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'Macaulay has obviously done his work well. It is going to be quite a job undoing it!'
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Wed, 28 Jul 1999 14:44:31 -0400 In the beginning, the Dravidian movement was projected as the movement to liberate the oppressed for all these years. The last six decades have been witness to the fact that the movement has failed most miserably in its proclaimed objectives. The reasons are not hard to see. For all its projections, the movement was more anti-Brahmin than pro-oppressed classes. The movement was led and dominated by the members of the forward castes (other than Brahmins) and other backward castes. Its single point agenda was to completely eliminate Brahmins from the Tamil society (Poondodu Ozhippom was the exact phrase used by E V Ramaswamy Naicker, meaning we will destroy Brahmins from their roots). To this extent, the DK was prepared to twist history and claim that all the Brahmins were Aryans by race and all the other caste people were Dravidians. The British government aided their version of history. In return, the DK, sucked up to the British and was the only party that opposed the Independence of India! For the duration of its existence and for the three decades it has been in power, the Dravidian parties did nothing to really improve the conditions of the really oppressed people - the dalits. This was because the leaders and sympathisers of the movement were wealthy landowners and merchants belonging to the (non-Brahmin) upper castes. Of course, they labeled themselves as backward castes and even "Most backward castes". Net result: The most wealthy of Tamilians like Gounders and Thevars and Chettiyars were given concessions as being BCs and MBCs! The main goal of these people was not freeing the oppressed dalits but only shifting the power structure in Tamil Nadu so that they replaced the Brahmins in every sphere. For example, until the 1950s, Brahmins formed the bulk of the entertainment, legal and many other professions. The Dravidian movement managed to wrest the dominance in most of these fields from them. But, the movement did nothing to change the power structure in the agriculture, landowning and general trade sectors which were dominated by the wealthy (non-Brahmin) upper castes. Therefore, after three decades of rule by the supposed champions of the oppressed people, we see the occurrence of riots and clashes between dalits and the other upper castes in Tamil Nadu. We also see the emergence of the new dalit movement under people like Dr Krishnaswamy. Another reason for the failure of the Dravidian movement was that it was based on loose logic. According to the movement's leaders, in TN, all Brahmins were Aryans and all others were Dravidians. Also, all North Indians were Aryans. This doesn't make any sense as according to this theory, non-Brahmins in North India can neither be Aryans nor Dravidians. If Aryans did infiltrate the Dravidian society, then people of all castes would have come into the society and not Brahmins alone. Singling out Brahmins was more due to the hatred rather than any sound logic. The faults in the caste system are not about any particular caste. It is about power. The simple reason why the Dravidian movement failed is that it did nothing to dismantle the caste system. It only strove to change the structure so that some other castes had the power. Slowly, the dalits are realising this. And meanwhile, the Dravidian parties are sinking more and more into murky politics with ego clashes and compromises for survival.
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Tue, 27 Jul 1999 21:59:56 +0100 I praise all the jawans who fought the Kargil war and other previous wars. I salute them and all those officers who sacrificed their life for the sake of my Motherland India. I don't have words to express my sincere gratitude to them. Please convey my deepest sympathies to the bereaved families of the other air force, navy and military personnel. I always wish them the best and pray to God for their success in future actions. If I can help in lessening the loss of the bereaved families, I will be willing to help them in whatever way I can. M C Srinivasan
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Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:44:41 -0700 I read with interest Savera Someshwar's article dated July 28, 1999. I have a few words to say about the piece. I am surprised that Rediff decided to put this on the net. If one were to analyse the article, there would be only one moral to the whole piece .. and that is "Only Indians behave in the way illustrated by the author". I really plead the cause of the Indian to the author and the publishers of Rediff. Some people are like what's described in the article... but it is a totally defeatist attitude on our part as Indians to proclaim to the world that Indians are all impolite and misbehaved including adults. Some people are impolite cross culturally but we as a culture are hell bent on highlighting to the world what our shortcomings are rather than our strengths. Specially the Press. If you were to see the Western media, you will see the shameless self promotion of their country and culture which we Indians swallow hook, line and sinker. Anything negative in their system is noted, but quietly buried by the system and the Press. The author is trying to compare the Western system and attitude to the Indian system which is like comparing apples to oranges. If the West had the population that we have, maybe they too would behave in a similar manner. Maybe the people who travelled in the plane with the author were not used to the regulation. Maybe they did not travel in planes often enough, so this occasion was special to them. Maybe the guy was an alcoholic in severe depression. Bottom line is "who knows?" It is sad that Indians are ready to brand their own countrymen across the board as "impolite". I urge the author to get out and see the real interior of the other countries rather than sticking to the big cities. She will see the same basic human traits in different manifestations. I urge Rediff to redefine what it needs to feed the public. Not only do articles like this lower the self-esteem of all Indians, but it defines to the rest of the world what we think of ourselves. I agree that we need to educate the masses, but not castigate them in our mindless pursuit to ape the West. Amit Gupta
