This is my first edit.
App Ka Swagat Hai (You are welcome !)
India is an idea, a spirit. It symbolizes more than a just our county of origin, we believe it also symbolizes the essence of humanity. We are diverse and complex. In our search to understand India and pass on the legacy to next generations. In the book we will focus on these; our stories which will give you insights into our roots, social structures that invites a new prospective about the sub-continent and finally fun fun part, where we will discuss real lives and applications of Indianess.
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is lead forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake." - Geetanjali - Rabindranath Tagore
What to expect from this book
We started this project because even though there are growing number of references about India, are there very few who celebrate India in its purest form, and provide a comprehensive and accurate account of what happened. Because India has its roots from the very first civilizations, universities, religions, cultures we want to understand how did we reach here, where are we now and where from here, how does it affect a common person. Thing which most of the sources[Books, documentary, and music] fall behind to cover. With this text, we want to show, What is real India and what actually happened. That said we will point towards some good quotes, books, music and documentary.
You can comment too
Chirag,
This is a brilliant idea.
Here's wishing all the success :-)
Cheers!
Shilpa
Chirag, Thanks for the invite. This is a fabulous idea. I will contribute for sure. May be all of us should introduce others to each state's culture too and in this way we will get a more united India.
good one mate and it is inspiring…. great going dude….
To do this so darn promptly taking out time from work:)
thanks dude!:)
finally the silly me joined….
whew i almost made heavy weather of this !!!
Thank you Chirag for the invite. Lets keep this rolling!
Hi Chirag,
I was wondering if the book is intended to give the history of India in chronological order, or talk about other things (miscellaneous stuff) as well.
What I was thinking of was things like…
Seasons and festivals in India - How the celebrations have changed over time, what it meant back then, what it means now. Festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi have quite an interesting background. Another aspect would be to see how one festival is celebrated in different ways around the country.
Indian influence around the globe (Food, music, technology, meditation)
Secularism in daily life. This is a very touchy subject right now, but we can bring out how secular the true Indian is.
Job profiles. I think this section can be VERY interesting as we have so many different trades! Tiffinwaala, rickshawala, to the more common, teachers, lawyers, bankers, to the millionaires like Ambanis and Tatas
Industry. What we have and what we lack.
Famous Indians. And by this I mean Indians who have lived and worked in India, for India, not those who left and found their fame elsewhere.
And stuff which is simply interesting from factual point of view
Languages in India
Dress code in different parts…how the climate and culture affects what we wear!
Food…this is a whole book in itself too :) We could point out the merits of "satvik khana" and our use of spices and all that good stuff.
Indian food has gotten some pretty bad image of being "too oily, too spicy", basically "not good and healthy", which is utter rot if you ask me :) So we need to dispel that myth too!
Or is all of this supposed to go under the blanket of We Were Free - 2009? If so, then maybe we can create sub-categories? This section is the one I would really want to emphasize on. History most people know, what India is today, that is what is missing.
Ok, too long a comment!
yup,we are here ,let us do it…I am game! jai hind!
Got here at last. Thanks for the invite, Chirag. Will be back with something worthwhile I hope, and till then I shall enjoy reading the posts here, and yes… best wishes for the Book :)