Call to save cultural identities of nation
S. Aishwarya
Collector inaugurates photo exhibition on monuments
INTERESTING FACTS: The Collector, Ashish Vachhani (left) looking at the exhibits Tiruchi on Thursday. The Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Chennai Circle, Ramesh K. Mulimoni, is also seen. â Photo: M. Moorthy
TIRUCHI: Vandalism of heritage buildings is irretrievable and it poses threat to the renovation carried out by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Collector, Ashish Vachhani, said here on Thursday.
He was inaugurating a photo exhibition on the `Monuments of Tamil Nadu,' organised by the ASI at National College Higher Secondary School. The exhibition was to create awareness of the importance of preserving monumental sites.
Mr. Vachhani appealed to the public to joins hands with the ASI in preserving and renovating the "cultural identities of the nation."
He commended the efforts made by the ASI in restructuring the badly damaged structures. "Respect and admire the past and to pass it on to future," he told the students of Shrimati Indira Gandhi College, who visited the exhibition.
The Principal of college, K. Meena, urged the volunteers of extension activities to carry the message to public. The exhibition focuses on renovation works carried out at Sri Brahadeeshwara Temple at Thanjavur and Gangai Konda Cholapuram, the `vimana' at Tirumala, Mahabalipuram and other places.
The pictures were taken at different stages of pre and post renovation of the structures.
Besides photographs, descriptions on the history of the heritage structures and the methods of renovation are also on display.
The restoration mural paintings at Thanjavur with chemical combination of colours and the challenges faced while renovating Mahabalipuram sculptures were interesting for the visitors.
The Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Chennai Circle, Ramesh K. Mulimoni, chaired the function. The Assistant Archaeologist, K. Mohandas, and the senior conservationist, G. Saravanan, spoke.
The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes on January 31.
01-27-2007, 11:33 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-27-2007, 11:34 AM by acharya.)
<b>Educational System During Pre-British Days</b>
One Teacher, One School: The Adam Reports on Indigenous Education in 19th Century India, by Joseph DiBona, Biblia Impex Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
2 History of Indigenous Education in the Punjab since Annexation and in 1882, by G.W. Leitner, 1883, Reprinted by Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala, 1971.
3 The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century, by Dharampal (Biblia Impex Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi).
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->4 The Indian system of education was so economical, so effective that some of its features were exported to England and Europe. The "monitor", the "slate", the "group-study" were directly borrowed from the old Indian practice. A short account of this practice is available from an eye-witness report of a European named Pietro Della Valle published in 1623. But 200 years later, around 1800, two Britons, Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster, who were servants of the East India Company, introduced in England a "New System of Schooling", embodying Indian practices of teaching. Both claimed originality for themselves. In the controversy that ensued, it was found that both had borrowed from India without acknowledgment, of course.
In this connection we have the testimony of Brigadier-General Alexander Walker who served in the East India Company from 1780 to 1810. While reporting on teaching methods in Malabar, he says that the new British "system was borrowed from the Brahmans and brought from India to Europe. It has been made the foundation of the National Schools in every enlightened country. Some gratitude is due to a people from who we have learnt to diffuse among the lower ranks of society instructions by one of the most unerring and economical methods which has ever been invented". According to him, by this method, "the children are instructed without violence, and by a process peculiarly simple".
  <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>The Hindu View of Education</b>
Education in Ancient India By Hartmut Scharfe
By Hartmut Scharfe
Published 2002
Brill Academic Publishers
Architecture
355 pages
ISBN 9004125566
$149.75
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><span style='color:blue'>
This is the first comprehensive survey of all aspects of education in India, both in the oral and written traditions. Chronologically it covers everything from the Vedic period upto the Hindu kingdoms before the establishment of Muslim rule. If relevant, the reader will regularly find sidesteps to modern continuities.
The role of the oral tradition and the techniques of memorization are discussed, the education in small private tutorials and the development of large monasteries and temple schools approaching university character. Professional training, the role of the teacher and of foreign languages are dealt with, and the impact of the peculiar features of Indian education on Indian society.
