The History of India…A Hope for its Future

‘Ramayan’ TRP rating breaks record, garners 170 million viewers – Republic

Ramanand’s epic show has overtaken the popular “Game Of Thrones” in terms of viewership. -Times of India

When I was a little girl, I lived in a loud, loving, boisterous joint family with nine members and a rotation of house guests.

Mobile phones had not been invented yet.

The menu would be the same for everybody and we all ate together.

We had a singular television, that resembled a big box and it’s remote belonged in the hands of the most senior member of the family (not like he or she had much of a choice given that there was just the one channel).

And every Sunday we would leave whatever we were doing and gather around to watch Ramayana and Mahabharata. 

I love telling such tales to the millenials. I love the look of amazement and wonder on their faces.

But…

Before you millennials start expressing your shock and sympathies over the absence of multiple gadgets, I just want to say on record, that my childhood was AWESOME!!!

You will simply never know!

Back then, my grandmother would call me onto her bed, which would invariably smell just like her, of sunshine and soap, and narrate to me stories of the magical world of our Gods and Goddesses.

But I digress…the point of this pleasant walk down memory lane, is that the repeat telecasts of the Ramayana and Mahabharata during lockdown, were like revisiting a part of my childhood…that subsequently took me on a stroll down India’s ancient history as well, and got me thinking about our today.

It was first through history text books and then these shows that I learnt, that back in the day…

Kshatriyas meant power!

Brahmans represented wisdom, 

and

Vaishyas were the general public, the artisans, craftsmen, traders, farmers…

who, along with the Shudras, were ruled by the upper castes.

Seeing the visuals on television, coupled with their commanding language draped in heavy Sanskrit, gave me a real sense of the aura and responsibility that the upper classes possessed. 

Their word was law, and they were impeccable role models who would guide the rest, by living a life beyond reproach.

Then came the evils that being in the position of influence inevitably brings…the sins of corruption…the drunkenness of power…the war for unity and freedom from foreign invaders…and finally, much later, the abolition of the caste system.

Now all should have been just fine, you would think?!

However like all good stories there is a twist in this tale.

Freedom brought democracy.

Democracy brought politicians who became our leaders, but were no longer our ‘Kshatriyas’.

Politicians collaborated with Godmen, because religion is the source of a very large vote bank.

The Godmen who used to earlier also possess knowledge of medicine and healing, did not anymore.

Everything was different, yet a lot was the same.

Democracy is beautiful in theory, but in reality, income inequality is the current caste system!

So the learned healers were pushed way down the rung of caste hierarchy, where the knowledge of medicine started to be recognised as a ‘practice’ and therefore a business.

And because we were now a very large country instead of many small princely states, our ‘Kshatriyas’ in their uniforms were positioned far, far away at our borders, where out of sight became out of mind. They are now thought about with utmost emotion, respect and passion…ONLY when our neighbouring countries rudely, brutally and unforgivably send them back to us draped in the tricolour.

And that brings us to today!

Today when Corona has restrained us within our own homes.

When we cannot even step out for a breath of fresh air and sunshine or reach out to our loved ones.

We have to ask ourselves. Who has been there for us today in this unbearable, miserable time of need?

Who has seen us though?

Who has carried us metaphorically on their backs like Lord Hanuman would, or shown us the path like Lord Krishna did when he rode Arjuna’s chariot?

Our…

Doctors

Nurses

Hospital Personnel

Farmers

Soldiers

Police force

The media

Navy

Pilots

Airline crew

Engine drivers

Bus drivers

Sweepers

Security guards

Courier boys

Fruit & Vegetable sellers

Grocery store owners

Butcher shops

Milk vendors

Bakers

Pharmacists

Garbage disposers

Fumigators

Our house staff

Our Sewage drain cleaners…

The list is by no means comprehensive. I apologise for those I didn’t mention…but the fact of the matter is….Almost all of our Covid warriors today, were never considered a powerful enough class to rule our country…but they certainly kept our world running. 

This goes to show, there is a Kshatriya in each one of us. It just depends on who the enemy is!

Soon we will be free again. Our doors will open once more. We will see our friends and family again, laugh again, hug again.

But I sincerely hope we never forget again!

I hope, in the post-corona world, we reevaluate the history of India and begin a new chapter based on a caste system that should have existed all along…

The heart system!

A system of giving gratitude, respect and equality by our behaviour, to those who are our nation’s real backbone….class, caste and financial status notwithstanding.

I hope the next time an industrialist wants to make a donation, he doesn’t even consider making it towards the building of a new place of worship, giving it directly to a hospital instead, for the treatment of people who cannot afford it, so our doctors never have to turn anyone away again.

I hope some app developer, along with delivering kale, quinoa and gluten free bread to our doorsteps, designs a structured system for us to deliver our assistance to our daily wage earners.

And I hope that when we do, we understand very clearly that this is, in no way an act of charity, catapulting us into a position of magnanimity. I hope we realise that anything we now do, will never be enough and in no way gives us bragging rights on Instagram.

When we give to our community workers, I hope we give in silence, because this is NOT charity. Quite contrary, it is a debt! A debt that is centuries old and must be repaid.

One that they have always been gracious enough to accept with humility and dignity. 

Maybe because they haven’t realised their true value in our lives yet.  Or maybe because their sense of self-worth comes simply from performing their duty to the best of their ability…as true greatness often does!

However, may certain self-absorbed sections of society never again be so preoccupied with their success and their problems…their needs and their wants…their goals and their achievements…that we mistake this humility for submissiveness.

May we never again feel superior, condescending and so self-important about chasing the Ivy League dream (which proved to, quite frankly, be at par with any other in this time of crisis),

or manipulating currencies, stocks and world economies (again…utter and complete failure)

or just our everyday frivolousness, such as sending out expensive gifts, beautifully packaged in a hundred murdered trees, to our already privileged friends!!

May we never again become so busy with all our frills and our fancy, that these warriors, within our country and at our borders, become invisible to us again.

May we never forget that our fairies and elves who magically made our world run seamlessly, are real living people who risked their lives just for us. 

Because it was their job that was deemed as the ‘‘essential requirement’ for our survival!

Read that again!

They were essential! The rest of us went into hiding, and the world still went round!

Dear lower than MINIMUM wage worker, may we BOTH never forget that you deserve our MAXIMUM respect and undying gratitude!