SHASHWAT GUPTA RAY
Despite being a devout Catholic, journalist, Konkani poet, lyricist, and writer John Aguiar has been breaking cultural barriers by writing and composing highly popular Konkani Ga nesh hymns. His work is fre quently praised by cultural institutions for promoting interfaith harmony. Speaking about what drew him toward this cross-cultural endeavour, Aguiar said that his connection with Hindu traditions did not begin suddenly. “My moth er was from a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin family, so I was ex posed to Hindu culture and traditions from an early age.
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Later, my wife, Savita, is Hindu, and our family has continued to maintain a deep respect for and par ticipation in Hindu tradi tions. We have been cele brating Ganesh Chaturthi in our family since 2015. Over the years, I developed a strong emotional and spiritual connection with the festival and Lord Gane sha,” he said. As a poet and lyricist, he naturally expresses his feelings through words. He feels inspired to put his emotions and devotion into poetry and music, which led him to write Ga nesh aartis and devotional songs. “For me, it is not simply about writing a religious song. It is about express ing gratitude, humility and the values represented by Lord Ganesha. My Catholic faith is an important part of which I am, but I have nev er considered another per son’s faith to be something distant or foreign,” he said. His journey of formally writing devotional songs began when celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi in 2015.
He became increasingly inspired by the devotion, traditions and atmosphere surrounding the festival. “As a writer, I felt com pelled to express those feelings through lyrics. YouTube then provided me with a platform to share those creations with peo ple beyond my immediate circle. I see no contradic tion in being a Catholic and expressing devotion towards Lord Ganesha. My faith teach es me to respect God and humanity, and that respect natu rally extends to the faith and traditions of others,” he said. While some people have naturally been curious about how a Catholic came to write Ganesh aartis, his answer has always been that respect for another faith does not weaken one’s own faith. “On the contrary, I believe that understanding and re specting another person’s traditions enriches us as human beings. In today’s communally polarised environment, we need to remind ourselves that religious identity should not become a wall between human beings.
India’s strength has always been its diversity. We have different gods, different ways of worship, different languages and different tradi tions, but ultimately we share the same humanity. Let reli gion be a path to God, not a weapon against another human being,” he said.