The full documentation facilitates quick access to the original sources scholarly literature on Indian education. A true reference work.</span>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Jakob is going to visit the US. He can be contacted at
Jakob DOT DeRoover AT UGent DOT be
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheHeathenIn...ss/message/3207
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dear friends,
Beginning this week Friday, Jakob will be in the United States for about a
year. During the first six months of his stay, he will be based in NY at the
Columbia University. Apart from continuing his research, he has two basic
organizational tasks:
(a) to build the beginnings of a network of the interested NRI's in the
US;
(b) to build the beginnings of a network between us and some of the
academic institutions in the US.
In the course of doing both, one of the first things he will try to
accomplish is to meet those from this board who live in the US. So, may I
request those of you who live in the US to get in touch with him
(Jakob.deroover@...) so that he might plan the most fruitful way of
meeting you? Furthermore, if you know of other people (either as individuals
or as groups), who might be interested in such a meeting, please get them in
touch with Jakob as well. Depending on the success of his efforts, I will
make a trip or two to the US during the course of this year. Where possible,
see if you can organize a talk by Jakob: you need not worry about his travel
fare or remunerating him for the talks. Where possible, if you can put him
up, that would suffice.
Ideally speaking, the end-goal is this: he sets up some kind of an initial
circuit that I can traverse when I come to the US next time. For the time
being, the purpose of this circuit is merely to create a (receptive) public
for the results of our research. Consequently, it does not matter to us what
the initial composition and the nature of the public is: they could be
groups loosely tied to some or another organization, a temple, or whatever.
But it does matter whether or not such a loose network comes into being.
Currently, we have entered the phase of differential expansion in Europe and
the US. In Europe, we are beginning to build towards a European Masters
programme, involving several universities from the European Union (something
to be achieved in the course of the next three years), and in the US we want
to build towards the emergence of a network. Our activities in India are
going better than planned and, if things happen the way we anticipate, we
will have firmly rooted ourselves there by the end of 2008. When Jakob meets
you, he will provide you with an outline of our plan and its current phase
of execution. Because of this, meeting you and the contacts you are likely
to provide is crucial to our endeavour. Such meetings are far from being
mere social gatherings or getting to know the e-members of this board out of
curiosity.
It is my sincere hope that you can be of some assistance in our venture.
Friendly greetings
Balu<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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South India under Vijayanagar to Wadiyars
Special Correspondent
# Not many people are aware of the history of the Wadiyars
# Experts from various fields will participate in the seminar
MYSORE: The contribution of the royal family of Mysore to the art and culture of Karnataka is well known. But the general public â barring the academics â are not familiar with the bare outline of the history of the Wadiyars.
Be it fine art like sculpture or poetry, music or painting, Mysore rulers patronised them so as to provide institutional support in the form of monetary compensation from the royal treasury to artistes to sustain them, which in turn helped promote art.
So it was in the field of education by means of free grants which resulted in the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore or the Central Food Research Institute in Mysore, University of Mysore, Kannada Sahitya Parishat, State Bank of Mysore, establishment of industries, hydro power at Shimsha, laying of the Bangalore-Mysore railway track, construction of the Krishnaraja Sagar, introduction of reservation system long before the Constitution of free India adopted it as a measure to promote social justice... the list is endless.
But while society continues to benefit from these measures initiated by the kings now confined to the realms of history, no attempt has been made to study them in detail and pass it on to posterity.
An attempt is being made in Mysore, which was also the capital of the erstwhile Princely State during the British Raj, to bring to light the history of the Wadiyars in greater detail. A conference or a seminar will be see the participation of experts drawn from various fields, including history and fine arts, numismatists among others. The theme of the conference, slated to be organised sometime next year, is South India under Vijayanagar to Wadiyars and preparations have commenced. What is of interest will be the focus on the culture and social history of the Wadiyars, the palace itself and what transpired within the regal structure.
The following link has images of coins issued by different dynasties throughout Bharatiya Itihaas:
http://www.med.unc.edu/~nupam/ancient1.html
Thanks Bharatvarsh!
Very useful link....although right now only Ancient India coins are being displayed.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Very useful link....although right now only Ancient India coins are being displayed. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually you will see links for other periods at the very end, go down to the very end.
