We are not Obscurantists
Nidhu Bhusan Das
Rabindranath Tagore in his Upanishadic and aesthetic wisdom describes the Taj Mahal as “the Brightest White on the Cheek of Time”.This mausoleum was conceived and executed by the Mughal architect-emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beloved wife.Tagore paid his glowing tribute to the emblem of love in his long eulogy to the great Mughal.
Of late disturbing puny voices are in the air against the monument.It appears these are the voices of those who have the luxury to be content with the belief that ignorance is bliss.
My erudite friend and editor Dr. Rajendra Prasad Singh has condemned such voices with sound logic.I cannot but go by his standpoint since I believe with strong logic that the rich Indian Culture is a synthesis of many a culture and reflects the “Unity in Diversity” of India.
Now if we contend that the Mughals and other Muslim rulers are foreign invaders we ignore the fact that they made India their home like the Aryans.If we are constrained to accept the fact that Mughals contributed to Indian civilization,we cannot accept the contribution of the Aryans as well.In that case such voices smacks of ignorance and lose relevance.
The Aryans are early comers and brought with them a culture which enriches itself adopting and adapting suitably the existing Indian culture.India and Indian way of life existed before the advent of the Aryans who contributed to the culture once they made India their home.Aryans learned agriculture in the country from the Austric people who had been in agriculture here.The word “langalam” (plough) in Sanskrit vocabulary is a derivation from the Austric word “langal”.How can we ignore the existence of the advanced Harappan civilization much before the advent of the Aryans?
Like the Aryans,the Muslim rulers also made India their home and enriched the Indian culture.The Mughal architecture, cuisine,gardening are some examples.We cannot deny the contribution of rulers like Sher Shah who left behind for us the Grand Trunk Road,the land tenure system. The greatness of Indian civilization lies in its capacity to accept different cultures and experiences. India is an experience.The dynamism of Indian soul is amazing.We have been able to absorb Portuguese,French,English and many other ways of life which enriched our experience.
We have developed many Indian languages and literatures.Urdu,for example,has its birth in India out of the interaction between Hindustani and Persian,the court language of the Muslim rulers. Many Indian languages like Bengali have Persian words like “ukil” (pleader),”adalat”(court of law), Portuguese words like “anaras”(pineapple),”Alpin"(pin). Should we delete them from our vocabulary and disown the fact that Urdu is our language?
If we disown and delete these and monuments like the Taj, we are at perils of being equated by the educated and aesthetically enlightened world with those who have destroyed the statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan in Afghanistan.We cannot give in to the whims and caprices of certain crazy obscurantists and regressive forces.Civilization worth the name looks ahead for progress and retrospects to understand the the heritage to build upon.
Indian civilization is strong and mature enough to withstand assaults.
Keats teaches us,”Beauty is truth,truth beauty” and the core of Indian wisdom is:”Satyam,Shivam,Sundaram”.
The Taj is the incarnation of Beauty and Love which every normal human cherishes and appreciates in joy. Beauty is beauty itself,nothing else,and cannot be tinged with extraneous colour.Beauty emerges,cannot be constructed.It is the manifestation of Joy,not of thought.Even if there is thought behind beauty, that thought transmutes into joy for beauty to emerge.Hence Beauty is universal and cannot be compartmentalized.Let us try to realise the essence of beauty to understand truth.What is the essential difference between a potted rose and a wild flower when we can appreciate beauty?So,let the Brightest White on the Cheek of Time remain undefiled by the poison emanating from Ignorance.If we can do this,many a discord in our national life may disappear.
After all, “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”.
