Prelude:
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It is the annual Mardi Gras quiz in IIT, Madras. (It is one of the BIG
events of the annual festival, and usually the participants are from all
over India, and are very good).
One question was: "According to the hindu tradition, the bride and groom
are shown two stars on their bridal night. What are the stars, and what
is the purpose?
None of the participants answered it correctly. And one participant from
our institute said "Haley's comet". Now this is a guy who would have had
no difficulty in narrating incidents from ancient Greek mythology, but
probably would wonder whether Rama had any brothers.
(For those who don't know the answer for the stars question.. the Dhruva
and Arundhati stars are shown - guy is supposed to be very stable like
Dhruva, and the woman is supposed to be very virtuous like Arundhati).
Concern:
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Is the situation really as depressing as it seems? What could be the
reasons for Indians embarking on "Western Philosophy/Literature", and
ignoring what has come from our own land?
I hope somebody like pAlana, jampAla or pillalamarri gArlu could shed some
light on these aspects. Someone actually sent me a mail saying that he
would bring up the topic of colonial influence on our literature.
Sastry.
P.S: What would be the effect of a pro-Hindu government on all this?