Does anyone here know of any contributions Hindus made towaards Psychology and Neuroscience, I know the contributions towards maths and science in general, but any specific research about the brain, for example localizing brain functions (telling which part of the brain does what), for example medulla controls our respiration and broca's area is important for speech production and destroying this area would cause the loss of productive speech (or broca's aphasia).
If anyone has any idea, point out some sources that I could go to.
I was checking on medieval maps and cartography on India, when I came upon some interesting articles on the Survey of India. Its a review on a book "The Great Arc" by John Keay and also an interview with Keay. Links below
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1919/19190760.htm
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2019/sto...26000207000.htm
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1909/19090660.htm
Is there any info on medieval maps made by Indians. There's a book called
"Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies" by J. B. Harley and David Woodward. Has anyone read that book. Its pretty expensive.
Need to understand why Karnataka and why not Andhra desa or Tamildesa in South Indian history?
Can someone recommend me good books on the complete history of India? I want more of an Indian narrative, not Nehruvian paint over jobs.
Please post a description for the links being posted. Thanks, ramana
The Western scholars go on and on about the erotic component of Hindu art but this form of depiction was quite common in West Asia like Dilmun.
Here is S. Kalyanraman's Bronze Age trade and Meluhha writing
Please refer to pges 20 & 21 of the pdf. So there is something going on which is lost symbolism.
The pratihars hated the rashtrakutas and accordingly, the Rashtrakutas encouraged the Arabs, their Western enemies. An Arab writer describes the Rashtrakuta king as one of the Four Great Monarchs of the world, the other three being the Caliph at bagdad, the Eastern Roman Emperor of Byzantium and the Emeperor of China.
A new epidemic has emerged in educated Indians. The symptoms are -
Symptom No-1 : They think their history was glorious. It was golden age. Nowadays, people have forgotten that glorious history. this will lead them to doomsday.
Sympton No-2 : They believe that their forefathers were great. They were brave, intelligent, knowledgable, big-hearted & so on. Rest of the world was jungalee. Civilization was delivered by their forefathers for the first time on this planet.
Symptom No-3 : They are convinced that they have to go back to their forefathers' great culture & tradition. The western life style is sure shot license to hell!
Why is this obsession of looking back into history? Was that history really glorious? Let us examine point by point.
India's history is infected by invasions. Every tribe from central Asia attacked India & defeated it. Be it the Huns, the Kushanas, the Shakas, the Romans, the Mongols, the Turks, the Mughals, the british, the French or the Portugese. Why did the Indians fall flat in front of every agressor? Was it their bravery that lost to every intruder? Would any race dare to call such people as brave? No, our forefathers were certainly not brave. ther are a few honorable exceptions that only prove the rule.
History tells that Indian were divided & they never fought with their enemies together. When one part of India was under attack, rest of the regions enjoyed the fun. Clear proof that our forefathers were far from matured. In most instances one region of India invited the outsiders to attack another region that was enemical to the first. Would any sane person call them intelligent?
Was there really a golden age in India? Never. The social history of India is scarcely available. The concept of writing history itself was taught by Roman & then by Mughals. India was a cluster of feudal societies bereft of any common sense & commonality. Few princes & temples amassed wealth. Masses were always a begging lot.
Knowledge was divorced from logic & reason. It was embedded in the most third rate philosophies enshrined in the Vedas & Puranas. Angry? How many of you send your children to learn Vedas & Puranas for getting that great knowledge? Does it make any difference if you do not know the great knowledge contained in the Vedas & Puranas? Their utility is zero. Philosophies should be for living human beings not for dead bodies. Living human beings discard whatever is not useful.
Indian society was never uniform. It had crevices & fissures of caste, creed & region. A discoherent society cannot have one voice, one culture & one objective. In fact, it cannot produce any culture, it can only deliver purvertness in the name of culture.
Therfore, looking back into history we can conclude that -
1) Our real history is not available. Whatever little history is available stands proof to the fact that it was pathetic.
2) Our forefathers were idiots and had no vision of building a society. They were neither brave, nor intelligent. The so-called knowledge they gathered was useless.
3) There is no need to look back to our history. It is a dead body. If we keep it in our houses, the stink will be unbearable. It needs a decent burial.
