Grecian Urn

How many times in school have you uttered the name — ‘Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese traveller who came to India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana”! Well, an introduction dedicated to this magnanimous personality is both an audacity, at the same time a fool’s attempt! However, Personally speaking, I was really astounded when I came to know that this personality travelled all the way to India, from China, risking his own life? I was probably in class seven when this piece of information struck my head hard. How can someone possibly on earth be such a simpleton? For learning…risking own life! But now at 25 when I am a tad bit mature I can understand what an indelible impact this man had left on the making of Oriental history! Historians rely a great deal upon his book Born into a family of scholars for generations, Hiuen Tsang, alternatively Xuanzang, received a classical Confucian educational prodigy in his youth. But his younger brother cultivated in him a keen insight of kn...

To combat is science but to succumb is religion H.G.Wells, the literateur puts that science is simply "the evolution of human thinking".* Religion appeared far before science. The father of sociology Auguste Comte, claims that human knowledge developed in three concurrent stages: Theology, Metaphysics and Positivism. Theology is the study of God’s and religious beliefs, Metaphysics—is the practice to think about abstract ideas ( 'knowledge' ,' Identity', ‘Time' and 'space') and Positivism is 'the approach of science'(Comte). Thus as civilization progressed religious beliefs transmuted into science. However, this transmutation of ensconcing science over religion has not been very easy. For example, we may consider the Renaissance period of the West. During this period, pupils from new modern Universities questioned popular beliefs, viz. witch burning, black magic and more such superstitious practices. For prop...

The partly decadent Aravalli, Tropical desert forest, picturesque Jain temple, gurgling hilly brooks, and nature’s deadliest predators--- constitute the world of Ranakpur: A lifetime trip down memory lane. The two are simply different: a ‘Tour’ to somewhere, and ‘Travelling’ that place, in real. The former is making an itinerary, booking the transport, conforming accommodation in the best possible hotel, and finally ticking against the checklist of a few ‘Tourist’ spots. However, ‘Travelling’ is more of a conscious experience on parts of individuals and is a process of continuous exchange between the ‘Other’ and ‘I’. It is more than just visiting the places of popular interest, buying souvenirs, or finding the perfect frame for a catchy social media feed. I remember, somewhere I came across a beautiful description about who a ‘Traveller’ really is, by the French litterateur Baudelaire. The man delineates: a ‘Traveller’ is ‘An observer, is a prince, who is everywhere in possession of hi...