Acknowledging the Culture Gap

Criminals, politicians, administrators, cops and now KJ Yesudas. It's very easy for us to say "I'm right and you're wrong". But it takes considerably more effort in understanding why we appear as wrong to others. Here is one attempt.

India has progressed at a breathtakingly fast pace since the last decade or so. But as always with such pace, the development has affected only pockets of the society. The result is that we have two vastly different sections of the society each one looking at the other with blatant contempt. Again, note that the contempt is mutual and it is a dangerous harbinger.

One section is forward looking, western, modern, savoring the freedom and liberty that exists in the world and marching ahead at a scorching pace. The other section is caught in its traditional web, unable to release itself from biases and locked and adamant to be in a status quo. The former wants India to be like the western world. Is frustrated at its slow adoption. The latter frustrated with the way the former is behaving. 

India has always found peace in tolerance. Be it the British or the Mughals or even before, tolerance has always been our virtue. It could be debated whether it was the best strategy but when we refused to tolerate it had usually resulted in chaos. While there is evidence that chaos has yielded something good, it's always tricky to predict the result.

I hope the section of the society which has the capability to tolerate finds a middle path and takes the other half along with it. In my opinion, any measure that we take ignoring the other half and considering only one half, however right it may be, is guaranteed to be a failure and cause chaos. And we just cannot afford that.

The first step is to acknowledge their hatred towards our way of life and understand where it comes from. In my opinion, only then a solution will emerge. We all enjoy and want freedom and with that comes a responsibility as well. The responsibility towards the society. It is easy to say that we are not to blamed if they are "behind". Can we ignore those that we think are too behind and do what we think is right? Can we look down upon those who think that we are "modern"? Debatable. I think we cannot if we want to live together.

Note: I'm not trying to say we have to adjust and live according to the other half.

Road trip from Dallas (Texas) to California

First things first. Make sure you check your car with a good mechanic – brakes, tires, bearings etc. Get some good wipers installed and don’t forget to fill the wiper fluid. You should at least able to check the engine oil level.

The major stops I took were at Santa Fe (NewMexico), Colorado Springs and Salt Lake (Utah).

Dallas (Texas) to Santa Fe (NM) – I took Route 287 and then I 40. The scenery is mostly dry and empty with what looked like old and abandoned oil pumps and some huge farms thrown in between. It also takes you through some small towns. So watch your speed! I took a detour to Lake Arrowhead state park where I was surprised to see hundreds of prairie dogs. The lake was however quite dry when I went (late August). The Caprock canyon state park also does not seem like a big detour, though I did not take it. You will have plenty of opportunities to go via the historic route 66 when you reach closer to New Mexico. Not to forget the so called “ghost towns”. The experience will be surreal J There are of course plenty of things to see in Santa Fe. I visited the Cathedral Basilica in downtown but the Loreto Chappel was a waste of my time  (the original hanging stairs has been modified quite a bit and they just looked like a winding fleet of stairs to me). Be aware of the toll ways at Dallas. They had a weird automatic system and there was no way to pay cash! 

Santa Fe(NM) to Colorado – I 25 in Colorado is itself spectacular with views of the front range of the Rocky mountains. If you are short of time, take the scenic high roads to Taos. The high road goes through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky range and the views are spectacular. You need to take Route 84 and follow signs for scenic byway to Taos and then eventually join I 25 to Colorado. You might also stop at the historic Santuario de Chimayó if time permits. I was fortunate to meet the 95 year old priest when I visited the church! The Rio Grande monument is another detour if you are interested. The town Taos itself is a popular destination. The Taos pueblo is a reservation and consists of a private, secretive and conservative population of native Americans. Though I could not enter the pueblo (it became too late) you may try your luck if interested. If you are spending a night at Santa Fe, you may also start the next day by visiting the Bandelier National monument and then to High Roads. Note that the Bandelier involves a foot trail of about 3 miles round trip and the place is accessible only by a public bus (private cars were not allowed). So do this only if you have enough time!  

