Wednesday 29 August 2018
ये जो देस है तेरा, स्वदेस है तेरा
ये वो बंधन है जो कभी टूट नही सकता
ये जो देस है तेरा, स्वदेस है तेरा...
ये जो देस है तेरा, स्वदेस है तेरा...
Another Independence Day, another official holiday, another day to rest or go out with family and yet another celebration of driving away the colonists. We celebrate the spirit of valour, courage and persistence. We celebrate the fight against oppression, the fight for our rights to decide for ourselves and the fight to be free to do what we want.
But watching the flag hoist every year, I had a small question. Are we really free? Forget being free, but does our generation even know who we are? We proudly call ourselves Indians (at least I do). But where do we belong to? Were our ancestors born here? Allow me to put across a different side of the story hitherto.
We proudly talk of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Indus valley civilisations as part of our ancient history. They were never a part of our current mainland. Instead, have we made efforts to visit or even read about 'Rakhigarhi' and other local ancient sites? Rakhigarhi is a place in modern day Haryana about 150Kms from Delhi. This is older than all of the above settlements. Haryanvi's can directly be traced back to this site. In fact, they are probably the only purebloods in the Indian mainland along with a few from South India and a few tribes from Andaman and Nicobar and Chhattisgarh. Surprisingly, some of the oldest tribes in the Northeast are of African origin. Rest, most of us have been just imported or crossbred.
Are we descendants of Aryans? Even here, we are imported because Aryan origins were recently traced to a few parts of Europe. De we trace our lineage to the Mauryas, Guptas and all dynasties in between? A recent study shows that the majority of North Indians are a cross breed between indigenous people (that too a high proportion from the south) and foreign settlers. We feel proud of Sanskrit and Vedas. They were also brought in by the Aryans.
We talk of Hinduism as the world's oldest religion. But have we ever given thought about where did our Gods namely Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Ganesh, Ram, Krishna etc. come from? Or like always we will back off from the debate saying their origins can't be traced. Well, to start with; all our ancestral civilisations worshipped the forces of nature. They worshipped mother earth as the goddess of fertility and the sun god. Some argue that stone structures in the form of 'Linga' have been found in the Harappa ruins probably referring to phallus worship. But these are at max theories and possible conclusions drawn out based on our current understanding of our culture. None of our 'Puranas' and religious books corresponds to the period when they were discovered. Did our mythical stories really take place, or were they made as a source of teachings and learnings to help us lead meaningful lives?
So, I come back to my question. Who are we? Do we even know where we belong?
We talk of international holidays. We prefer learning Hip-Hop and contemporary dance. The biggest irony is that we don't even know the history and origins of these let alone Indian traditional arts. We listen to rock and party in a disco because it is the new 'cool'. Neglecting our mother tongues we try and speak fluent English which is again an imported 'commodity'. We follow quite a few traditions and rituals but fail to understand their significance. Have we ever questioned why they were started in the first place?
Allow me to introduce my India to you. Everyone knows about our major festivals and tourist destinations like the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Goa, Jaisalmer, Varanasi etc. But the next time you plan for an International Holiday, try looking up the following:
But watching the flag hoist every year, I had a small question. Are we really free? Forget being free, but does our generation even know who we are? We proudly call ourselves Indians (at least I do). But where do we belong to? Were our ancestors born here? Allow me to put across a different side of the story hitherto.
We proudly talk of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Indus valley civilisations as part of our ancient history. They were never a part of our current mainland. Instead, have we made efforts to visit or even read about 'Rakhigarhi' and other local ancient sites? Rakhigarhi is a place in modern day Haryana about 150Kms from Delhi. This is older than all of the above settlements. Haryanvi's can directly be traced back to this site. In fact, they are probably the only purebloods in the Indian mainland along with a few from South India and a few tribes from Andaman and Nicobar and Chhattisgarh. Surprisingly, some of the oldest tribes in the Northeast are of African origin. Rest, most of us have been just imported or crossbred.
Are we descendants of Aryans? Even here, we are imported because Aryan origins were recently traced to a few parts of Europe. De we trace our lineage to the Mauryas, Guptas and all dynasties in between? A recent study shows that the majority of North Indians are a cross breed between indigenous people (that too a high proportion from the south) and foreign settlers. We feel proud of Sanskrit and Vedas. They were also brought in by the Aryans.
We talk of Hinduism as the world's oldest religion. But have we ever given thought about where did our Gods namely Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Ganesh, Ram, Krishna etc. come from? Or like always we will back off from the debate saying their origins can't be traced. Well, to start with; all our ancestral civilisations worshipped the forces of nature. They worshipped mother earth as the goddess of fertility and the sun god. Some argue that stone structures in the form of 'Linga' have been found in the Harappa ruins probably referring to phallus worship. But these are at max theories and possible conclusions drawn out based on our current understanding of our culture. None of our 'Puranas' and religious books corresponds to the period when they were discovered. Did our mythical stories really take place, or were they made as a source of teachings and learnings to help us lead meaningful lives?
So, I come back to my question. Who are we? Do we even know where we belong?
We talk of international holidays. We prefer learning Hip-Hop and contemporary dance. The biggest irony is that we don't even know the history and origins of these let alone Indian traditional arts. We listen to rock and party in a disco because it is the new 'cool'. Neglecting our mother tongues we try and speak fluent English which is again an imported 'commodity'. We follow quite a few traditions and rituals but fail to understand their significance. Have we ever questioned why they were started in the first place?
Allow me to introduce my India to you. Everyone knows about our major festivals and tourist destinations like the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Goa, Jaisalmer, Varanasi etc. But the next time you plan for an International Holiday, try looking up the following:
- Thiksey and Turtuk village in Ladakh
- Dawki River & Mawlyunong village (both the cleanest in Asia) in Meghalaya
- Gondola Ride in Gulmarg (Indian Alps)
- Night Sky at Hatu Peak in Narkanda (2 hours from Shimla)
- Hornbill Festival, Nagaland
- Grehan Village in Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh (Honey village of India)
- Neelakurinji flower bloom in Munnar, Kerala (they bloom once in 12 years during August to October)
- Mukundara hills tiger reserve in Rajasthan
- Chambal and Aero river confluence in Chambal valley, Madhya Pradesh
- Mayapur in West Bengal (The new ISKCON Temple under construction will have the largest dome in the world once complete)
Got a new bucket list? This is where true India still lives. And, I have yet not touched the tip of the iceberg. Real India lives in its villages which are still rooted in traditional everyday routines and habits even after centuries of change. I agree that there are a few downsides to this, but at the same time, there is a lot to learn.
We belong to a country of faith and belief, a country deep-rooted in family values of honesty, forgiveness, tolerance and respect towards everyone and the environment around. We embody diversity. We are a land of mythologies and stories which provide knowledge and solutions to every conceivable aspect of life. Our traditions were started with reasons and scientific logic backing them at every corner. We as a nation have not lost our identity even after countless invasions over millennia but have imbibed the best aspects and survived.
This Independence Day let's make an effort to know ourselves. Let's sit with our grandparents and talk about their experiences and lifestyle. Travel to an offbeat destination, spend a day farming and staying in a village without our mobile phones and computers. Let's take the traditional rickshaw ride and enjoy street food from the 'not so hygienic' roadside vendors. Devote some time and find out the reasons behind our everyday rituals. Let's try and understand the learnings from our mythology.
This Independence Day, let us all get closer to our country, let us get closer to ourselves; because only when we know ourselves can we be truly free. Let us change ourselves and take a stand to bring about an Independent India in its true sense.
HaPpInEsS...
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