WHAT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT!

Just to save you time, this post is going to be short as it reflects on what we have not done in the past few years, jeopardizing the preservation of our Indian-ness, some way or the other. This 'Indian' thing, we are beginning to lose now. 

We are so accustomed to those social media posts on religious clashes, judging one another through someone else's eyes, attacking religions and retaliating with equal abuse, that we have lost the urge to discuss positive aspects on what this country is built of.

No one talks of the herbs of India. I bet the new generations are unaware of the types of medicinal plants which our grandmothers loved to cook. This may seem boring and all the more, less-broccoli-ish to you, but, this country has hundreds of herbs and greens which are native to this soil. I am not asking you to boycott restaurants and bars...no, no, I do not have a nationalist propaganda here. I write this as a common Indian. Frankly speaking, I do not myself know most of the names of these plants, but, this lockdown has exposed me to this thought that amidst all the clamour for rights and politics, we didn't have time to preserve this. My mother cooks some of the finest dishes using the local herbs and plants. These are delicious, which make me wonder often if these can be promoted. Of course, they can be. Well, do not look at these from the perspectives of Ayurveda. I know most of you are more inclined towards the matchstick culture rather than the earthen lamp culture. You need faster results. Take these as way of your food habits. Logically speaking, this doesn't even need to be invested upon: these are foods which can help achieve a balanced diet than most of the things on the counter outside. It is nature's gift to this land, and we are too westernized to know of them.

In the fights and riots for temples and mosques, we forgot to discuss about the architectural beauty of these monuments. We must have done educational tours to some of these places, but, perhaps, there is more we can do. Yeah...it is archaeology, I know, but there are pretty interesting things to extract from the designs of these structures. Everyone is awestruck when they see the marbles and granites in/on these monuments, but how many of us really wish to learn more of these? Not much of allied research is done on these structures. How many mobile applications have people built, which can explain simulated working of the structures at Jantar Mantar? Have you ever thought of these?

Probably, there are other examples of such kind. But, I have found these to be the most relevant. We need to talk to our children of these things. We need to speak to them of the marvels. As parents and citizens, we need to embed these into the bedtime stories. This land is blessed with the capabilities to learn from many cultures. Do not throw away any of them. It is never too late. We can still motivate ourselves to know what has made this country strong and beautiful.