Pakistan Bina Hindusthan Adhora Hai

I received a letter from Mr. G Ramachandran today. He is a relative in the sense he is the father-in-law of my wife’s elder sister. But, my friendship with him has been more on an intellectual plane, that transcends the gross ties of relationship. Formerly of the Indian Archeological Service, he is a highly learned person and a veritable encyclopedia of Sanskrit aphorisms. Casual references in a conversation will start him off on a discourse on a line from the Gita or Valmiki! He is going to celebrate his eightieth birthday in August. Even at this age he keeps reading voraciously. I share books that I am reading with him. Recently I was gifted the book “The Difficulty of Being Good” by my good friend B Ramakrishnan. I had lent it to G Ramachandran. Here is his outpouring on paper of his reactions after reading the book:

My dear Sreedharan Sreekanth (Many people spell my name this way!)

You are burdening (me?) with your deep love towards me. The book “The Difficulty of Being Good” is an epitome of Mahabharatha. Mahabharatha is only a two-dimensional tome (Book) of our country which is Mahabharatha with dimensions to infinity. Its vastness extended beyond the present truncated one.

GR quotes Ex-Prime Minister Mr. Vajpai here. When the Pak Prime Minister remarked that “Kashmir Bina Pakistan Adhora Hai.” (Without Kashmir Pakistan is incomplete ), the rebuttal which was quite witty was ‘Pakisthan Bina Hinusthan Adhora Hai. ( Hindusthan is incomplete without Pakistan).

GR links the present conflicts in the north and south with the puranic conflicts. The conflict is not of a present nature but continuing from Mahabharatha of yore! The Southern most part of our Mahabharat is divided where the Rama-Ravana conflict existed in itihas period. It nothing but continuation of ancient itihasa period to modern itihasa period!

G Ramachandran makes his lightning changes in topic and moves on to the transition from Ramavatar to Krishnavatar. In the Mahabharat Krishna is the sole hero playing his dice game most efficiently. What is this dice game? In the next blog.