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Indus Valley to Incredible India

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Jul 22, 2013.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Syamala
    It is good to be an optimist but at the same time, we must ensure that our optimism does not run wild. It has to be within practical limits. A pessimist is usually more cautious whereas an optimist tends to throw caution to the winds. I have read this somewhere: “Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.” Some may say that this view itself is pessimistic but I am convinced with the practicality of it.

    You talk of a handful disciplined youngsters in Ramakrishna Math. They will be far outnumbered by the unruly mob out there and yet it is not wrong to expect that this handful of well behaved youngsters will usher in the change that the society so badly needs. One swallow does not make a spring! Further these youngsters that you talk of will carve themselves a decent life and go about it methodically unmindful of what is happening to the rest of the world. Every parent would surely advocate that only. Will they allow their child to emerge as a leader to fight the ills of the society? I doubt very much!

    You know Syamala, when my grandchildren enters the rat race for survival, do you think that anything other than the instinct for self preservation will be their guiding factor? And can we blame them for putting their self before the need to change the society? I saw in the news today that a hundred stunt bikers were having a whale of a time in the Delhi streets last night and the Police had to open fire to bring them under control killing a youngster in his ‘20s. As a parent, our greatest concern would be to ensure that our child does not get entrapped by the lure of such fast life.

    Having said all that, it would be my earnest desire too that the future generation is able to stay clear of the ruinous ways of the majority and endeavour to live in pockets of safety and morality. That itself would be Incredible!
    Sri
     
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  2. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Kerman
    When you say that good and evil have to co-exist, I recollect the following limerick:

    God's plan made a hopeful beginning
    But man spoiled his chances by sinning
    We trust that the story
    Will end in God's glory,
    But at present the other side's winning.

    I see that Syamala is not in isolation when it comes to being optimistic but I am only saying that the optimism must be backed by action. If every parent exercises strict vigil over her child and ensures that he is not going to be part of the evil, I think that it is itself a good beginning. 'Groom the good that matters' is what you say. Let it start with your son is what I say. You may have heard of a Chennai young man driving his Benz over the pavement and killing a youngster. I know this family personally and how powerless the parents are in restraining the children. Haven't we heard of affluent parents who try to bribe the law enforcers into sweeping the crimes committed by their children under the carpet? Every drop does make an ocean but are ours going to be the pure raindrop from the heavens or the gutter that gets emptied into the ocean?
    Sri
     
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  3. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Viswa
    Being an idealist that you are, you have analysed civilisation from an idealist point of you and accordingly talked about preserving the values in society. Your take on the regressive and progressive civilisations reflects this idealist in you but a civilisation is not just the cumulative contribution of the idealists in a society. In the modern scenario, the evil outnumber the good in the societal fabric and this will determine the quality of the fabric. The problem with idealists is that they talk of only idealism and refuse to reckon with the real scenario. There was a time in the distant past when the great thinkers of the world could communicate with the masses effectively because of the limited size of the population. Even then, they could hold sway only over a section of the population and the rest continued to pursue stark materialism totally negating the change that the thinkers were endeavouring to bring about.

    On civilisation, Ruskin wrote: “Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. No one of these books can be understood unless we read the other two. But, of the three, the only trustworthy one is the last-The Book of Arts- temples, churches, mosques, mausoleum, sculpture, painting, monuments, great heritages of buildings” I really do not know if I should agree with this statement or not. When I saw the Ten Commandments, I could see how the Hebrew slaves were used in the building of the treasure city of emperor Seti’s Jubilee. Some 25000 workers were reported to have slogged for 20 years in building the Great Pyramid of Giza and there is no dependable report on their working conditions. Thus the great monuments of ancient civilisations might throw light on the artistic mind of the few but not on the living conditions of the masses. It is like writing the present history of India on the basis of the rockets we keep firing from Sriharikota!

    In this context, I must make a mention of Felipe Armesto’s magnum opus “Civilisation”. Armesto’s book, perhaps, is a pioneering study of the influence of the environment on civilisations. In seventeen chapters, comprising 565 pages, Armesto studies civilisation with a fascinating sharpness of intellect and dedicated application to details and the result is that the book is a memorable contribution to the study of a subject that matters to man more than any other. What I like best about him is that he is not judgmental. He leaves that part to us. Any keen student of history must read this book.
    Sri
     
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  4. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear OJ
    An illuminating FB! I am so happy that you too are a fan of Hendrik van Loon. I have never across a more fascinating narrator of world history from the dawn of time. The concept of eternity as explained by him in those three lines that you have quoted cannot be equaled by any other writer. I have discussed this opening chapter alone with my daughters and grandchildren.

