It may not be the most impressive of topics to begin with for an amateurish writer as me!
But then, I'd be happy with the knowledge that I started off the first of my literary endeavour with an uncomplicated piece of thought about my country - India.... Cliched though the topic may sound. It really makes me wonder at the way I've taken the fact for granted that, my country is mine by birthright and that It really isnt necessary for me to acknowledge my gratefulness in any way... It was almost that, being born into India, and living
in the bowels of the great subcontinent itself was a gesture of thankfulness from my part.... As I look back, 24 yrs from today , I really wonder if i've ever wanted to express my thankfulness to India in any way - I can vividly recollect memories of criticisms mouthed at the sad multitudes of the underprivileged in the country, the disorderly, unkempt and polluted towns and cities,unsatisfactory infrastructure and the lackadiasical administrative
bodies..... But try as hard as I might, I cant remember one single thought of my having thought about my role as a citizen - I was just a spectator, like many others - attributing my minimal contribution in improving the state of things to the philosophy that - 'Nothing ever changes here, simply because people are comfortable in the very discomfort that they live amidst'.., forgetting the fact that in thinking so, I sadly fell into the same category.
Ironic, isnt it? And now,as I wake up day after day ,in this esterwhile capital of the colonial empire, London, I cant but help reminisce of my wonderful country and yearn to wake up again to the unnaturally warm,sultry mornings of my hometown Chennai,in the beautiful state of Tamilnadu and experience the microcosm of what I could call the Indian way of life.
It is not a secret anymore - our ancient past, much older than the civilizations of Egypt and Babylon, that had bequeathed its descendents riches in plentiful, of which we proudly carry forth even now , the non materialistic part - our culture ,to be more precise, having lost the other riches in the long course of history.Even having seen the most extreme of poverty, we've steadfastedly hung onto our riches from the past and beliefs in indealism.I'm
sure, few countries would have attracted as many conquerors as India had in the annals of time, that it makes you almost wonder whether it was her riches alone that brought forth battalions from far and wide, or some magical charm that she was capable of exuding, which enamored these mighty heroes to come hitherto...I wouldnt want to delve into all this history as much of it is well known by now, but , my point here is to simply make a confession, one that
might cause me acute embarrassment, in revealing that I owe the knowledge of my country's astounding past, not to my textbooks of Indian history ,or to the tales told by grandmothers, but to a couple of episodes of an amazing documentary on India, on BBC , by Michael Woods.Wait, there's more - And that it took me 24 long years to actually realise and make a little sense out of what my country's intriguing past meant and how little impact it had on me..
Believe me, I'm not here trying to call in for an excuse to point fingers at the Indian education system or blame them for my ignorance, but it still doesnt make sense as to why I do not see in a country like ours, with so great a history , actually do anything about making the current and future generations stop, ponder and wonder at the magnificent times that India has seen in her history , going back 7000 years in time.I never, for instance, have met any person in India say, with a passion to travel across from the east to west from the north to south, unravelling
history and reveling in it.. But I can list out atleast a dozen acquaintences whose life's dream was to travel around the entire of Europe,Australia and where not. It could be that Indians do not try and reinforce the importance of our history in a better way on the newer,younger
generation who are starved for want of a proper insight into our past.. Very few infact are even aware of the fact that India , is the world's most ancient surviving civilization, with a distinct unbroken continuity stretching back into pre history.
History , I feel , shouldnt just be an isolated part of our curriculum, it needs to be made less fearsome and more lively to young minds inorder to ensure that the vast sea of information, with its numerous names,dates and years doesnt intimidate them,but rather , flow across and sink in with a kind of impact that would make them understand it better, if not, crave for more!! Disjointed chronology of happenings in history, mere chapterisations and undue emphasis on certain periods alone, would make the entire history learning process a monotonous drudgery for our young and dynamic minds. Instead, a subtle stress on the fact that every momentuous
event of Indian history, from the most ancient Indus valley civilization , stretching across to the Aryan age to Medieval India and the great Mughuls to the long and ardrous freedom struggle and liberation, needs to be progressively taken one after the other , each era culminating in the start of another, that the transition doesnt appear random,broken or out of place.
Now that was just an idea of sorts that just came to mind when I pondered over just how many people still get turned off at the very mention of History - the root cause often seems to be a strong hatred for the subject imbibed deep inside, ever since their good old schooldays.It did Come as a huge surprise to me that a subject so diverse, so vast that it literally cannot have boundaries defined,and comes along with an opportunity to delve into the past of our
great ancestors and find out the deepest of our society's roots , could so universally be detested.No other study would let you understand and be comfortable with your own rich culture...Think about it.
