Friendship develops in time. Longer one knows a person, better is the friendship. Friendship is a function of mutual appreciation and understanding. There is a tacit respect to each other's view among friends. Sometimes friendship develops through hobbies, but childhood friendship is pure personal affection. Jitendra and I have been friends for more than fifty years. We share views, talk, discuss and differ; but we like each other. I admire Jitendra's spirit in life in spite of his handicap. Jitendra appreciates my views on the society. Our discussions range from childhood memories to mutual friends to national politics. Political representation in India is still governed by social groups, cults and castes. We laugh a lot. It had been a habit for me to explore the TV for new material. Studio photography sometimes looked dull and there were also transmission losses. The quality of sound could improve. India is a country of personal encounters and live performances. Technology is more of a convenience than an accessory. It has a good use in education, health tips and farming help. Some use it for entertainment. I wanted better documentaries and teaching guides. There was no program guide where one might check. Individual programming was creative. A local engineer friend with interest in Sanskrit had scheduled to drop by. We discussed various topics from Indian scriptures. We had breakfast and I was ready to leave for my third day tour on Nehru Center. Jitendra had to visit his sister who lived nearby. I called my uncle suggesting to him about the dance performance at National Center for Performing Arts in the evening. He said that transportation and seating could be difficult. He invited me to visit him in the afternoon.
For convenience, I took a taxi. Saturday traffic was better than the weekdays. I did reach the Center by 11 AM. I had the goal of visiting the panels depicting the first few centuries in Christian era in Indian history considered as the Golden Age in India. The information was rich. There were massive strides in number theory, astronomy, health sciences, literature, metallurgy and civil engineering culminating in magnificent stone monuments and temples. India was the light in a very dark world. Visitors came to India, no invaders. No comparable period of prosperity, scholarship and stability may ever develop in the world.
Prosperity possibly leads to jealousy. Hindu's world view and Buddhists' views are a bit different. Both accept the trascendence of life but map it differently. In the Hindu view, there is a merger of the self with the cosmos, while the Buddhists would think the self to be independent. Hindu view is tougher to comprehend and various rituals did develop to symbolically depict the view. The Buddhists thought that they were Brahminical diversions. Some Brahminical arrogance did come in and there were major disputes.
The intellectual disputes between the Hindu and Buddhist scholars pale in comparison to the slaughter of the Buddhists by the Islamic invaders. The Buddhists had built large libraries, education centers and monasteries. The illiterate invaders searched for gold and had no use for the books. Most collections were burnt down, The innocent ascetics were killed. Old brick structures of the Buddhist era are being gradually discovered memorializing the glorious days of Buddhist scholarship. We would not have much literature left had not the literature copied out to Chinese and Tibetan languages.
Unlike the Buddhist libraries, the Hindu scholarly manuscripts were vaulted in the interior darkness of Hindu Temples. The Islamists destroyed many temples claiming to help abolish idolatry. They plundered as much they could and slaughtered people who would not convert. There was terror all around and India changed from the celebration of scholarship to a land of blind rituals. The trade and industry continued in spite of the aggression and India maintained its productive capacity until about 1700 AD. The western traders jumped in to oppress and exploit. They were confused and disrespectful.
Indian history is a source of reflection and a commentary on humanity and civilization. There is no other country in the world with so much of diversity seasoned in time with mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. Religion can only give a conduct but one needs character for happiness and satisfaction. Exploration of character is the discovery of non-injury. It gets complicated. In the world, we operate through exploiting others. It manifests by assuming an arbitrary self-superiority through personal insecurity. India rejected the path of enslaving and exploitation thousands of years ago. The ado does wake up. Bad habits do not die easily!
My interest is in education. How do we present this large mosaic to our youth? How must one be noble and still defend oneself? How does one preserve one's heritage? What is that heritage that needs examination and safe-keeping? Is wholesome thinking too intellectual? Who are our new teachers? How do we create resources for self-study? Where are the scholars? Jawaharlal Nehru might have thought these in his jail cell when he created his historical narrative "Discovery of India". India is free now. The "discovery" is not a story any more. We need thousands of researchers to examine very inch of India's landscape.
I was walking slowly reading the panels and reflecting. Many families with children had come. The parents would point children to a panel they might know something about. India is larger than a monument or a panel. The Indian identity is not of consequence when one is inside the nation, it becomes an issue when one is abroad. Can we define "Indianness?" Can we spell an "Indian identity?"
I thought of visiting the Islamic eatery in the side street to observe how they might think of this identity. The big white robed man sitting in front was as unperturbed as before. He was intent in reading a Urdu newspaper. I took my seat and ordered my food. The server had been a friend and was taking care of me. The cook as usual was busy in high heat warm ups. After my food, I thought I would talk to the white robed man who appeared as the owner of the eatery. I told him that I was pleased with my visit and might not see them again.
My conversation itself brought a big grin on his face. He went on shouting that he had a customer from abroad. While I was checking if his forefathers invaded the temple in my native place. he was hugging me through his smiles and his relaxed personality. He waived my charges and said I was a guest. Suddenly a whole new India appeared in front!
I trekked back to the building and reached the Director's office on the thirteenth floor. The officers in India are more accessible than the officers in the west. The Receptionist asked me to go around the corridor and knock at the Corner office. Upon entering I met the Director sitting in a widowed room with various papers scattered. I introduced myself and asked if I could have access to the resource persons engaged with the exhibits. I told about my interest in creating educational material for children abroad. He invited another person (the Deputy Director) to participate in the conversation.
I told them why I thought the language and presentation needed revision given new research and new discoveries. We did talk about text books and educational resources. I learned that the teachers from the local schools assemble periodically to discuss topics but not necessarily to revise. They said that a design professor in Gujarat was responsible for the exhibits. They advised that I should write down where the suggested changes might be needed and they could pass them on to the design team.
Changes are not easy in India. Individual officers lack the autonomy and hence the incentive to research and creativity. The system is still colonial. Possibly people like the pyramidal management. The individual freedom, on the other hand, has been traditional call of India to the world.
I was on my way to my nephew's house where my uncle lives. I had to navigate my way.
