I have old memories of walking down the streets of Calcutta or basking in the sun of the Lodi Gardens in New Delhi. Not too far from those gardens there lay an ancient and glistening temple, crafted out of reverence for the deity to which it is dedicated. Hinduism is a philosophy, way of life, religion and art form. It is a deep and vast culture encompassed in unfathomable examples of human expression.
I remember sitting on my uncles lap, who I called “Mr. No Thank You” (he often declined requests for tea) and being told through his words renditions of the stories in the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Mahabharata is a sanskrit epic telling the story about a war between royalty and expresses the light and dark sides of human nature. It exemplifies the duties of kinship and is seen as having practical applications to everyday Hindu life. The Ramayana is more metaphysical in its nature, telling the talks of the eternal struggle between good and evil, and the balance between the two. It also discusses how spiritual meaning is all around us and miracles are everywhere.
The Puranas, on the other hand, is about the origins of the Universe and humanity. Some take it literally. Others see it as figurative or metaphorical. This, as the Epics, came after the famous “Vedas.”
As I have grown older, I have felt more of a need to be constantly in tune with this cultural background as opposed to visiting a certain part of my heritage every year or so. I find it an intriguing notion to explore this along with people who do not have Indian heritage but who share in fascination of it. This raises a lot of questions about the nature of identity and presents opportunities to find answers. This is true both individually/internally as well as the construct of a culture to the extent that it can be defined and captured, and how the two effect one another. It is also interesting to see how a culture responds to outside influences and fusions on a family level. What remains, and what is more easily altered or faded away?
Having a divergent background has given me very particular interests in these things. Of course, each of these questions are far too vast to be answered in full; but coming to some degree of advanced understanding is the adventure of a lifetime.
