Sunday, March 1, 2009

A myriad of thoughts

During my stay in gurgaon where I underwent training for aricent we kept aside a saturday to tour Delhi which is just 45 min away from Gurgaon. There were too many places to cover in just one day so we decided to go the prominent places alone which again were too many but we managed to cover those we planned in time. I am not going to describe the places I visited in Delhi but a thought I had when I visited some of the places.

Delhi , the capital of the Pandavas , the Mughal Kings and finally of free Republic Independent India is worth a visit with it’s vibrant atmosphere and all the architectural majesty of the golden eras of Ancient, Medieval and Modern India. We visited Qutb Minar, Humayun’s tomb, Red Fort, Lotus Temple, Akshar Dham, India Gate, Birla Temple and a few other places which I don’t remember. When I was in these places I wondered how it would have been to be ruled by a king. How different it would have been to live during the times of Akbar or ChandraGupta Maurya., both , eras of prosperity and historical importance. I would love to live in the past. I don’t know why but the very thought excites me. It would have been wonderful to live amidst all drum beating, people gathering around trees to hold discussions, to scream “Our king his majesty Akbar is visiting our town” , to breathe in oxygen from a pollution free atmosphere, to be present when the history of our glorious nation was being made , to sleep peacefully knowing we are being ruled by a good leader in Akbar or ChandraGupta Maurya or Ashoka.. To live in a time when there was prosperity, peace and satisfaction, law and order in the kingdom. To jump over crowds to have that one little look at the lovely little princess(I don’t think there were any dearth of “bird” watchers anytime in our history). To stay away from all complexities of the present world. It would have been simpler, easier to live then. To know that there were people who valued human life and who didn’t harass or kill people in the name of god or religion.

I suggested my thought to a friend who was with me at that time. He didn’t share my opinion. He didn’t want to be ruled by a king. There was nothing people could do if the king turned out to be the devil’s incarnation. He said atleast in a democracy people could oust the leader if he wasn’t a good one, I didn’t tell him anything then. But it got me thinking. So how different would it have been to be ruled by a bad king. Not much different from now. The government plunders from the people, leaves them in distress, doesn’t care about the people .I don’t see prosperity everywhere I go. We haven’t had a good leader since we declared ourselves a republic and a democracy. To be ruled by a bad king would be like living in the present. So my fantasy to go back in time and be ruled by a leader worth his position doesn’t look all that unreasonable.

However incorrect I might have been incorrect historically in this blog I know one thing for sure, if the world hadn’t had a rich history as it has now the world would have been a bland place to live in. I can’t share tables with people who say there is no use looking into the past. There is so much to be learnt from our history. History teaches us never to commit the mistakes our forefathers had done . It’s a teacher I would have missed a lot had it vanished one fine day. I love dwelling in the past. Maybe I should have done B.A History instead of B,Tech EEE and become an archaeologist. But I believe everything that has happened has happened for the good. Long live my belief. He is my king now.

P.S: I know some of the lines don’t have any relation. But there were too many thoughts pouring in at the same time into my head and I couldn’t help resist put it on paper ,oops blog.

7 comments:

Hari Vishnu said...

I like the way u pour out ur feelings man.. it really looks like it has been 'poured' out.. in a pure form..

but do u really feel we're living in political conditions as bad as some of the worst kings in history ? maybe upto a degree, but surely there is something better now.. or have we been convincing ourselves that we have 'progressed' without doing so?

Hari Vishnu said...

btw hope u enjoyed ur stay in gurgaon and trips to delhi..

The Third Twin said...

machii yu are back :) good to know that... well one thing is sure.. prosperity and freedom is a state of mind... we see lots of bad around us.. or we are made to see it thru all the media channels present.. and technology has made sure we do.. but its not the case.. your definition of peaceful being is what i disagree.. in the sense we know abt the people's lives only through our history books and teachers, so we cant base our decisions on that...it wud not have been such an easier life as u think it wud have been.. ppl were dying of cholera and typhoid during those days, when they din even know the disease's name.. although our ayurveda was there, the truth is they cudn save all when an epidemic broke out.. so technology wise we have leaped ahead leaving behind all animals and species.. but moral values and principles? i doubt... and true that we shud learn from our past.. but how we learn is left to us...

nautillus said...

re:hari

Maybe not as bad as the worst kings. All i wanted to say was that i wanted to live during the times of a good ruler and how it actually felt to be part of prosperity and happiness like during the times of akbar or maurya..our political situation isn't all tat bad ..But there is so much of unhappiness and poverty around us,sometimes we seem to overlook it.Maybe the people are responsible for it maybe the govt..All i had in mind was a fantasy but when i started writing abt it it took me to places like the title suggests.
And i did enjoy my stay in gurgaon but i am also glad i am back home.can't eat parathas all day long..:)

nautillus said...

re:third twin
ya da..true..epidemics must have been common during those times. i wasn't describing peace da i was talking about happiness,prosperity,satisfaction of the people.I have heard during the golden era of our history one could find all these..i just wanted to be part of that and to know how it felt to be living during that time..it was just a fantasy.when i started it i didn't want to write the way i did..i was hoping to make it more humorous..But then i was thinking and my train of thought took me elsewhere..

Quest said...

I will be active in politics pretty soon to usher in a new change :)
lets see to what extent the change can be brought in by we people ;-)

nautillus said...

re:viajero

I am not so sure chathans will be allowed to stand for elections. But in case u do by some maya or sorts i will definitely vote for you :)