Dharampal - an historian who lived and inspired the Indian World View

Dharampal passed away early this evening. As I write this I think of all the time spent with him and what he has meant for me personally and in developing an understanding of the Indian World View, I started learning of these things with him.

He came from a large family near Meerut in UP, got involved with the freedom struggle, married a British women in 1948, his children today live in Britain and Germany, his wife died many years back. His personal life perhaps has to be written in such a single long sentence and the rest is his public life, his ideas often laced with a sense of humour, his utter humility with which he would listen with rapt attention to very simple people. His attention for details, his need for perfection in everything, particularly the written word (he would certainly have looked down at the blog kind of impulsive writing, his every word is weighed so much you often got an impression that he actually weighs it with a small scale or something), his insight into the internatinal politics that made him come up with some amazing predictions about the way the world is and would change...I can go on.

For someone who has spent a large amount of time with him in the past few years, it is a sad day to know that he is no longer going to be around, to argue, to fight, to agree and disagree, to listen to, talk and discuss things, ...he was one intellectual on whom the intellectual label didn't sit very heavy.

He was a gentle Indian teacher, at times very harsh, at times extremely soft. He could not give lectures to big audience like many teachers cannot, he was always best with a small group of people sitting close by and having a long interaction.

Will continue...

Indian village deities worth a billion

This is an interesting news report. As far as I know there has never been an estimate made of the amount of resources at the disposal of the village dieties across India. This is meant to be common property of the public in the village and that it is held in the name of the village diety provides a sense of security for the property. There was never a question of material valuation or external security for these.
That there is a news report (below) on the security needs indicates that the 'other india' (that one which looks at every village resource as a commercial opportunity) is taking note. Is this a threat?? Flag this and keep watching.

Indian
village deities worth a billion: "Indian village deities worth a billion
Baldev S Chauhan in New Delhi October 06, 2006 02:20 IST"

Ustad Bismillah Khan: Benaras, Ganga and Shehnai

Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away today. A producer of melody of the old school and one with a child like laughter will be missed by the generations who listened and enjoyed his kind of music among whom I count myself.

I remember once watching a television programme in which he said, 'what is better than doing riyaz on the banks of the ganga, watching the crowds of Benaras and having the prashad of the Vishwanathji ka mandir'. This is truely an Indian character. Benaras is only possible in India - the dirt, the pollution, the utter chaos everywhere and amidst all that the sadhus, the gangaji, the cremation that goes on, the serene sights...there is no place on earth like this for its diversity, its colours, its festive air, its utter craziness and its amazing sanity to go on. I have spent a whole night on the banks of the Ganges in this city listening to recital of bhajans...music is a nerve that maintains this city.

Gangaji, Benaras and Vishwanathji Mandir will miss their favourite shehnai player and India, a true Indian and a Master. In deep respect to an amazing performer who have given me hours of blissful listening to a classical music that is fast disappearing. I strike off from my wishlist today a long pending wish to listen to Ustad play the sad tunes that he did only in the Muharram procession at Benaras.

21st August 2006

A traditional Sanskrit Verse

Read the following beautiful Sanskrit verse recently...

'Udyoginam purusasimhamupaiti laksmi
deivena deyamiti kapurusa vadanti;
Daivam nihatya kuru paurusam-atmasaktya
yetne krte yadi na sidhyanti ko'tra dosha - '

'Laksmi or Fortune runs with blessings to that lion among human beings who is industrious', 'the low level human beings, kapurusa, says that he or she depends on one's own destiny'. So, the verse says, 'throwing away all concept of destiny', 'through your own innner strength, be industrious, be active'. Yetne krte yadi ne sidhyanti, ko'tra dosha? 'in spite of all your efforts, if you did not get exactly what you wanted, what is wrong with it?'. That intense struggle, that effort, is that important thing.

Choosing cremation tree

"Don't let anyone chop off the tree near the village pond", said my Grandfather, narrated a village community leader, "You will need it for cremating me". Similarly, his father too around the time of his death, told him, "please use the long tree in our front yard to cremate me, that way I would be properly cremated and there would be no problems". (In rural Tamilnadu and indeed across India, the sign of a content life is equated to the completeness with which the person's body is burnt during cremation). We don't have any problem with death, it is a fulfillment of life commented the community leader after narrating this family tale.