    While historians revel in describing ancient landmarks in history with such élan, only someone like Hendrik can describe the fall of an empire in such beautifully simple terms. Here is his take on the fall of Rome:
    THE text-books of ancient History give the date 476 as the year in which Rome fell, because in that year the last emperor was driven off his throne. But Rome, which was not built in a day, took a long time falling. The process was so slow and so gradual that most Romans did not realise how their old world was coming to an end. They complained about the unrest of the times–they grumbled about the high prices of food and about the low wages of the workmen–they cursed the profiteers who had a monopoly of the grain and the wool and the gold coin. Occasionally they rebelled against an unusually rapacious governor. But the majority of the people during the first four centuries of our era ate and drank (whatever their purse allowed them to buy) and hated or loved (according to their nature) and went to the theatre (whenever there was a free show of fighting gladiators) or starved in the slums of the big cities, utterly ignorant of the fact that their empire had outlived its usefulness and was doomed to perish.
    How could they realise the threatened danger? Rome made a fine showing of outward glory. Well-paved roads connected the different provinces, the imperial police were active and showed little tenderness for highwaymen. The frontier was closely guarded against the savage tribes who seemed to be occupying the waste lands of northern Europe. The whole world was paying tribute to the mighty city of Rome, and a score of able men were working day and night to undo the mistakes of the past and bring about a return to the happier conditions of the early Republic.
    But the underlying causes of the decay of the State, of which I have told you in a former chapter, had not been removed and reform therefore was impossible.

    And so he goes on. Mind you, he was writing this book for his grandchildren and so had to explain even the most complex historical events in the simplest of expressions. In the process, he has created a masterpiece. I am totally lost the present world, OJ!
    Sri
     
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  5. Anitap

    Anitap IL Hall of Fame

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    A society that innovates will be remembered.
     
  6. kelly1966

    kelly1966 Platinum IL'ite

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    Cheeniya Sir
    I totally agree with you on this
    you know its been our only endevour as a parent to bring up our son with the right values.. many a times I feel that he is deprived of "gadgets" etc which his friends & cousins possess not because of affordability but because of our famous response "why do you need it?" this what we as parents firmly believe and practise in our lives "that there is no end to desire.. so everytime you want something think why..and then think how much is it going to enhance my life .. and then also consider that do you possess something that you can use instead?"... Yes I'm trying..
    Kerman
     
  7. shyamala1234

    shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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    "Having said all that, it would be my earnest desire too that the future generation is able to stay clear of the ruinous ways of the majority and endeavour to live in pockets of safety and morality. That itself would be Incredible!"

    That's how I want my children to live when they grow up.

    Syamala
     
  8. PushpavalliSrinivasan

    PushpavalliSrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Mr Cheeniya,
    To me also "Incredible India" seems to be not bad considering the present state of our country.

    Your quote of W.B.Yeats is quite apt for the present state of our country.

    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold- This reflects our central government's present state trying hard to rule till the end of their tenure with so many scams and insensitive blabbers of the Congress spokespersons.
    Mere anarchy is looked upon the world
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere-These two lines describe the family feuds, dowry deaths. son killing father to take up his job, kap panchayats, Maoists and terrorists etc.
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned - Innocence of children deprived due to many external facts like invasion of media channels and social sites.
    The best lack all convictions, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity” No need to give example to the last two lines.

    Though I do not want to be a pessimist or an optimist I want to be a realist. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope for the better if not best.

    PS
     
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  9. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Kamala
    It is interesting that you seem to consider ‘period of corruption’ as a fit nomenclature for our present state of affairs. But corruption is not just a modern malady and has had its root right at the dawn of the material man. Did not Judas Iscariat betray Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver? Do you know that Diogenes carried a lamp by day in his search for an honest man? And this was in 4th Century BC! Corruption has become so common in all fields that people have started calling it ‘Facilitation Fees’! Even when a few thousand people inhabited this planet, there was corruption. So we must look for a bit more unusual name for our evolving civilisation.

    Who told you that ‘casteism’ has been abolished in India? The Law may say so but it is now practiced in more virulent form than when casteism and untouchability were lawful. All the honour killings of the modern times are caste related. The more steps are taken to curb it, the more rampant it becomes. The so called ‘vote bank’ is absolutely caste-based. You are right about the life in rural areas. The poverty line has become the butt of jokes for many politicians. A film star turned politician was ridiculed recently for saying that you could get a square meal for Rs.15 in Mumbai!

    My grandma always thought that Gandhi ruined this country by getting us freedom from the British! I am surprised that this sentiment still runs strong from what you say. Grass is greener. It is possible that the British are ruing that Man Mohan Sigh is not their PM! The fact is that no one is happy today and does not even know why he is not happy! There is a famous saying that if anyone forgets history, he is condemned to repeat it! It is true of national, communal, family and individual levels!
    Sri
     
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  10. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Anita
    Brevity is not only the soul of wit but also an effective weapon to combat people who have a tendency to cut loose at the slightest provocation! You know how I write on and on to establish what I know is nothing smaller compared to what you know! Confront me with this kind of one-liner and I am instantly subdued. I blink like a caged rat which had hitherto had a run of its life in a sea of grains!

    A society that innovates will be remembered. I scratch my head trying to think of a matching refrain. Nothing comes to mind. Looks like I am not as innovative and hence unfit to be a member of the society that you are talking of. *Sigh*
    Sri
     
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