Bobble Heads
Non-Binary languages of India
And like the trademark Indian head nod, it appears we’ve got a rather non binary, bobble head attitude in general- in an eternal limbo.
We started nodding at what Dr. Shashi Tharoor had to say of course. An Indian man educated in Britain.
And moved on to Michael Wood — A British man who regards India with great passion, who taught me so much about the intricacies and nuances of my country, most of which I had no idea about through his BBC documentary ‘The Story of India’. We even learnt of British officials who fell in love with India during the Raj- stories we’d never heard of before.
“So, it’s a different conception of history to the Western conception of history. So, the fight is not just about the present, but about the past.The issue at stake is the story of India itself- who does it belong to? Had there ever been one Indian identity? Or was the real history, as Nehru and Gandhi and the freedom fighters believed, one of multiple identities and multiple narratives?”
It showcased the wonderful fusion of culture that emerged as a result of muslim invaders settling in India so much so that it made me wonder just what would have happened if Britain had made India home instead of treating her as a colony.
Here are a few snippets from the documentary-
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“So this pillar should be considered as a metallurgical wonder of the world! Yes, yes, yeah! Not just India — it belongs to humanity. Yes.”
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“All this was part of wider speculation about the place of humanity in the cosmos, a cosmos imagined by ancient Indians in billions of years, way beyond what anybody came up with in the West, before the age of radio telescopes. And the ability to imagine like that has always been a mark of Indian civilisation. Unlike the West in the age of Galileo, India was not traumatised by the revelation that the universe is infinite and the human place in it, tiny.That all things, the Gods too, are subject to cycles of cosmic destruction over aeons of time, and that human life is a pool of light in an infinite darkness.”
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All of Hindu philosophy talks of something called the “Purusharth”
Which is “dharma”, the whole quality of being a righteous human being.
You have “artha”, which is gathering wealth. So, it could be just business, could be governance…
Then you have “kama”, the idea of love.
And the last of these that you need to do in life is seek “moksha”, which is liberation.
Hinduism extols every human being to actually explore all these aspects of life.
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Great civilisations over time develop responses,habits, cultural immune systems that enable them to absorb the shocks and wounds of history and also to use the gifts of history. Those are the habits of successful civilisations. And India has always done that,always renewing its gene pool, always being receptive to new ideas and yet tenaciously holding on to that essential vision, that way of seeing the world which is Indian.
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It was an enthralling documentary, really made me miss home and the wonders lurking in the mundane. It’s odd what we take for granted.
While I was floating around in this headspace I ended up re-watching a range of films. Oh I was charged! I was inspired!
The visuals from the film ‘Breadwinner’ were absolutely stunning. I cried buckets.
And then bam! This happened and the world shifted.
This man is an absolute genius. Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik — my new idol.
All it took was binging every video of his to change our lives. Overnight our worldview shifted. In his talks he speaks of how the behaviour of a civilisation is shaped by the nature of its relationship to mortality. How those who believe in reincarnation and multiple lives have a cyclical and non binary world view and how those who believe in one life possess a linear world view. He explains how storytelling and mythology influence belief, and how belief shapes behaviour,and how that invariably determines how we do business.
BELIEF — BEHAVIOUR — BUSINESS
He speaks of order and chaos, inclusivity and exclusivity- where do I even begin?!
Everything has changed and there is no going back.
Oh my, have I decolonised my mind?
The amount of fan-girling we’ve indulged in of late is unbelievable. This project has sparked so much excitement in both of us, and I greatly value this mutual enthusiasm and passion towards our topic as it’s really fuelled our discussions to such a great extent that I can say that this has hands down been the most interesting and life changing group projects I’ve ever worked on.
All in all it became clear that our primary issue was that the western education system followed in India results in us learning to look at India’s problems with contempt rather than understanding. We unknowingly lead a cyclical non binary, non linear life but when we try to solve our problems we put on our western thinking hat. It appears this disconnect is the root cause of our troubles.
I’m pumped to see how we can widen our minds to other ways of thinking!