Colorado springs to Salt Lake – Garden of the gods is a very short (less than 5 miles) scenic drive you just don’t want to miss while you are in Colorado Springs. Take a walk if you have more time. Pike’s peak is another consideration (they also have cog rails). If you continue on I25 (be careful regarding weather though), you will cross Palmer Divide for a spectacular view of the Rocky mountains. Then take I 70 near Denver (the junction is called “mousetrap”) instead of continuing north bound. Reach Salt Lake via Glenwood Springs and Rifle. The several tunnels and the winding route with steep grades along the way make it a very interesting drive. Enjoy the signs posted regarding the steep grades, warning signs for trucks and special runaway ramps for trucks! The route is rightly considered an engineering marvel! Rifle falls is a small detour (less than 20 miles) inside Rifle and you can get a real close view of the falls and is hardly a walk from the parking place. Hanging lake is another attraction near Glenwood springs that involves a not so easy hiking trail of about a mile one way. Arches National park is just 20 miles from I70 as you enter Utah. Ideally you need several hours to see everything in this park. But if you don’t have so much time you could just take the scenic drive through the park (about 20 miles) and come back to catch the highway. North of Salt Lake city is Timpanagos cave national monument on state route 92. To enter the cave there is a small hike (fully paved and hence easy except for the grade) of about 1.5 miles but offers some amazing views of stalactites, stalacmites and helictites (rock straws). 

Salt Lake to California – There are many places in Nevada where they still actively mine gold and some of these are actually open to the public for viewing. But they are open only on Thursdays and so might require some planning. I did not notice anything else interesting in Nevada along I 80. Lake Tahoe is a great place to cool off as you enter CA. Of course CA offers much more to see for a tourist!

My trip was mostly unplanned. All the above places I had discovered were by taking detours as I saw the brown boards (for national or state parks) or stopping by at the visitor center as I entered a new state or by asking my friends who lived in that area. So, perhaps you can find a better route and a better plan and if so I request you to leave a comment. Also, please do comment if you followed this route and if it was helpful! Thanks!

Age of Ravan(a)

This is purely an academic exercise based on some references of Ramayan(a) and other such literature and there is nothing religious about this article. So, whoever is reading this article, I kindly suggest to leave your sentiments and religious beliefs aside and view this piece as objectively as you can. Any comments mocking at the plausibility of the numbers below will be plainly ignored.

Ravan(a) is said to be the mighty king of Lanka and is portrayed as "evil" and one to be slayed in the epic Ramayan(a). But those who have read Ramayan(a) in some detail would also admire some of the traits of Ravan(a). To begin with, it is said that he had the blessings of "God" and was powerful and knowledgeable. He was not only a great king but was well versed in Vedas (the highest possible education at that time) and in music (apparently he was a great player of Veena). To call him a "demon", hence takes away all these good accomplishments from him. Perhaps, it is not without reason that they say 'character makes a man'.

It can be gleaned from Ramayan(a) that Ram(a) was in his 30s (about 38 to be precise) when he took on Ravan(a) in battle. But I have always wondered how old must Ravan(a) have been at the time of battle. Just curious. To my knowledge there is no direct or indirect reference to his age in Valmiki Ramayana (and there are several versions of Ramayan(a)). So, I will try and put together some information from other references in Tarantino style ;).

1. When sage Vishwamitra seeks the help of Ram(a) and Lakshman(a), Dasarath(a) is clearly scared at the mention of Ravan(a). This implies that either Ravan(a) was a contemporary of Dasarath(a) or possibly even before. A note here that Dasaratha himself says he has lived for "thousands of years".
2. Ravan(a) had battled with King Karthavirya Arjun(a) and lost the battle. Karthavirya, obviously at some point later, was in turn killed in a battle with Parasuram(a). This implies that Ravan(a) was around even a generation before Parasuram(a)!
3. Various references vaguely mention that Ravan(a) had performed tapas for thousands of years!


My opinion
It is easy to set aside these references as fantasies. I somehow feel it is a lazy way to discard things. Maybe there are other explanations?

