I am the one who invited a longtime friend and tennis buddy Wyatt Emmerich to India, planned part of our trip, traveled there with him and his son Lawrence for several days and helped shape some of their experiences, observations and opinions about India. We had a great time together and I was elated to see them experience and enjoy the cuisines, culture, tours, hospitality, and sights and sounds of India. I have been delighted to read Wyatt’s essays on his India trip that provide his readers some unique perspectives as a westerner and a journalist.
Wyatt is a good story teller with a penchant for knowledge about anything he sees and experiences. He analyzes and personalizes from a newsworthy point of view and sometimes with an economic and financial lens, justifiably so because of his MBA background.
I am a medical graduate from India, migrated to the US in my twenties for further training and opportunities, then settled down as an American citizen, feeling thankful every day for the opportunities provided and the dreams fulfilled in this great country. Mississippi has been my home for 34 years, longer than any where I have lived. I am a Hindu by birth but accept all religions, particularly Christianity, having married a Mississippi girl who is a Methodist. I visit India every 4-5 years for class reunions, family weddings and sometimes for medical conferences. So, my perspectives about India are experiential, historical and cultural and as someone who has lived both there and here.
A thousand years ago, India was a subcontinent about half the current size of the US with a population of about 80 million. Its area has decreased (now one third the size the US), with many kingdoms changing hands and boundaries, and conquests by the Mongols (phonetically transformed to Mughals) some 700 years ago and the British empire some 400 years ago. England, while giving independence to India because of its freedom struggles under Gandhi’s leadership, gave away good chunks of India to Pakistan further reducing the size of India. Indian population however grew very rapidly and now four times that of the US. This population surge might be related to increasing poverty, lower education, early marriages, higher fertility levels and lack of family planning services. The overpopulation certainly causes traffic congestion and snags, pollution, higher noise levels and chaotic street life. There is hope these conditions will improve as India’s population is projected to decrease over the next 30 years because of improving economy, better education, and family planning services.
I have been pondering about why India is so poor and America so rich? India is definitely poor but I don’t think it is so much because of language barriers as the national language of Hindi and the ubiquitous English have had a unifying effect. It’s also not because of the Hindu religion which has had a unifying effect by creating moral, peaceful and philanthropic fabric. Hinduism, barring some extreme elements that pervade most religions, is more a philosophy than religion and promotes physical and emotional wellbeing, good deeds and kind acts to be able to reach God’s feet. It provides hope in terms of ‘moksha’ (Sanskrit word for ultimate goal for salvation from the bondage of finite existence) and ‘nirvana’ (Sanskrit word for the quenching of the activity of the grasping and restless mind) but is certainly not fatalistic.
The poverty definitely stems from the overpopulation as there are too many mouths to feed and too few jobs. Daily survival becomes a necessity with no time or opportunity for a majority of the poor to get into betterment via higher education and innovation. An inherent and pervasive corruption at many levels has also robbed the poor from receiving needed funding and job prospects, thus maintaining a vicious cycle of poverty.
A thousand years ago, India (then called Bharath) was a prosperous country but over the centuries, Mughal and British conquests robbed the country of its riches and oppressed the population severely curtailing any opportunities for creativity, innovation and prosperity. India became a free country only 76 years ago which is a very short time to recover from the throes of poverty developing over the centuries. However, India has made good strides in the last 20 years because of political changes, reforming leadership and infrastructure building that promote domestic and foreign investment. It was the 11th largest economy 10 years ago and is now projected to become the fourth or even third largest economy in 10 years.
India is still sadly poor from an economic perspective but is very rich from the perspectives of history, arts, architecture, mathematics, languages, culture, cuisine and philosophy.
Historians suggest that the Indus Valley Civilization flourished in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent between c. 7000- c. 600 BCE, about the same time as the Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilizations with farming and trade resulting in urbanization. This has been theorized as a result of the Aryan influx from the Persian regions bringing a scripture and language system that in 2nd century BC became Sanskrit, the classical Indo-Aryan language that was the root of Hindi, now the national language of India. Sanskrit, considered the sacred language, permeated into the existing Dravidian languages in the southern regions of India. The Indus Valley cities contained well-laid out streets, well-organized wastewater and trash collection systems and, public granaries and baths.