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Wed, 28 Jul 1999 14:06:27 -0700 I was glad that someone finally decided to publish the general happenings on an aircraft leaving or coming to India. I am sure that most of us would have their own experiences to share in this regard. I was once chatting with a purser on board an international airline from Amsterdam to Atlanta and was embarrassed by the stories he had to tell about us Indians. We really seem not to have even the most basic lessons in etiquette and that results in all Indians being branded. Some of his stories were as follows ( I would be brief): 1. A Gujarati sitting on a plane as he would on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad express. With oily theplas and messy buttermilk (chaas) all over the place even dirtying other seats. Or better still requesting for a change in seat after spilling food. Worse still if they come in groups, they talk so loudly. 2. Illiterate people on their way to the Middle East. Wearing lungis and smoking beedis on the flight (at least they listen to the crew and accept their ignorance of English). 3. Indians in general are not able to resist phoren made booze and make such fools of themselves, when they would not even be able to stand up on their feet without the fear of falling over. I personally have seen many more incidents of this order that I find it no surprise that alcohol is not served on board domestic flights in India. I hope that your article would have some effect on such people. Binoy Unnikrishnan
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Fri, 16 Jul 1999 08:54:49 -0500 Awesome!
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Tue, 29 Jun 1999 12:41:23 -0400 The shopping mall in Bombay is a great idea (since we don't have any). Hope Piramal does a good job of it. Also I would like to know the exact address where this mall being built in Bombay. Sunil Crossroads, the Piramal mall, is located at Tardeo, towards the Haji Ali side.
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Wed, 30 Jun 1999 11:03:36 PDT Oh, how I love curd rice and lemon pickle! The creamy milky crushed soft curd rice, with the salty sour tang of lemon pickle ... just heaven! Nothing compares with it. No meal is ever complete without thayir saadham at the end. It just perfectly rounds off and completes the meal. I've been away from home -- Madras -- for the last seven years. Wherever I go -- be it Bangalore, Pune, Bombay or even Singapore, London, New York -- there's seldom been a day when I've gone without eating curd rice. Not just curd rice -- sambar, rasam, curry (vegetables) -- I've to eat it at least once a day. On days when I've been without it, I've distinctly felt something lacking in the innermost depths of my being. I just don't know how to express it -- it's just not the same! And as they say: "necessity is the mother of invention" -- I, who had never lifted even a hand to help my mother with her household chores, let alone cooking -- am quite an accomplished cook today! Hmmm -- anything wrong with this? I've met quite a few people who think so and clearly stand by, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". They advocate that when in America, it's better to give up your native habits and blend with the crowd -- burgers, fries, coke etc. Of course, if there's no other option, that's the way to go. But if you've the materials, the time, the skill and the will, I don't see anything wrong in cooking South Indian food even in New York and enjoying it at least once a day or whenever you can. But I've met some who don't even agree to this. Nah, let go and just be American. Why should I? This South Indian meal is not just some assorted vegetables and rice, which has been hastily piled up on the plate. It's the product of thousands of years of civilisation. The product which was refined and perfected over the millennia. For example if you take rasam -- whoever thought of mixing tamarind water, salt, tomatoes, coriander, plus a half a dozen assorted spices to come out with a incredibly delicious soup to be eaten with rice? Of course, there are several factors which underlie the creation of the rasam -- the fauna available, the culinary tastes of the people, the climatic conditions which necessitate such easily digestible food, the implied health benefits of consuming the brew and also important -- the world view behind the creation of the vegetarian dish. In short, the rasam is something which was evolved by a people over the millennia -- something which suits them perfectly in a wide spectrum of aspects. And the most important point being that, it is what has come out naturally -- for the people -- by the people. And you want me to abandon this food -- which is the most natural to me -- for burgers and fries -- food evolved by a different people in a totally different natural and cultural environs? Don't get me wrong! I'm not saying that an Indian should eat only Indian food. I don't mind eating veggie burgers and fries or pasta, once in a while. But all the time? But again, if you truly like