India : A Linguistic Civilization

The author starts this book with a beautiful paragraph:

"For millennia, Indians have cultivated a multilingual mindset, integrating it into their daily lives and environment. The national anthem they sing with such great pride describes India primarily in terms of some of its language communities, speakers of the Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Dravidian languages, Odia, and Bangla. Clearly, Indians understand that their unity as a nation doesn't hinge on speaking a single language, nor does it falter despite their rich linguistic diversity; rather, it thrives precisely because of the multitude of languages they embrace."

India's spectacular linguistic diversity is one of its most defining characteristics as a civilization. The story of Indian languages is extremely complex and has an epic span. The number of languages that have existed in the subcontinent in the past eras and the languages that are currently in existence all put together is far too large to admit any single and cohesive description.The complex trajectory of our languages is intertwined with the evolution of the Indian identity, imagination, and intellectual history. Our languages are a repository of human ideas and experiences across millennia and remain at the core of intense deliberations on what constitutes the idea of India.

Many Indians mistakenly believe that Sanskrit is the source of the majority of languages spoken today. Where as many languages are actually derived from Tamil that is mentioned in the below pointers, and some others in the Northeast from Sino-Tibetan or Tibet-Burmese origin. And Prakrits and Pali have contributed as significantly to our languages as have Sanskrit, Tamil, Arabic, Persian, and English.

Never in its long history did India have any single 'pan-Indian national language'. India has always been multilingual and it is in the multilingual character of India that 'Indian-ness' can be located. As of now, India has 850 living languages and every language matters since each one provides a unique world-view and people will be ready to fight for the preservation and dignity of their mother tongues. Out of 7,000 existing languages in the world, the first thirty include Bengali, along with Hindi, as well as Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Gujarati. There is no way that Hindi can be imposed on them or the speakers of these languages can be made to accept such an imposition. Hindi is now claimed as the mother tongue by almost one in every three Indians.However, it is necessary to bear in mind that what is counted as Hindi is, in reality, a group of a large number of dialects, regional varieties and sub-languages.

Each language presents a world-view. It combines a community's imagination as well as memory. Each language is a unique world. The imagination and memory combine in a language. The consciousness-supported by the sensory capabilities of the human body in time and space-makes sense of the world only through constant encounter with time and space. It is imagination which helps us through a series of images to organize space. Images of external objects keep bombarding our mind through the eye and the mind, and organize them as a created replica of the space. That's why imagination is important. 

Scripts, though conventionally wedded to their respective languages, have no logical relation whatever with the languages they represent. A given language is never dependent for its growth or decline on the script in which it is written. Having a well-developed script does not ensure superiority of a given language over other languages. A language can never be considered lacking in valuable aspects if it has not developed a script for itself. For example, the English language does not have a script of its own till today. English uses the Roman script. Yet, it is a mighty language. We cannot dismiss it as a dialect of Latin.

Here are some below pointers that I learnt and felt were important to be highlighted and explain India's spectacular linguistic diversity and rich tapestry of Indian languages. 

• Language is not only a social system of verbal icons, arbitrarily assembled through ages, it is also a 'means' of carrying forward the cumulative human experience of millennia to the future generations. When language trajectories are snapped, the accumulated wisdom in those languages too gets submerged and continues to survive in severely truncated, irreparable, and insensible forms.
  
  
• In human history, language was created as a surplus of man's cognitive and emotive transactions, a product of the labour of the mind. For a significant duration spanning human history, language continued to retain its character as a predominantly free system that is sturdily resistant to government controls, market regulations, and cultural oppressions.
  
  
• Only the human animal speaks in a complex language. Other animals can refer only to the present—a dog or a dolphin may have limited memory. Humans, on the other hand, have conceptualized time, and complex time at that. 
  
  
• The present tense was easy. The present tense refers to 'fact or truth', and the past tense tells a memory impression or fiction'. Telling an imagined memory' demands a much more complicated working of the brain. In the evolutionary history of language it has taken nearly 200,000 years or so for the humans to formulate something in the past tense.
  
  
• India literally past, most of the linguistics creativity has been in the oral tradition Though people knew how to write, writing was not used as a means of educating the next generations.When British arrived in this country, we decided that the written is more important than oral and thus when British arrived in this country, the written became sacred.
  
