His voice was as sweet as the melons of Moosa: Sidhu Moosewala's mother

The FatherldquoI guarded the borders of India Canrsquot I guard my son Of course I can And I willrdquo Lying on a cot in the courtyard of his large haveli Balkaur Singh tried to convince himself The palatial haveli was on the outskirts of their village unlike their small tworoom ancestral house that stood right in its middle Shubh as Balkaur called his son had only built the haveli a few months ago ldquoA gift for my parentsrdquo he had saidTheir new mansion had designer interiors The rooms were spacious and the roof was high The beds were large and comfortable with mattresses that were soft as bales of cotton But for Balkaur nothing compared to his cot woven with ropes on which a thin bedsheet was spreadHe preferred it to all else It had not even been four weeks since the family had moved to its new dwelling On May 3 after an Akhand path of the Guru Granth Sahib Balkaur Charan and Shubhdeep Sidhu Moosewala had entered their home Just about 300 metres from the MansaBarnala highway the haveli was a far cry from their humble home near the village pond where Balkaur and Charan used to live earlier with their son Back then Balkaur had been in the army and Charan used to run a primary school from one of the two rooms in the house Little Shubhdeep sat among the other village children on a mat spread on the floor in the room or sometimes outside in the small courtyard for his initial schoolingSidhu MoosewalaOn days that Balkaur was home he would enjoy his afternoon siesta on his cot in the courtyard of the old house Now lying in this huge haveli he remembered those peaceful moments The nights had become long and tense and peace had evaded him completely The previous night had been particularly tough The Punjab government had withdrawn two of the four security personnel from his sonrsquos security duty The news had broken around 10 am on May 28 and Balkaur had been stressed since then How would only two guards protect his son round the clock He would have to do more Balkaur decided He had already been up and about at night for many weeks keeping a vigil He was sure he could prevent any attack However they had been warned that assailants could attack the house armed with sophisticated weapons grenades even a rocketpropelled grenade launcherThe night before Balkaur had remained perched under a canopy on the rooftop of the haveli peering into the dark ldquoShubh is reckless He doesnrsquot exercise caution while mingling with the crowd But his guards and friends are always with him They will protect him Waheguru dhyan rakhega And at home I will protect himrdquo Balkaur continued to mutterIf Balkaur doted on his son Sidhu revered his fatherHis fatherrsquos support and love meant a lot to the singer and had inspired one of his most controversial songs Facing controversies and criticism for promoting gun culture and violence in his songs Moosewala sanglsquoBhavein aukhi hoyi educate milugirsquoNo matter the crowd of criticsNo matter how harsh and hurtful their wordsRemember just remember one thing my sonYour father is proud of youMistaken are those who think you have fallenGet up my oxlike sonKeep telling the truth through your songsThe educated audience in the future will understand youThe MotherldquoHe may be Sidhu Moosewala to the world but to me he will always be Gaggu Thatrsquos what I called him when I held him for the first timerdquo said Charan Kaur ldquoHis voice sounded so sweet Of course a childrsquos voice always sounds sweet to its mother but everyone who heard him speaking and singing compared him to the forgotten melons which once grew in abundance in Moosa They told me his name and fame would spread far and wide like the sardarsquos fragrancerdquoThere had been a time when villagers from Moosa grew sarda in abundance These were quite popular and much in demand not just locally but also in places as far away as Delhi and MumbaildquoMelons were to Moosa what oranges are to Nagpur The fruit was known by various names Sarda sharda kachhre and the local popular name chibbadd The citydwellers call it kharbuja or melonrdquo said Dr Sukhpal Singh a leading agroeconomist of Panjab Agricultural University PAU LudhianaJoginder Singh Mann a journalist with the Punjabi Tribune who covered the Mansa district for the paper recalled how as a child he Sidhu would feast on the melons and see traders from lsquobig citiesrsquo coming to the village for an advance deal ldquoIn Mumbai and Gujarat the sarda from Moosa was always in high demandrdquo he saysPerhaps some of the sweetness of the sarda of Moosa seeped into the voice of Charan Kaurrsquos young son But the nature of the land was changing The once abundantly grown fruit became increasingly scarce in the region before disappearing altogether Moosewala too was no longer just the boy with a sweet voice As his fame grew his lyrics changed into brazen boasts about himself and his castemdashthe Jats He often threatened his enemies in his songs and made bold statements against the lack of tolerance of religious leaders Perhaps it was the rebelliousness of youth but Moosewala started to use his voice to talk about societal cultural or religious norms that he found oppressive His music became his cry for freedomCharan had always been a big influence on the singer Moosewala had fond childhood memories of listening to his mother sing the Gurbani while oiling and combing his hairIn an interview with Punjabi actress and TV host Sonam Bajwa Moosewala said ldquoEven now my mother combs my hair before a big show It is a bond every mother and son have or should haverdquoOn May 14 Moosewala paid tribute to his mother on her birthday by releasing the song Dear Mamamdashhis love and adulation are evident in each word of the song The song revealed a tender side to the man whose entire public persona was otherwise one of unfettered machismo In the song Moosewala raps about how his temper is hot and can blaze like the sun but at other times he is calm and serene like the dawn And when he is like that he is just like his mother He also reflects that he is at times angry at the world like his father but then the calmer and more compassionate side of him prevails He sings Kade suraj wangu tere warga aaSometimes I burn like the sunAt other times I am at peaceLike the dawnMother I always feelI am just like youSometimes like my fatherI feel angry at the worldBut then every time like youI too feel pity for the worldSome say my face is like thisSome say my face is like thatBut my face is just like yoursMother I always feelI am just like youExcerpted with permission from Who Killed Moosewala The Spiralling Story of Violence in Punjab by Jupinderjit Singh published by Westland Books