As much as I believe that I am more American than most Americans are, there are times that I am pretty darn confident that I am way more "Indian" than are most people who claim to be immensely proud to be Indian.
These false claimants are mostly ignoramuses who are barely familiar with the immensely rich cultures of the past. I, at least, admit to my ignorance and keep learning!
Literature is one that always, always bothers me with the fake Indians, who are far more interested in the contemporary obscenities of cricket and movies, leave alone the puke-worthy politics. Tamil, of which I know at least a little bit about, has a long and rich history that was wonderfully narrated as a biography by David Shulman.
It is only in these contexts of old Tamil literature and history that I truly miss the otherwise awful Karunanidhi. When young, I was lucky enough to have heard him talk about the epics and the characters in his unique and commanding voice.
Literature is not merely about stories. It offers us plenty about the human condition and makes us think about who we are and where we want to go.
Consider the character Kannagi, for instance. Yes, that Kannagi from Silapathikaram. The poetry describes life then, no doubt. Kannagi, especially for that time period--about 2,000 years ago--was one heck of a feminist, who took the king to task for the gross injustice that he rendered to her beloved husband, Kovalan.
The old literature has a number of strong women, if only we took the time to read the old works, read the interpretations, and translate those into today's contexts. But, why bother with history and literature, which are only for those who cannot make it in the world of science, technology, and business!
And then, of course, there is Manimekalai, which continues the story from Silapathikaram. It tells the story of the daughter, Manimekalai, who was born from the relationship that Kovalan had with Madhavi.
Oh well ... maybe these are also why I never really cared for engineering!
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