1. What if the references were of multiple persons? Most of the names are derived from Sanskrit and hence have a meaning behind it. For instance "Vishnu" just means "the all pervading one" (So, why can't Shiva or any other "God" be a "Vishnu"?) and Ram(a:) means "one who is pleasing (to others)". And the name in focus, Ravan(a), means "crying" or "one who makes others cry". So, could it be that there were (and are) several Ravan(a)s?
2. Was it just a figure of speech at many of these references? My mother often used to say "I have told you this a thousand times.. " I respond to her saying "No, this is the third time actually" :P
3. The earliest definition of year (defined as the time it takes for earth to go around its orbit) is around 7th and 8th century BC. Could it be that the word "year" meant some other time scale in these older references? People from Krita yuga (a phase in Earth) supposedly lived for 1000s of years. What definition of "year" are they using?

Perhaps not without reason they say "ageless" epics :)

Can "we" come out of opinion based politics?

(Written mostly from an Indian perspective)

Region based politics (such as the left front in the NE and Kerala), caste based politics (too many examples to list), language based politics (such as the ones in TN), religion based politics (Hindutva and non-hindutva. Parties who call themselves secular just seem to be non-hindutva in my opinion. If you encourage a reservation system based on religion then you cease to be secular, right?. Reservation was provided in the constitution for demographic groups that were structurally oppressed and it was not based on religion. Anyway reservation system is a different argument altogether) and now we have been bitten by opinion based politics. 

Politics is a very difficult area. And on top of that it is murky. I have always believed that politicians are some of the smartest people on earth. Once they get a powerful position their objective is to maximize their wealth before the next election. Most of them succeed in accomplishing this simple objective. Of course, stuff happens in between. People criticize. People blame, threaten, protest and a majority remain quiet. They are all immaterial. A politician gets the job done. Personal job I mean.

To win an election is no easy task in the first place. Having contested an election at an extremely small scale at IIT, I have a vague idea of what it takes. You can come up with an extremely attractive, practical and useful manifesto. You can spend hours convincing the voters that you will get things done. Those just don't matter. Ultimately many voters don't care who you are. Some have their own agenda. Some have already made their decision, choices that are mostly personal. Some are just not going to turn up for voting anyways. At whatever scale the elections happen more or less the above trend is true.

Why are these choices personal and pre-determined? In other words, why are most votes mostly based on our opinions and not facts or extensive analysis? Why are we so impressionable? For instance, most of you who are reading this blog will fall into one of the following categories:

A. Believe in AAP and want it to succeed
B. Used to believe AAP but have now given up on AAP
C. Think that AAP is just like another political party and has a few tricks up its sleeve
D. AAP - kya AAP.. humko aap vap nahin malum saab

Some of us do wait and watch and our patience is running out with every new article. But most of us just follow what the herd says and blindly believe what the news reports say. "Oh yes, AAP is useless" or "Oh yes, AAP is fantastic". We just don't put thoughts to the reports and on top of that do not accept that we are so impressionable. A simple proof is the fact that both AAP supporters and haters (or non-believers) exist among the literate. Surely, one of them is being misled? I'm scared at this. If educated people cannot (or do not have the time to) fully analyze and come to a decision based on facts, it puts a huge pressure on a genuine political party (if any exists) to change people's opinions. I don't see any difference between us and a guy who has been voting for ADMK (a party started by a movie star in Tamil Nadu) for time immemorial just because he was a huge fan of the cine star who started the party (and who is no more). At least the latter's mind does not waver much.

Jai Hind!

An entry to a Hindu temple for the 'first' time

It is astonishing how we take many things for granted. We somehow assume that they will be available for us for ever, just like they are available right now. We don't realize that even if we have money, we might still get into a situation where the things we want, though material, may not be there for us. And then there are small yet beautiful things around us, which we fail to appreciate, and worse still ignore! That lack of appreciation continues in many other aspects including a visit to the temple. Most of us go to a temple because we have a need or we seek a solution for a problem, that is presumably beyond our capacity. Our mind is clouded with thoughts and insecurity. So, every time we step in to a temple, we fail to notice the beautiful, exquisite aspects. The carvings, the sculptures, the aroma, the stillness in the air, flowers (natural and otherwise) looking more beautiful amidst their relatives, the steady flame of a lamp devoid of its occasional flicker, a devotee lost in thoughts, the vibrations and the reverberations in the air from a powerful prayer, a child trying to imitate its parents, an infant curious about where it is and so on. It is not about being artistic but the eye "sees" only what the mind intends to.

