Reaching There

All of us desire to be remembered after our time is done in this lifetime. It is a foremost desire to pass on a legacy to the next generation. Whether it's a family heirloom, knowledge, letters or for a selected few an institution or a trust. We've a desire to be remembered, whether through our photographs or through our deeds. At a civilizational level the traditions pass on the legacy of previous generation to the generations to come. Traditions live among us in form of books of knowledge, prayers, general wisdom, and everything we do in our day to day live. At times new traditions are added which may or may not survive the test of time.  David Frawley states in his foreword to Sandeep Balakrishna's book '70 Years of Secularism' that "Indian intellectual today dislikes his own country, does not study or honor its cultural traditions". But, what should I be proud of?  It's a question we need to think sincerely and with utmost dignity. A question that...

The Danger of Amateur History  Although I am starting this post with Indian actor Saif Ali Khan's interview where he said "the concept of India didn't exist before the British. I don't intend to berate the actor, he is a successful actor but he is no expert in the field of history. Any celebrity blurting out some silly words is not a line in stone, especially in the age of social media where emotions can be riled up very easily and everyone has the right to free speech (including humble me).  A brief geographical history of India An article  in an online magazine quotes Hindu scriptures that describe the concept of India in great detail with corresponding scriptures as proof. We don't need to go into the far depths of our historic past to understand the concept of India. This existed even when India was an amalgamation of over 500 princely states and provinces of British India.  A brief political history of India When the British made a hurried decision to move the...

When one thinks about World War One one probably thinks about Britain, Germany and United State of America. Or the  assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914. And during this war that lasted till 1918,  Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers). There is a "not so tiny" detail missing here - the role of India in World War One . It is a story almost entirely missing from the public domain, including the memory of Indians, most of whom likely never even think about it.  As a youngster I was hooked to the history of world wars ever since I saw Steven Spielberg's movie 'Saving Private Ryan' which. As I watched and read more about the world wars I didn't found any reference of India. I haven't found any book that talks about India and World War One in great depth, perhaps just a parting reference h...

I recently read an article by Sadanand Dhume in WSJ titled ' Hindu Supremacism Turns Deadly in Delhi '. I was not surprised by the blatant one-sidedness of the so-called opinion as well as the lack of the likes of WSF, NY Times, Washington Post, etc. to even include any disclaimer or even reach out to discuss the other aspect of the debate. After all, if the opinion of an individual is published in a news media the audience should be entitled to balanced information filled with detailed facts, not personal interpretations. Here are examples from the article which is an unashamed manner promoting the entire episode of violence as Hindu Supremacism.  Example 1: The article states that in the Delhi riots most of the killed are Muslim. It shamelessly tries to portray this as an anti-Muslim or a pogrom as Pakistani prime minister likes to call it. Yet it fails to mention that it was, in fact, a riot where both Muslim and Hindu community lost civilians. It fails to mentio...

Ancient India is a vast topic, it has an almost miscible concoction of mysticism, spiritualism, and antiquity. One of the facets of ancient India which to this day remains shrouded in an utmost mystery and yet has a profound impact on our country's identity is Indus Valley Civilization. With thousands of sites spread across India and Pakistan, its historicity is exemplified by discoveries of first planned cities, long distance trades (as far as ancient Sumeria), hous es with wells & bathrooms, weights & seals for trading, water reservoirs, toys, jewelry and much more. As Archaeological Survey of India uncovers the glory of past (motto of ASI states 'प्रत्नकीर्तिमपावृणु') we will perhaps understand more about this ancient civilization. On a side note, the script found at archaeological sites still remains undeciphered. You can read more about it from books of Indian archaeologists like B.B. Lal, R.S. Bisht and other books by scholars. Here is a link about o...

In about few hours I would complete twenty eight years on the third rock from the sun, the planet we call our home, Earth. Of course the political divisions in the modern world have restricted our view to the countries we live in. However sometimes while switching through the myriad of television channels inundating our minds, we come across a picture of this rock taken more than forty years ago by the crew of Apollo 8 as they orbited around the moon to witness the ‘Earthrise’ by a member of the mankind. To see this beautiful blue ball hovering in a seemingly endless space forces us to move beyond the boundaries and into the realm of space. Perhaps that is the time when our minds echo with the words of free thinkers like Socrates or Kaniyan Ponngundran. The sentiment of ‘World Citizen’ these men believed in hundreds of years ago are as contemporary as the efforts of a slightly aging United Nations to promote world diplomacy and cooperation.  I was born in the year 1983 in the ci...

A Potpourri of Spiritualism, Religion and Faith A Simple Life Chitrakoot is a small town located in the northern Vindhyas in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A small town bustling with pilgrims crisscrossing through the narrow roads into the various holy places that are scattered all across it. The new Chitrakoot shares it's holy land with the state of Uttar Pradesh as well. For a city dweller like me being in Chitrakoot felt like rewinding the clock about twenty years back, before the modern technology overwhelmed the human beings. I went to Chitrakoot on my father's behest but the next two days were a religious reunion of sorts. If ever there was a competition for "Holy of Holies" in India, the small town of Chitrakoot would win it hands down (it is described as the teerth of all teerths, you can read the history behind this  here ). "Teerth" is a Sanskrit word meaning a holy place next to a water body. And the holy river running through Chitrakoot is M...

I came to South Africa not knowing what to expect. But, surprisingly all my unknown expectations were fulfilled beyond my imagination! I managed to taste and enjoy most of the colors of the Rainbow Nation. Although just a three week visit and riveted around Durban, I managed to get a feel of Suid-Afrika. Durban   Airport   and the Indian Girl King Shaka Airport, Durban, SA I landed in   Durban   on a bright sunny evening in mid-November. Just near the immigration counters was a big poster of a smiling Nelson Mandela; welcoming us with a big smile and the 2010 football world cup trophy clutched tightly in his big hands. I knew I was in   South Africa,  a country I would never had thought of visiting if not for my job. The diversity was quite evident from the people at the counters. I had an African guy, a white guy and a girl of Indian origin wearily looking at the long line of people that had just landed from a flight from   Dubai . I ended up wi...