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Just as I heard his plodding footsteps in the corridor, I
knew it was time for another rambling session on life and beyond. In no time, Z
was banging my door.
He entered, flipped through some of the new books that
flipkart had recently delivered, and jocosely mumbled something about how awful
it was to read fiction. Smarting under the slight, I quite foolishly quipped “There
was no fiction in the world, everything has been a reality sometime, somewhere”.
Had it been any other day, he would have wasted no time in punching holes in
statement as open ended as that, but to my surprise, he didn't. His non-nonchalance meant that there were to be no heated arguments on supposedly lofty ideas that we
so enjoyed nitpicking on.
I started to relate my experiences in China from the week
before. I had gone to present a paper at a conference in Wuhan, and had left
three days to visit Beijing, recounting how awful it had been that, just as I
was reaching the top of the Great Wall, it started to rain and I had to
immediately abandon my climb to get under a roof. Much to my ‘un-delight’,
Chairman Mao’s adulation of the Chinese wonder was such that he often claimed -
“Who never climbed the Great Wall cannot
be deemed a Man”. He started laughing and then suddenly said “Sibal, I think going places is more important than going to places”
I
was stuck by the profundity of his utterance, but I couldn't disagree more; his
argument, as I probed further, was that you can find the entire world and its knowledge
on the internet and books. So, why waste time travelling to places? Whereas, I
feel no amount of reading can help you understand people and civilizations that
you get by witnessing it firsthand. For instance, my impressions of China and
its people, after having interacted with them in person, were very favorable,
in stark contrast to what they had been earlier, when shaped by a jingoistic
media; our primary source of information. In fact I had very friendly and
forward looking discussions with students at the conference and some others
that I met while travelling on the Metro in Wuhan.
As
I learnt from my travel, people on the ground are concerned about their daily
lives and well being, matters like boundary disputes, which have been point of
contention between India and China for over half a century now, are of little
relevance to people unless governments rake up these issues and juxtapose them with national pride. And as it goes, both sides play up the same nationalist sentiment
that further obscures the possibility of any reconciliation. People to people interactions
enable us to have a better understanding of the socio-cultural context in which
a country’s actions maybe rooted, enabling us to cut through the perceived mala-fide intentions of the other side.
I believe that to reach a settlement on boundary disputes with China, we as
citizens, on both sides of the border, must tell our governments that “This
impasse cannot go on forever”. At present, war mongering elements try to shape
public opinion in a manner that is inimical to peace at-large. Governments, as
a result, in the game of public perception, adopt a hawkish stance that appeases
false nationalist sentiment while derailing talks.
A constructive and informed
public opinion can be a vital and, a rather potent instrument in bringing
bilateral disputes to an end. This is exactly why I feel, going to places will
take us places.
Prateek Sibal
Delhi
Although, I truly believe in the unraveling power of books and the internet - there is another side to it. It brings knowledge to those on the fingertips who have certain limitations of resources to choose to learn it , perhaps hands on. If not same experience then at par.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I completely agree with your disagreement to the statement made. It is like doing distance learning and having the full classroom experience with people and physical space that adds more dimension and energy to it.
Even when we are unaware of it, when we meet people from different cultures we interpret, comprehend and become further more aware of nuances of a culture.
Learning about a culture through media is not an effective way , as much of the mundane and normal ( which makes the culture whole) is lost as the interest in only in the unique or disturbing aspects. Differences make a culture as interesting as similarities do and similarities remain in the wants and needs of people- as you mentioned in previous article about the Maslow hierarchy.
Culture is experience through all senses but not one. Through its music, its people, their routine, their differences, the food, the colors, the language and many more such dimensions.
Going to places is living through experience which only adds so much while reading can barely prepare us to preempt the amazing findings. Could be a mosaic wall telling a story or a local legend or the common street man who is the accumulation of all the nuances.
Thanks for sharing your views. I agree that culture can be understood and their differences gauged, not through any single sense, but through all. Travel provides that opportunity.
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