Various kingdoms and empires came and went building and contributing along the way to rules, customs and culture. The prosperity allowed the rulers to sponsor and support arts and literature to depict and glorify God. They built huge temples and palaces with unique architectural details, at least 42 of them declared World Cultural Heritage sites by the UNESCO. These include, to name a few, Agra Fort, Hill Forts of Rajasthan, Taj Mahal, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Hampi and Chola Temples, and are a must-see. Some of the temples were built in the 5th-6th century BCE. The most amazing and popular tourist attraction is Taj Mahal built in 1631. Zinc was mined in the northern state of Rajasthan as far back as 6th century BC. An iron pillar in front of the Qutub Minar, a popular tourist site in Delhi, was built by emperor Chandra Gupta in 4th century and is marveled for its lack of rust. Depictions of telescope, rocket warfare and astronauts have long existed in the sculptures of 12th century Hoysaleswara temple in the southern state of Karnataka. Sushrut wrote the first book of surgery 5000 years ago that described 1120 types of diseases and cures. Ayurvedic medicine using natural and homeopathic remedies, now accepted world- wide, has been in existence in India for a few thousand years.
The decimal number system in use today was first recorded in India c. 500 BCE. Some landmark mathematical contributions from the 3rd century CE include arithmetic, trigonometry, geometry, astronomy, and algebra. Dr. Ramanujam, a renowned Indian mathematician, solved and proved the concept of infinity only 150 years ago.
The Indian cuisine reflects an 8000-year history of amalgamation of flavors and regional cuisines. Wheat and barley were grown in India as early as 6500 BCE. Rice then became a staple. Cities in Indus Valley were engaged in a brisk trade with Mesopotamia resulting in culinary influences. Influences from the middle east made the cuisine rich in flavors and variety, with addition of nuts, saffron and aromatic herbs. Then the Europeans brought many novel food items. The Portuguese in 11th century introduced potatoes, chilli peppers, pineapples, peanuts and more which are used in modern cuisines. The British introduced tea, now a popular beverage called Chai. About 40% of Indians are vegetarian and even the nonvegetarians eat meat only 30% of the time. As Indian cuisine is spicy hot and mostly vegetarian, it has not quite permeated into American gastronomy.
Indian philosophies share many concepts such as dharma (right way of living), karma (action/work), samsara (cycle of life, matter and existence), dukkha (pain and suffering), renunciation and meditation with the ultimate goal of liberation of the individual and atman (real self or soul) through spiritual practices. Vedas (Sanskrit word for knowledge/wisdom) are among the oldest religious texts from c. 1700-1100 BCE that prescribe mantras and benedictions for rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices for proper living and worship. The Upanishads (Sanskrit word for connection/equivalence) date back to c. 500-600 BCE and convey spiritual knowledge with discussions on meditation, philosophy, consciousness and ontology.
Hindus believe that God sends his avatars (bodily forms) to earth to save and protect humans from sins and destruction. Rama and Krishna are such avatars who existed respectively some 14,000 and 5000 years ago. Jesus is considered by some Indians as the latest avatar.
All this may be too much and may sound like I’m trumpeting India but I am humbly stating just historical facts. Ok, let me stop here with a dhanyavad (Sanskrit word for thank you) to Wyatt Emmerich for initiating this timely discussion and encouraging his readers to visit India. It is a great country to see and experience, and before you go (and even if you don’t go) I encourage you to get a good understanding of its rich history, arts, culture and cuisine and a balanced opinion regarding its economy, religion and philosophy.
Namaste (Sanskrit word for respectful greetings with palms placed together)!
Sudhakar Madakasira, MD, is a Flowood psychiatrist and owner of Psycamore Psychiatric Programs.