  
• The most striking example of reference to writing embedded in oral traditions is found in the Mahabharata, the mother of all that is literature in India. The Mahabharata has been, in its textual tradition', an 'oral epic', something so beautifully captured by A. K. Ramanujan, when he stated that, 'Everybody in India knows the Mahabharata because nobody reads it.'
  
  
• In the 2011 census, Hindi was reported to be spoken by 52 crore people in India. But, out of those 52 crore, there were many who did not speak Hindi as their mother tongue but only as a second language. For instance, Bhojpuri speakers had numbered about 5.03 crore in the same census. But they were clubbed together with Hindi. Similarly, Rajasthan has nearly 40 odd languages small and big all of them were grouped under Hindi. 
  
  
• There have been at least five major language families in India: (1) Indo-European; (a) Indo-Aryan, (b) Germanic, (2) Dravidian, (3) Austro-Asiatic, (4) Tibet-Burmese, (5) Semito-Hamitic.
  
  
• Middle Indo-Aryan dialects in the East split into Bangla and Odia (tenth century). Subsequently, Bangla gave birth to Assamiya (thirteenth century). The Northwestern dialect developed into Kashmiri (thirteenth century), Sindhi (fifteenth century), and Punjabi (fourteenth century).
  
  
• Middle Indo-Aryan distributed itself into Hindi (which till the beginning of the nineteenth century existed as several distinct dialects), Gujarati (eleventh century), and Marathi (eleventh century).
  


• Tamil after a continuous history of two thousand years, branched into Telgu (eleventh century). Earlier, Kannada had already become an independent dialect of Tamil (fifth century). Nine hundred years later, Tamil and Kannada jointly gave birth to Malayalam (fourteenth century).
  
  
• The Hindi family of dialects developed autonomy in the fourteenth century. It also interacted with Persian, which was spoken in India from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries, and Arabic, in use from the eleventh to the nineteenth centuries, and produced the cantonment language Urdu (thirteenth century), which later became a great literary language.
  
  
• There was human habitation in India for thousands of years prior to the emergence of Sanskrit, and it is known that various languages existed, but we have no record of those languages which can help to reconstruct the entire linguistic past. When Sanskrit arrived in India thirty-five centuries ago, there already were languages which were later identified as Prakrits and ancient Dravidian.

The Shortest History of China

This book is flawless and a great introductory tour to a vast history to this giant ancient land. The Chinese history simmers with larger-than-life characters, philosophical arguments and political intrigues, military conflicts and social upheavals, artistic invention and technological innovation. It progresses in twists, turns, leaps and returns. Chinese historical records are long and deep, stretching back at least 3500 years. Their themes and lessons, as well as the memories of wounds and triumphs, pulsate under the surface of contemporary Chinese life, language, culture and politics. The increasingly key role the People's Republic of China (PRC) plays in global affairs makes an awareness of this history essential, for it is the key to understanding China today.

The first appearance of the name 'China' in a European language is in a sixteenth-century Spanish text. The word seemingly derives from references to the ancient Qín dynasty (221-206 BCE), via Sanskrit चीन (cina) and Japanese (shina). In Chinese, the most common expression for China in the sense of a nation is Zhongguó in simplified characters - more on those shortly). This expression dates back 3000 years to the ancient compilation of poetry and song, the Book of Odes . Zhong means middle, or centre. Although Zhongguo is often translated as Middle Kingdom', zhong originally referred to the centre of the kingdom or city, rather than implying that the kingdom itself was at the centre of the world.

Nothing about China is small in scale. With some 1.4 billion people, the PRC boasts the world's largest population - nearly one in every five people on Earth (not counting another forty-five million people worldwide who identify as Chinese). At 9.3 million square kilometres, it occupies the third-largest landmass of any country after Russia and Canada, and shares borders with fourteen nations. The PRC is the world's largest trading nation and second-largest economy, a manufacturing powerhouse and an assertive military power, its army bigger than any other national armed force. It plays a steadily increasing role in global institutions and international affairs.

