Watch: Ram ‘bhajan’ sung by Muslim teenager from J-K wins hearts online

PTI, Jan 15, 2024, 5:40 PM IST

Syeda Batool Zehra

AMuslim teenager from Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri tehsil has become the talk of the town after her melodious rendition of a Ram ‘bhajan’ in Pahari language went viral online ahead of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Syeda Batool Zehra (19), a college student who belongs to the Syed community, was inspired by a ‘bhajan’ sung by singer Jubin Nautiyal.

”Recently, I sang a Ram Bhajan which has gone viral,” Zehra told reporters in Kupwara, where she had come to meet Director General of Police R R Swain at a public durbar organised by the police department, on Monday. She said a Ram ‘bhajan’ sung by singer Jubiyan Nautiyal in Hindi inspired her to create her version of it in Pahari.

”I came across a Hindi bhajan by Jubin Nautiyal on YouTube. I sang it in Hindi first and I felt good about it. Then I thought of singing it in my Pahari language. I translated it, used various resources to write this four-line bhajan and posted it online,” she added.

#WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir: Batool Zehra, a college Ist year student from Uri sings Ram bhajan in Pahari language to connect J&K with the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, to be held on 22nd January in Ayodhya, UP. pic.twitter.com/Fla4BiCh9u

— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2024

Zehra said she did not see anything wrong in singing a ‘bhajan’ despite being a Muslim.

”Our LG is a Hindu but he does not discriminate against us on the basis of religion while carrying out development work. Our Imam Hussain has also taught us that the followers of the Prophet love the country in which they live. Loving one’s country is part of being faithful,” she said.

”The LG is going from place to place to solve the problems of people and Modi ji is giving priority to Jammu and Kashmir. It is also our duty to cooperate with them because I believe that Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are brothers,” she said. The Ram temple consecration ceremony will be held on January 22.

#WATCH | Uri, J&K: On singing Ram bhajan in Pahari language, Batool Zehra says, “I heard a song by Jubin Nautiyal and I liked it very much. I thought that if it can be in Hindi, why can it not be in Pahari. I wrote it in Pahari and sang it. I recorded it and showed it to my sir.… https://t.co/xiIE8ojxgw pic.twitter.com/5NoDaRZqsu

— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2024