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Over the past 4000 years, the supremely imaginative Hindus have created =
a culture
so abundant with awe-inspiring architecture and vigorous sculpture, allur=
ing
dances and spell-binding music, amazingly potent mind-body disciplines =
and a
wholistic medical system, recondite philosophical doctrines, arcane fortu=
ne
telling systems, epics of vast scope densely textured with meaning, compr=
ehensive
theoretical systems from aesthetics to rhetoric, arts of love making to =
making
war, and intensely sensorial rituals - that an individual with a receptiv=
e mind
can spend several lifetimes to master just one aspect of Hindu culture.
There should have been several first rate institutions to preserve and =
study,
teach and propagate Hindu culture's knowledge and wisdom, and accomplishm=
ents. In
fact, there is not one school of the first rank where a scholar can study=
or
research various aspects of Hindu culture all under one roof.
If I want to research under professional guidance the Hoysala temple arch=
itecture
in Karnataka, there is no world-class academic institution I can go to. =
If I want
to take a college course just to read all the Puranas in English translat=
ion or
some modern Indian language, there is no Indian "Ivy-League" quality univ=
ersity
for me to attend. If I want to teach a seminar on the literary quality/l=
ayers of
symbolic meaning in the Ramayana, there is no reputable academic programm=
e to
welcome me. If I want to learn and conduct a serious scientific study of =
the
Jyotish vidya or the tantrik yoga, I will have to do it in my own library=
. A
serious student of Hindu culture has very few superlative quality -world-=
lass -
institutions in Hindustan.
To ensure that the ancient Hindu tradition and wisdom uplifts present-day=
Hindu
society and that Hindu culture lasts, rich and poor, for thousands of yea=
rs to
come, a number of first-rate institutes for the study and preservation =
of Hindu
culture and tradition must he established all over Hindustan. These insti=
tutes
should regenerate intense cultural pride among Hindus and inaugurate a =
Hindi
cultural renaissance. The founders of the Hindu culture studies instituti=
ons
should possess the vision to establish centres that are equal to or super=
ior in
quality to the finest academic institutions of Europe and America. Such =
centres
of excellence for a broad and rigorous study of Hindustan's history and =
culture
are 50 years overdue.
The intellectual and creative labours of the Hindus in the centuries past=
have
also left us a brilliant legacy of regional cultures and languages, Tamil=
above
the rest. Hindustan's different regions (linguistic states) also need =
institutes
worthy of their rich heritage to collect and preserve, study and research=
ancient
documents and manuscripts, texts and inscriptions in the local language =
to gain
deeper knowledge of the region's history, tradition and culture.
Special institutes are also needed in many parts of India to record and =
study --
and thus keep alive - the vibrant tribal and village folk culture: dances=
and
music, theatre, stories and songs, festivals and ceremonies, rituals and =
deities,
customs and crafts. It is a fact that a lot of even highly educated Indi=
ans lack
awareness of the vitality of the nation's folk traditions, except the "tr=
ibal
dances" observed at some official ceremonies. India needs superb and well=
-equipped
institutions dedicated to the idea that all folk arts of the nation must =
live -
and remain forever a source of joy.
India also needs a class of scholars who have studied at the finest Ameri=
can and
European universities archaeology and history, anthropology and psycholog=
y,
philosophy and literature, history of the arts, comparative literature =
and
comparative religion, literary criticism and textual analysis, aesthetics=
and
hermeneutics to be excellently capable of educating us - and the world - =
on the
imaginative and intellectual superiority of Hindu culture and accomplishm=
ents.
The new class of Hindu intellectuals should explain to us - and the world=
- that
the Ramayana, even as a literary work, is far superior to the ancient Gre=
ek/
European epic The Odyssey; and that the temple of Konark a far greater =
architectural achievement than the Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Pari=
s.
Over a period of 1,000 years (roughly between the fourth and the 14th cen=
turies),
Hindu kings and emperors built more temples than rulers of any other hist=
orical
civilisation ever did. Thousands many thousands - of stone temples of =
all sizes,
exquisitely beautiful and awe-inspiring, were built block by block or car=
ved out
of solid rock everywhere in Hindustan. A lot of the Hindu temples built =
over the
centuries have perished: Still, what survives today is remarkable.
Hindu culture today needs an ambitious project to repair, rebuild and res=
tore
every ruined no matter how much damaged the ancient Hindu temple. The
reconstruction should be historically accurate and done using the same =
kind of
stones in the original temple. Since June 1988, I have travelled thousan=
ds of
kilometres all over India to gaze in wonder at more than 200 ancient Hind=
u
temples. I have also done considerable research in this country and at =
Library of
Congress in Washington on Indian History and Archaeology, ancient Hindu =
temple art
and architecture. I claim on the basis of my research and travels that =
at least
600 ruined and abandoned ancient Hindu temples are scattered all over the=
country
(except Kerala and NE frontier states). A number of the antique temples =
are fairly
intact, but most of the forsaken temples survive in a more or less ruined=
conditions A large, number of Hindu temples were number of Hindu temples =
were
shattered altogether. At several old temple sites visited, I found a larg=
e number
of fragments of the demolished temples still lying scattered.
Every dilapidated and wrecked ancient Hindu temple can be made whole agai=
n. All
remaining ancient Hindu temples can be rebuilt. All surviving ancient =
temples
should be recreated. The task is not impossible or even very difficult. =
The much
damaged temples can be made whole again by the labour of Hindustan's tale=
nted and
skilled stone carvers. Even today, Hindu artisans in several parts of the=
country
(e.g. Khiching in North Orissa and Mahabalipuram near Chennai) possess =
the skill
to carve stone decorations and sculpture as well as their remote ancestor=
s did.
The temples' restoration can be achieved relying upon the ancient Sanskri=
t (or
other regional language) treatises on architecture, examples of ancient =
Hindu
temple art in museums, and comparison with other surviving temples in the=
same
style and of the same period.
In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Prad=
esh, but
especially in Orissa and Rajasthan, I have counted nearly 80 damaged anci=
ent
temples that can be restored. It would be a challenge of enormous complex=
ity to
rebuild completely the shattered Kakatiya temple at Warangal. (Warangal =
was sacked
in the 17th century by the Muslim ruler of Hyderabad and the temple - whi=
ch must
have been stunningly beautiful judging from broken pieces - was demolishe=
d.)
State-of-the art computer programmes use in archaeological reconstruction=
can be
of enormous help in restoring the ancient Hindu temples, even in cases =
where many
carved stone blocks and portions of decorative carvings are missing.
As necessary as recreating the original architectural beauty of all the =
dilapidated and forsaken ancient Hindu temples, there is also the urgent =
need to
protect and preserve the glorious architecture and sculpture of the templ=
es that
have survived intact. There is no excuse for not using the best able con=
servation
technologies and the most far-sighted protective measures at every one =
of the
intact. ancient Hindu temples.
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