China is diverse in numerous ways. If more than 90 per cent of the population claim Han ethnicity, the rest belong to fifty-five other ethnic groups including Uyghurs, Mongolians and Tibetans. Many speak distinct languages and retain their own religious and cultural practices, despite pressure to assimilate. The Han, too, may identify with different regional cultures and subcultures, and speak discrete and even mutually unintelligible dialects including Shanghainese and Cantonese - the last claiming more native speakers (over sixty-two million) than Italian. The national language, Putonghuà, sometimes called Mandarin in English, is a constructed tongue. The PRC's own Ministry of Education admitted in 2013 that it was spoken with native fluency by less than 10 per cent of the population, and barely at all by 30 per cent, though it aimed to change that.!

China's human, cultural and economic potential is limitless. The CCP under Xi Jinping's leadership believes that the PRC can fulfil this potential without relaxing - and while even tightening - its control over Chinese society, culture and intellectual life, and suppressing minority cultures and populations. But historically, China has flourished most in times distinguished by their diversity and openness, such as the Tang dynasty. And what we think of as Chinese civilisation is the product of myriad interactions and exchanges between the Han and the peoples and cultures of Central Asia, the far southwest, the northeast and beyond. 

The PRC's economy and technology industries may well overtake those of the United States, and militarily, the PRC is certain to keep flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait in ways that will challenge, if not reshape, the world order. Yet the PRC may struggle to see its soft power - the power of attraction - match its hard power. The only way to learn from history is to learn history. Disparate voices and competing narratives inevitably inhabit a history as long as China's. The CCP prefers to keep it simple, using history to bolster its claim to be the legitimate rulers of this ancient nation. The author says that the new era of Xi Jinping is, so far, a blink of the historical eye. Conjectures on how long it will last or what will come next, but if the future is unknowable, history can at least make it less surprising.

the insistence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that Hong Kong and Táiwān, along with Tibet, Xīnjiāng and islands in the South China Sea, are part of China. The intensity with which the CCP pursues ‘reunification’ has roots The century of humiliation was a period in Chinese history beginning with the First Opium War (1839–1842), and ending in 1945 with China (then the Republic of China) emerging out of the Second World War  and semi-colonisation of China by imperialist powers in the nineteenth century and the civil war of the twentieth century. It also speaks to violent periods of division that occurred as long as two thousand years ago but have left their stamp on the national psyche. That the first great unification, in 221 BCE – which also involved the epic standardisation of weights, measures and the written language – came with a high dose of tyranny is also part of this history’s complex legacy.

The argument is that a similar cycle would apply to the modern era of Mao to Xi Jinping (and beyond). Author implies that telltale signs are appearing again, with any eventual fall only delayed by brutal suppression. Xi Jinping’s China is but a blink in history, says the author, which if you follow along the general theory of empires, is an inescapable conclusion. 

WHY I RUN?

WHY I RUN?

In the trails of Palani hills.

I am a runner. I have pushed myself across thousands of miles looking for answers that only make sense to me. From one race to another, from the roads in the Berlin Marathon to the heights of the Khardungla Challenge approx 5000m above sea level, I discovered the secrets of self-respect and personal ability On the Khardungla Challenge high altitude route, all the while uncovering secrets of my own abyss. Long-distance running is a great way to retrospect. On my last run in the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024, I needed to discover some more answers. Whatever answers I found, one question remained uncertain - WHY? Why do I RUN? Nature is perfect in every single way and it is amazing to be able to be out here and be a part of this ecosystem that's just absolutely uninterrupted at all. Earth, our home.The place of our history. A tiny point in time, which ticks towards one’s own demise yet is slow enough to allow for the birth of the most beautiful thing in the universe, life! That life is nature. We have grown estranged from it, both collectively and individually. That chasm we created through convenience is now the missing link. The cog that disappeared from the mechanism of fulfilment and serenity. “I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. I find spending an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone, as well as four or five hours alone at my desk, to be neither difficult nor boring. For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be

The last few years, especially after the Khardungla Challenge and running many marathons, shook my life they changed my values. I am really happy. This is one of the most beautiful parts of my life. It's the closest you'll get to heaven, as you will, or God or Spirit that you can on Earth With every new time I venture to run I feel as if I am returning to the place I belong. It is fundamental not just for my own good, but for the good of my environment that I discover myself, that I see myself as “Nature”. I am nature and I can only find myself as part of it. I find here a place to think without stressing out because you have so much time here. Time is a blessing or curse. It marches on relentlessly and continuously reminds us that we are not forever, that we are not eternal. Like a pendulum, it swings above our heads. Life nowadays seems to take away the blessings of time leaving only its dark side. On voyages like this, time slows down A day does not just last 24 hours. It lasts longer, so much longer. Life should be slow. It should be giving us. 

