Lesser known mystics of South Asia – III

Abu Tukh Al Malanga

Abu Tukh claimed royal lineage from the Pharoah Hatshepsut. His most famous quote was to ‘do unto yourself as you wish yourself to want to do to unto the other.’ He was a perplexed soul, and his perplexity touched souls far and wide. There were not many in the tiny town of Raiwind in mid-thirteenth century who would (or could) lay claim to the Hatshepsut’s lineage, and that was unfortunate since a bit of extra lineaging wouldn’t have done Hatshepsut an itty bit of harm.

It is reputed that Al Malanga wanted to leave behind some sort of a miracle as legacy. Nothing moon shattering, just something to keep the conversation warm when camps of weary travelers settled down in the evening and exchanged tales of ribaldry and zest. He would have liked that. But this offshoot of Hatshepsut’s progeny was to be denied this legacy, and so his name lives on only when perplexed souls far and wide attempt to do unto themselves as they wish to want to do unto others. Hatshepsut would have been content with just that. Abu Tukh wasn’t.

Abu Luchcha Al Lafanga

There are many anecdotes related to Abu Luchcha, and if one tries to reconcile one anecdote with another, one quickly realizes the futility of the endeavor. It is this multifaceted truth that Al Lafanga dared to embody in his being. Two anecdotes will illustrate. The first one narrates Abu Lucchha as a lad of seven picking dates which had fallen on the ground. A passerby chided Al Lafanga asking, “Do you not mind your tender hands getting sullied with such pickings when there is a cleaner harvest not too far above?” Abu Luchcha paid no heed to the man not knowing what the words ‘sullied’ and ‘harvest’ meant.

The other anecdote has the tables turned so that it is an older Al Lafanga passing by a young boy collecting faalsa droppings. Abu Luchcha sat down and affectionately tried to explain to the boy the meanings of the words ‘sullied’ and ‘harvest’.