Category Archives: Culture

Gilli Danda and the Internet generation

It is an interesting phenomena how Internet has revolutionized our lives. Internet has done what printing press had done in the medieval age. It has given us knowledge without responsibilities. Invention of printing press had led to the age of discovery, inventions, revolutions which eventually led to renaissance and boredom. Internet has dawned another age of renaissance. People question more than ever before, however irrelevant they may be. Continue reading

Nalanda- the oldest university

Nalanda is undoubtedly the oldest inexistant university in the world. Takshashila was an education center, while Nalanda was a full fledged university. Bologna, the oldest existant university, was initiated in 1088, and Paris, in 1091. Other ancient universities include Oxford, which was established in 1167, and Cambridge, in 1209. Nalanda was established in 427! It is unfortunate that Nalanda does not have a continuous existence, in which case, its status would have reached greater heights. Continue reading

Takshashila- the light of the world

Much before the world had seen Alexander, in the 6th century BC, King Cyrus established an empire which extended from Egypt to the Indus. Since then, Takshashila was invaded numerous times and it emerged as the cosmopolitan town of the east where great scholarship emerged. It was a historic meelting pot of the east and the west, just like millenias later, Dharward would become the melting pot of the north and the south Indian musical culture. Continue reading

Bravehearts of India

Today is the day when 3 young martyrs laid their lives for the cause of their nation. A few bravehearts followed the path laid by Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. Men of steel who gave freedom a greater meaning for their people. Read my latest article on the-NRI.

Being modern, being western

India had a glorious tradition of learning and education. It is unfortunate that we left this glorious tradition of knowledge and learning systems behind. What is tragic is that we today think that these systems are outdated and unsuited to the contemporary world. Academic and classroom teaching has overtaken heuristics based learning. We have somehow established a strong connection between modernity and western civilization. Continue reading