Indian Vs European History

 

Well, consider this. We hear it often that European History is rich.

Well lets put it this way, Europeans project their rich history well. 

A visit to Prague put me into introspection. Prague has buildings that are well preserved since the 9th century. The guides here are proud and happy to show different buildings belonging to different centuries, and speak at length about the history of each building. It was beautiful and enthralling.

The guide pointed out to a Canadian tourist and said that Canada was only 300 years old and had a mighty laugh. Czech Republic was 1200 years old! She was only pulling this leg, she joked. 

Whether it bothered him or no, it sure bothered me. India has a history that dates on record 5000 years...the Indus Valley civilisation existed right about then! We have so many different dynasties... the great ones being the Maurya dynasty, the Gupta dynasty, the Cholas, the Kakatiyas, the Yadavas, the Kalingas, the Marathas, the Moghul empire (it had its good moments), the Nizams...

Our history books although touch on all of them briefly, they mainly cover the Indian Freedom struggle against the British. The British rule was probably the darkest period in history and winning over them was glorious, but thats not what Indian history is all about!

Lets go back to the Czech again. Their dark periods mainly revolve around the Nazi invasion and the communist regime, but they don't talk only about it. They speak of numerous dynasties before them!

Isn't it time that we speak about and project the Indus Valley Ruins, the submerged Dwarka city off the coastline of Gujarat, the Rama Setu at Rameshwaram, the 1000 plus year old temples in Tamil Nadu,  the forts of the Marathas, the Stupas, the Taj Mahal, the Golkonda fort, Daulatabad (which incidentally dates back to a 1000 years ago, as dreamt by Vijay, the hero of the book the Subconscious, The Hawa Mahal, the Red Fort?

I'm sure the individual state governments are doing some justice by promoting historic tours around these places. Is that enough? The History of ancient India has to be engraved in us. We need to feel proud of it. The National Tourism can sure get a boost, if it comes from within us. 

The Subconscious covers a part of the Yadava dynasty in the thirteenth century. 

My top ten books

I got a request from one of my publishers to list the top 10 books I have read. Well I thought that would be easy... but it wasn't at all. No it wasn't. The list I made went up to 25, finally I got it down to  ten forcefully. So here they are...  Any comments would be welcome. Your favourite top 10 is as important!

Remember they are in no particular order whatsoever... and are restricted to one book per author

1. The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown. Here is one book I read fourteen years too late! But when I did, I was stunned. It rather inspired my own writing interest also. Dan Brown has his own lovers and haters! But I  certainly belong to the former. The plot of the story itself was marvellous. How the author managed to create a real life thriller based in Paris and London while exploring numerous aspects of religious history was just awesome. And it was an extreme page turner. Dan Brown's writing style ensures that the reader is always interested in knowing as to what is actually coming up in subsequent page. The Knights Templar aspect, the way we view history, the facts that were apparently hidden, their extrapolation to certain happenings in the real life....the way the entire story was woven was fantastic! Hats off. Angels and Demons, and the Lost Symbol are very close runners up for this author

2. If Tomorrow Comes. Sidney Sheldon. Sidney Sheldon? Are you serious? . This book is a masterpiece of sorts. Sidney Sheldon surely would have spent a few years researching for this one. The ridiculously difficult con plots in this story could not have been a masterchild of one individual's thoughts alone. The chess sequence on the ship, the diamond sequence In England and the museum sequence in Madrid are by far the best con stories I have ever read.

3. And then there were none. Agatha Christie. Suspense right till the end. Ten people in an island. Only ten. And yet each one is murdered one by one, The suspense when it comes to the last two people in the island can race anyone heart to very fast speeds. Too Good.

4. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. Jeffery Archer. Jeffery Archer has written many classics that include some of my all time favourites Kane and Abel and Shall we tell the the President? . But not a penny more, not a penny Less makes the cut. The way the initial con occurs and the way that four people retrieve their hard earned money.... worth the read...twice or thrice over.

5. Animal Farm. George Orwell. A small book. But too much substance packed in it. Anybody thinking that it is a fairy tale, please take a walk. Intense book that examines Dictatorship, Socialism, Capitalism and Communism. Fantastic.

6. The Ninja. Eric Van Lustbader. Very slow paced book... but the story and the narration are too good.

7. The Gemini Contenders. Robert Ludlum. Robert Ludlum, better known for his Bourne Series wrote this masterpiece in his earlier days. A book that spans two generations. Thrilling.

8. The GodFather. Mario Puzo. Not often you come across a book loved by so many people. More than the story itself, the narration and the scene description are supreme.

9. Asuras. Anand Neelakantan. Read this. The way Ramayana is written is the opposing direction where Ravan is described as the hero. At first, I thought it would be just fun... but many aspects described here had left me thinking for days....

.

10. The Broken Ear. Herge. Each an every Tintin adventure has been written with utmost care. The Story, the humor, the message, the plot, the super characters. It was difficult for me to write the name of one book here, as each and every one is fantastic!

Of course I can't rate my own books here! Liked by friends and critics alike. The Science Redemption and the Fifth Dimension. Wait for my upcoming book the Subconcious!!

Precognitive dreaming: Dreams that predict the future

Dreams

Dreams are often random collation of events pictured by the mind when asleep. Often dreams have a certain background where a person has lived through before. Often a person dreams more than four to five dreams each night

Precognitive dreaming: Does it really exist? Has it happened to you?

Precognitive dreams are dreams that supposedly predict events that happen in the future. The Great American writer Mark Twain clearly remembers dreaming his brother's death in the exact sequence in which it happened. The late American President, Abhraham Lincoln, had gone on record to speak about a dream, just a fortnight before he actually died. In the dream he had pictured a group of people proceeding towards his coffin.

There were multiple people who swore that they had dreamed the Titanic sink before it actually did. Given the fact that billions of people dream each night, it is quite possible that it was by chance that some people dreamed such a famous ship would sink; especially because it was called the "the Unsinkable"

I remember dreaming about a prehistoric temple when I was twelve or so. The next day, a close friend and I decided to explore the locality that I had dreamed about. The search for the locality took us deep into the woods (yes, there were 'woods' within the city of Pune in 1991, something unimaginable in the present day and age!). This was a place I had never been to...never...

And behold... there stood a ruin of an age old building, with similar dimensions of the temple that I had dreamt about! And guess what... right at the area where the deity was supposed to be residing in the dream, we found a miniature temple that still existed in the present day!

The entire woods have now been cut down and a sprawling housing complex now rests there. But as in Hindu tradition, the temples are not touched and the miniature version of the temple still exists! Mr Rajesh Bharatan, if you are ever going to read this.... please look out of your balcony and you would see the temple I am talking about.

This particular sequence and scores of other similar sequences have been made into fiction and presented  in my upcoming book...provisionally called as the Subconscious. Do read it when it gets released guys!

Now, I want anyone to come forward with any of the precognitive dreams that he or she has dreamt about. It will be great to hear about it as I really  research the subject.

Cya Guys, take care!