AS Aaliya won the competition some Deobandi Maulanas condemned her an issued a fatwa against her
Meerut: Aaliya, a tenth standard student of a local school, BK Maheshwari Inter College, has won laurels for her excellence in the recitation of Bhagavad Gita shlokas (verses). She has been placed second in the state-wide competition on Gita recitation organised by the Yogi Government. The final of the event was held in Lucknow, in the presence of Governor Shri Ram Naik, and Maharashtra Chief Minister, Shri Devendra Fadanvis, among others.
It was on December 29, 1916 that Lokmanya Tilak spoke his immortal words “Swarajya is my birth-right, and I shall have it” at the famous Congress session held in Lucknow. Tilak was renowned for his commentary on Gita captioned Gita Rahasya. On 101th anniversary of those heartstirring words, the BJP Government of Uttar Pradesh planned a Gita recitation competition for students.
The competition was first conducted at Commissioner level in which Aaliya stood first in Meerut Division. Her twin sister Aalima, about whom she says “mein sur hun, vah taal hai” (I am the voice, she is the beat), stood second. Afterwards, the state government invited the Divisional Toppers for the finals.
The contestants had to recite Gita shlokas as many as they could in a span of five to eight minutes. Aaliya recited in a mellifluous voice, eleven verses, tuned by her music teachers at the school, Sushma Gupta and Aradhana Sharma. Her recitation left everybody spellbound. The effect was heightened by the attire she wore on the occasion. She was dressed as Lord Krishna. This fact led to an all-around applause even as she reached the dais. Yogi Adityanath, the CM, also could not help clapping joyously thrice during the recitation. The Governor of UP Shri Ram Naik and Shri Devendra Fadanvis, the Maharashtra CM blessed her with affection when she went up to the dais for receiving her certificate together with a cash prize of Rs 25,000.
It may be noted that some Deobandi Maulanas have condemned Aaliya, and issued a fatwa against her for her Krishna outfit.
“Karmanyevadhikaraste, ma faleshu kadachan” (you are entitled to doing karma, the result is not your right) is my favourite verse, says Aaliya who also translated the same before this correspondent. She says she knows the Hindi meaning of all the Gita shlokas she remembers by heart. And the number exceeds a hundred! She says her principal Smt. Durgesh Maheshwari explained the meanings of all the verses to her, which she wrote down and then memorised.
Shri Ramcharitamanas too
Not just Gita, but Aaliya is adept in singing Shri Ramcharitmans also. She remembers quite many of its chaupayis and dohas. She has been participating in Manas Gayan competition held every year at Purushottam Das Tondon Hindi Bhavan here on Tulsi Das Jayanti. And here too, she has won the first prize consecutively for the last two years. It must be remembered that besides the Gita and Shri Ramcharitmanas, Aaliya also recites the Quran with equal aplomb. And she claims she knows the meaning of all the Arabic verses of the Quran she sings.
— Ajay Mittal