A temple is where a 'God' is or where the presence of 'Divine' can be felt. And so, here I imagine myself visiting a 'Hindu' temple for the 'first' time trying to flush out all my prior notions of a temple.

As soon as you arrive at the temple, more than a welcome sign, the first sign to greet you will be "no shoes beyond this point" or something similar. Most temples are pretty strict about this. So, before you see all the nice things inside a temple you will be forced to see shoes at different life stages*. Once you enter the temple, the first thing that catches one's attention will be the numerous statues, some sitting, some standing and some even reclining. But at least all of them will be complete from head to toe and mostly no busts. Some are carved from stone (be it marble or granite), some modeled (from clay) and some even casted (from copper or bronze). And on a fleeting inquiry all will happen to be 'Gods', not just different forms but also different names with different stories. In most cases, the sculptures are such that an attempted "high five" moment is frozen mid way. The idols are not giving the devotees any "high-five". It's understood as an act of "blessing".

A closer look at these sculptures will also reveal that the sculptures are portrayed with as many super human features as the number of human aspects they show. Some will have two hands, some four and some even 16! You may also see some super human yogic poses which are almost impossible to mimic and some poses beyond imagination. Such as, a woman sitting on a lotus flower with a musical instrument. Either the lotus must be quite monstrous or the woman must be ultra-light! Or maybe, it is the power of levitation. Each sculpture is decorated in a unique way, some with jewels, some with flowers and in short, the sculptures are dressed up and look like adorable barbie dolls. Still, a typical devotee will come in front of the statue and close one's eyes! I mean why? If the sole purpose of coming in front of the idol is closing one's eyes, can't it be done without coming near the statue and sitting in a corner at the temple? ;) The animated looks of the idols is actually a stark contrast to the idols (if they exist at all) in many other religions. The smiling face (an ardent devotee will call it grace) does lift your spirits. 

Then there are various animals and birds and reptiles, not real ones but replicas of course, that one can see, almost like pets in front of each idol. From lion, tiger, snake, bull, peacock, parrot, bald eagle and even a rat! You might almost think that you are in some sort of a zoo/museum. Call it harmony with the nature or something more. Historically, people have tried to worship on account of two reasons - Love and Fear. Was it the fear of these animals (lion, snake, bull) or love (peacock, parrot) will be an interesting analysis.

Some idols are also too complex to understand. Neither animal nor human. There is this elephant headed human (Ganesha), lion headed human (Narasimha) and someone who looks like the holder of a Mr. Universe title. Six pack and all! Face of a monkey, body of a human with a tail and a mace to add (Hanuman). It is actually interesting to see how Hanuman has been portrayed physically stronger and stronger especially as one moves from the South of India to the North.

If you stay long enough or look closely enough, you should also be able to spot the curator for this "museum" (aka priest). He not only takes care of the sculptures, but mostly also the man behind the decorations. He also appears to "talk" to these sculptures from time to time in a language that even a typical devotee cannot understand. Maybe that is why, this language is called God's language (De(i)va basha)! Typically, the healthier and happier the curator looks the wealthier and majestic the temple is.

So, the next time you go to a "temple", spend a few minutes appreciating the nuances. The experience, I promise, only gets richer :)

Much of the temple context can be understood through this quote from Bhagwat Gita:
yo yo yāṃ yāṃ tanuṃ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārcitum icchati
tasya tasyācalāṃ śraddhāṃ tām eva vidadhāmy aham 7.21
In whichever shape a devotee with faith wishes to worship,
To such a one I give his steadfast faith

*People's strategy seems to be simple: The shoes and sandals cannot be flaunted and have to be left behind anyway. So, the higher the life stage, lower are the chances that somebody can become jealous of your pair and exchange it for theirs. The (sometimes intentional) swapping of foot companions is so common that many temples have a "shoe room" similar to the cloak room concept. The shoe rooms may actually make some business as well. Not that people are too fond of their foot companions. But I think it is going to be rather awkward to be without them after the visit, even if only for a few minutes.