Hence get an injection of western knowledge & immunise yourself from the cultural bacteria & historical viruses.
Stop crying about that great culture & parampara!
We need a healthy new generation.
Nandu Rajurikar, how long have you been off your medication now?
Pope blasts Europeans for not having enough children
11 hours ago
MARIAZELL, Austria (AFP) â Pope Benedict XVI blasted Europeans for being selfish and not having enough children, in a sermon on Saturday at the 850-year-old pilgrimage site of Mariazell in Austria.
"Europe has become child-poor. We want everything for ourselves and place little trust in the future," the pope told a crowd of faithful from his canopied area at an open-air mass that took place under heavy rain.
But Benedict held out hope, saying: "The earth will be deprived of a future only when the forces of the human heart and of reason illuminated by the heart are extinguished . . . Where God is, there is the future."
The pontiff had slammed abortion upon arriving in Austria Friday as the "very opposite" of human rights.
"The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself," he told members of the government and the diplomatic corps at the Hofburg, the seat of the Austrian presidency in Vienna.
The pope also warned at the mass Saturday that science must be used for good if man is not to be threatened with destruction.
If man cannot "distinguish between good and evil . . . then the great and wonderful discoveries of science become double-edged.
"They can open up significant possibilities for good, for the benefit of mankind but also, as we see only too clearly, they can pose a terrible threat, involving the destruction of man and the world," the pope said.
Despite the bad weather that has dogged the visit so far, thousands stood in the rain at Mariazell packed behind crowd barriers, with many wearing yellow raincoats and some waving blue scarves, the traditional colour of Jesus's mother Mary.
The pope, who had arrived in Mariazell from Vienna by car instead of by helicopter due to the weather, waved to the crowd through the windows of the Popemobile as he made his way to the centuries-old white and pink basilica in Mariazell.
People who had been sheltering under doorways rushed towards his motorcade as it passed, even as the rain increased in intensity.
Organisers said 33,040 free tickets had already been distributed for Mariazell and that the pilgrims would include 70 bishops from central and eastern European countries.
The Austrian archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, told the crowd that two pilgrims had died from health problems, and the Pope said a prayer for them.
On Friday, the pontiff said he intended his pilgrimage "to be a journey made in the company of all the pilgrims of our time."
He said Mariazell "symbolizes an openness which... transcends physical and national frontiers."
The main pilgrimage site in the Danube region, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) southwest of Vienna, the basilica was founded by Benedictine monks.
The site, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and celebrates its 850th anniversary this year, welcomes around a million pilgrims every year from Austria, neighbouring Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia as well as Poland, Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The Pope arrived in Vienna Friday morning and addressed a crowd of thousands at Am Hof square before making a silent tribute to the victims of the Holocaust at a nearby monument.
The pope's visit has been greeted with some criticism in a country where the traditionally powerful Catholic Church is waning in influence.
Statistics show the Austrian Church has lost about one million followers since 1983, and only 67 percent of Austrians are still officially Catholic, compared to almost 92 percent in 1900.
On Sunday, the Pope will celebrate a morning mass at Vienna's St. Stephe`n's Cathedral and visit the Cistercian monastery in Heiligenkreuz, before flying back to Rome.
No History means you are nobody
09-09-2007, 06:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2007, 06:42 AM by Shambhu.)
We should exaggerate everything wonlee, no?
Just because someone is trying to find out the truth buried deep under Marx/Macaulay/Islamist lies, that automatically means they want to roam around in a dhoti and choti, no? They want to burn everything western, no?
There can be no middle ground, no?
Hindutvawadi naturally means someone who wants to *force* everyone to become Hindu, read Sanskrit, become vegetarian etc no? Hindoos are not satisfied with putting up intelligent, fact-backed arguments to persuade you, no, they will force the issue like out dear Taliban, no?
Just because someone somewhere attacks a Valentine's day card shop, all Hindutvawadis must be the same wonlee, no? Stereotyping does noy apply to Hindutvawadis, no? It is bad to call all black people robbers if you get robbed by a black guy, yes, but you can do the same thing to Hindutvawadis, because...because..because..well, because you *can* do it, right?
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