RANDOM MUSINGS

It is heartening to note that Amitabh Bachchan is trying to read the Mahabharata in a never-too-late mode. He has given one of the most sterling performances of his career as Ashwatthama in the film “Kalki.” Otherwise, the entire country has lost its cultural moorings, ignoring the words of wise thinkers like Ananda Coomaraswamy, who wanted the itihasas (Ramayana, Mahabharata) and the Upanishads to be essential reading right from an early age at school. Making them “religious” and then shunning them from all educational levels in the name of secularism has been one of the biggest debacles of post-independent India. This has been responsible for the sad, derooted, and deracinated state we are in collectively. The messages of “one Self in all” and “dharma” are eternal solutions for the world and are the basis of all humanitarianism, ecology, and even feminism too. Amitabh appears to be one of the more sensible stars, but it was sad to read that he believes in the idiotic claim that the Mahabharata should not be kept at home. Before writing this, he should have sought advice from some knowledgeable individuals. In a country where celebrities rule the roost and guide public opinion, this was an unfortunate mistake on the part of the superstar.