Time is something precious. Running for me provides exactly that, slowness, focus on what matters, transcendence! Here, time is a partner whispering not to be afraid of impermanence. You have time to think about life. Time that you really don't have at home because you have so many things on your mind but out here you have a whole day - just fuse and silence, nature, animals, everything but nothing else that clutters the mind. Seize the day… because a day can last a second,  blow by like a whirlwind, or it can become a whole eternity! My time, my choice. I choose eternity! Man is not a man without other people. Warmth, togetherness, wonderful lives and stories. When I run with folks, we respect each other more,  we listen more, and we love each other more. We achieve purity, we are the most sincere self. With people like that, I feel purpose and kinship again. I belong to a community and finally do not feel the need to escape it. As Murakami aptly mentioned in his book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", "People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But I don’t think that’s the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life" I believe many runners would agree with it. 

That is big! Everyone out here is kinda making the same sacrifices to be out here and around the same wavelength and yeah, I guess the people out here really restore my faith in humanity. Nice people, great people. It's been an incredible experience as far as the kindness that people have shown to me. That's a big surprise I mean people have been unbelievable. You meet some of the best people out here in your runs. I love meeting people in my runs and I feel like they are more my people than most of the other people I know. It's the best community I've ever been involved in. I bump into like-minded people. Individuals who share the same passions, same goals as myself. One small thing that is truly irreplaceable. 

We are saturated with consumer goods, and we live in excess, yet we choke on dissatisfaction at the same time. We have everything and subsequently do not see the essence. The running gave me satisfaction over a sip of water… the smell and taste of food the joy of a warm shower or a place to rest my weary legs and to know when my limits and embrace them efficiently like in the book 'Once A Runner' John L Parker mentions that “A runner is a miser, spending the pennies of his energy with great stinginess, constantly wanting to know how much he has spent and how much longer he will be expected to pay. He wants to be broke at precisely the moment he no longer needs his coin.”  

We have forgotten about the little BIG things! For me, running is always been super therapeutic.  You have hours upon hours of just uninterrupted thinking processes as you are running. And just in the silence... Like others, I also deal with anxiety and depression and trying to figure out how to handle some depression I feel a lot more myself out here than I do pretty much everywhere else. And I come back out to get re-centered. To cope with my struggle with anxiety a little bit and every day that I am out here to run I really feel alive. Even a bad day running is probably one of the best days of your life. That type of well-being we can also call gratitude. From this, we have been inoculated by the overindulgences of modern living. Gratitude changes me, heals me, and makes my mind healthier. The gloom/melancholy, weight, depression and oversaturation of everything implanted into my mind, the wilderness heals with its austerity. That is why I need it and why I bring with me the bare minimum. I crave an experience that will connect me to a piece of inhabitable matter in the lifeless vacuum of eternal blackness. Cosmically negligible and practically unbelievable, life is a gift in which I need to inject enhancers: the flavours, colours, and smells of my origins Because I am the universe in the atom of humanity, an assemblage of molecules uniting the chaos of the Big Bang and the order of life. Conscious, weak and powerful at the same time, completely split but perfectly unique – I am the author of a piece of eternity. That eternity is my life and I will make every effort to carve out of it the best possible monument.

The way I look at running as a sport has been changing over the years as I pursue it. In each phase of my life, I have observed this from a different vantage point and learned something new. Runners are rhythm people, and I imagine train drivers are as well. both relying on distance, speed and time and how the moving parts travel over terrain. When your rhythm stops all of a sudden to navigate an unrunnable track, it accentuates just how attached we are to a certain kind of pace. I suppose my heartbeat is like the chug of an engine and the repeat of the wheels.... but you know what? I don't care much for distance over time now like a train driver pushing to make stations on time. I want to be engaged with what's around me, not my watch or distance markers. I want to be distracted by the trail, or the lack of one, and I want to work hard to get where I'm going. This is my new kind of running, which in some ways isn't running at all, it is exploring. And I bloody love it. 

I tried to cover the below points with regards to my running, which are:

NATURE

TIME

COMMUNITY

MENTAL HEALTH

GRATITUDE

The Tata Mumbai Marathon finisher Medal.