non-Indian food, prefer them naturally over Indian food -- go right ahead -- do what you like! But you're definitely a puzzle to me and I've a question for you - How can you not like what has evolved through the millennia by your own people? The question has me truly stumped! Not only in matters culinary -- but also literature, culture, arts etc How is it that Indians, even those who live in India, prefer English over Sanskrit (or sometimes even over their native dialect), Shakespeare over Kalidasa, Kant over Nagarjuna, Plato over Shankara, jeans over dhoti, Rock music over Carnatic music, Picasso over Ravi Varma? Artificial over Natural? I'm not questioning the greatness of all the non Indians mentioned above. But what about their Indian peers, of whom today's Indians are ignorant of? Of course, the argument can be made that the artificial is actually better than the natural -- but how can you say so, when you're in some cases not even aware of what the natural is? I doubt if more than an incredibly minute percentage of India's population are even aware of who Nagarjuna was or what he taught? And I wonder if todays Indian Communists who, inspired by Western scientific and rational ideals argue against anything spiritual, are even aware of a great tradition in the past in their own homeland, which not only argued for materialism but produced a full blown nihilism on purely rational grounds! The German scholar Max Mueller remarked of the Advaita Vedanta that "Human metaphysical speculation seems to have reached its very acme here". And when even Goethe salutes Kalidasa in Faust, that must at least merit the great Sanskrit poet some consideration amongst his own countrymen? How can Kant or Marx or Plato or Shakespeare merit more attention to Indians, than Nagarjuna or Jayarasi Bhatta or Shankara or Kalidasa? The latter four born in the same land, raised in the same culture, truly represent the aspirations and ideals of the Indian mind and are hence more natural to Indians than the first four. Yet I'm sure that the first four are more familiar to the educated Indian of today than the latter four. There's something called "Indianness". Every civilisation, every country, every people have their own way of doing things. It's their unique way of doing something, evolved under particular conditions, which suits them perfectly -- naturally. Portuguese Madeira and French Bordoux are both great wines, both treasured with pride by their respective people. But each has its distinct mark, which distinguishes it from the other -- reflecting the uniqueness of the people's creativity. Such is what shapes the soul of each people's culture. By blindly following Western culture and ignoring our own, I wonder if we still retain in our souls the original natural "Indianness" - nourished and developed by such great souls like Yagnavalkya and Gautama Siddhartha? Though physically free, we seem to be mentally enslaved still. Macaulay has obviously done his work well and it is going to be quite a job undoing it!
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Sun, 25 Apr 1999 19:32:08 -0400 Pandit Ravi Shankar is a great musician; however, he is not a great Indian musician. He has been staying in the US for several years now, clearly indicating his preferred location. An award such as the Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indians. The same applies to Amartya Sen. The man has won the Nobel prize, having worked in UK for over 20 years. The credit is his and his organisations, not India's to cherish and boast about.
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Tue, 27 Apr 1999 09:39:45 +0800 As an engineering student who had pretty much the same problems as Rajkamal Jha in visualising the top and side views of things (strangely, it is the same story I give people who ask me why I'm not an engineer), I can relate to his desire to get out of that profession. However, it would have been nice to see that the taxpayers money that financed his education in IIT would have taught him the basics of statistics-4 heads in a row is not mathematically impossible, it is improbable (1/16 to be exact) but it is certainly possible. This level of ignorance is quite scary. Madan
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Thu, 06 May 1999 17:21:27 +0800 Well the idea of using ice is not a original one. This is already portrayed in some English movie/novel (probably Agatha Christie; can't remember exactly). Shvet
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Tue, 22 Jun 1999 16:20:02 +0100 The feature on Khayyam is very good. One thing which is missing, however, is the name of the films and albums for many of the songs mentioned: "The song, Awaaz do hum ek hain was written by Jan Nissar Akhtar. Khayyam also composed Watan ki abroo khatre mein hain (written by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Rafi) for a documentary directed by the legendary Mehboob Khan during the war. ..." In fact, the film by the great Khan Sahib is not mentioned. "He is also very proud of his association with Begum Akhtar." What songs/albums did this produce? Aman
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Sat, 24 Apr 1999 00:28:45 -0700 It was a pleasure to read the interview with Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Hope, you will get a longer interview with more photographs next time. Please get us more such interviews -- with classy personalities like Sri Semmangudi, M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Jasraj and other giants of Indian culture. I would also suggest interviews with famous folk artists. At least we can learn something from them. I am tired of reading interviews of political jokers and Bollywood fakes. N Rao
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