana Embudu (Full Song) - Gaana Yogi Pachakshra Gawai - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn , retrieved 23 March 2019
  4. "Raghu Dixit: Vishal, Shekhar launch new artist Video". NDTV.com. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  5. Music. "The Raghu Dixit Project " Music". Raghudixit.com. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  6. Gudugudiya Sedi Nodo. "The Raghu Dixit Project " Gudugudiya Sedi Nodo". Raghudixit.com. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  7. Denselow, Robin (18 April 2011). "Raghu Dixit and Hans Raj Hans – review". The Guardian. London.
  8. Santha Shishunala Sharifa Saahebaru (Jeevana Charithre matthu Thathva Padagalu). Janapadha Prakaashana.