How Can Writing Benefit India?

chillibreeze writer —Shail Raghuvanshi

“We rely upon the poets, the philosophers and the playwrights to articulate what most of us can only feel, in joy or sorrow. They illuminate the thoughts for which we only grope. They give us the strength and balm we cannot find in ourselves. Whenever I find my courage wavering I rush to them. They give me the wisdom of acceptance, the will and resilience to push on” - Helen Hayes

Written works reflect the undercurrents of a nation’s culture. When Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel Prize winning Gitanjali shifted the focus of the western media to Oriental works, the scope of Indian writing talent was, for the first time, exposed to the outside world. That India is a vast treasure house of ancient rock edicts and manuscripts of historical importance, that epics and legends form a part of any Indian’s psyche, are all well-known facts, but it needed a Tagore to bring the focus back.

Benefits of Writing

Writing in itself is an expression of a person’s thoughts, emotions and opinions irrespective of him/her being highly educated or not; Be it in the form of a note, an article, a novel, a journal or a personal diary, writing crystallizes ideas for posterity. Writing is by and for the curious, exploring and wanting to know more about the world around them and expressing their inner feelings and reflections in the written format. The best offshoot of the writing process is that one’s countless wayward thoughts get organized. One need not be the best writer in the world to write. What is required is the simple desire to pen one’s thoughts and emotions in any manner one feels comfortable with. Poetry and literature are nothing but expressed emotions showcased by the power of the written word.

Just imagine if they were no rock edicts. Just imagine if all the explorers, inventors, historians, philosophers, mathematicians, doctors, engineers, lawyers and persons belonging to other professions did not pen their thoughts and opinions. Knowledge of the world around us would have disappeared with time. An entire civilization would be groping for data and statistics. Today, we possess facts left behind by history, passed on to the next generations through the written word. Just as the written word helps us grapple with facts and figures, it also helps us to accept situations, people and reality. What is unclear in our minds and hearts becomes clear when we put it in writing.

At the 2006 World Economic Forum Meet at Davos, one of the most important topics of all round discussion was India’s ability to meet the demands of nations that were looking east for outsourcing work. India has contributed much to evolved language and literature right from the concept of “zero”. With so much potential, it is no wonder that the European Union has to contend with India as one of the prime locations for outsourcing even government work.

Gandhiji’s Rural India

India’s contribution to world history is unique in that India was the first nation to get freedom through non-violence. And we owe it to Gandhiji for that original idea of his. His vision of a great nation rested on making every village a rural industry. Even if his dream has long since disappeared into concrete urban jungles, writing about Gandhiji’s long lost ideals nurtures a hope somewhere that things might change.

At times like this, one can take pride in the cultural cauldron of the tribal people of India that reflects the actual rich cultural ethnicity of the nation. Recently an Australian professor, Robert Lee, who was part of the UNESCO team that came to examine the application for the heritage status of Nilgiri Mountain Railway, visited the Nilgiris. He witnessed, among other things, the song and dances of the hill tribe people of the Nigiris called the Todas. He is said to have stated that, “The Toda song about the train was truly amazing and beautiful poetry!” Now, the words of the Toda song are unintelligible to all non-Todas. It took writing to actually bring out the meaning of this beautiful song that has been in vogue among the Todas for well over a century now. Some of the lines go like this:

“…You have whistled the whistle of the wild red-dog,
You have released and then seized the hands that are linked in dancing,
You had, as it were, the smoke of charcoal rising up,
You had, as it were, the fire of charcoal burning with flame…”

How else would one get to know about such treasures unless they are written? India would benefit greatly as there are other rural reserves waiting to get discovered and written about. Writing and translation provides an outsider with the inside view of India’s varied culture. Institutions like the Katha have been instrumental in making available, to Indians and to the world as a whole, the ‘real India’ by translating regional works of art and literature. Writing thus brings about enrichment of the understanding and appreciation of different communities, rituals and beliefs of various cultures.

A Boost to the Tourism Industry

To understand how India can benefit from writing we need to delve deep into the background of India. Being one of the very ancient civilizations, India has a diverse background of varied cultures, traditions and lifestyles bound together by a nation’s will to survive. The approximately 18 major languages and about 844 kinds of dialects in India serve as a bonding factor while presenting a nation of such diversity. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and other communities form part of India’s rich heritage. As a result, perspectives of different kinds add to the flavor of India’s diverse culture. With India being rich in it’s heritage and ethos, it is only natural that the next step would be to make available to the world all the richness that lies integrated here. What better way to do this but by writing about the diversity, tenacity and talent? Writing promotes tourism, and tourism promotes industry.

Illuminating the Roots of an Ancient Culture

All the varied and interesting cultures and traditions of India would remain cloistered if they did not have local, regional or English writing to create awareness. By writing more about the ancient literary art forms, the roots of an ancient culture are strengthened, which would help current generations that seem to be lost in the confusion of fast living. Today, we only have to come across the vast genre of regional writing to understand the value of writing for India. The day no house is left untouched by the written word will be the day India will bee the most developed nation in the world.

Projecting India’s Industry

With major industries like steel, wheat, textiles, cotton, jute and the like being the strengths of Indian industry, writing about it all makes the country’s citizens and outsiders aware about the profits, thus paving the way for a better positioning in the world trade market. Similarly, using the Internet for medical, technical, marketing and other kinds of writing, India can become the most wanted country in the world of business writing. This is already a reality for India in the field of information technology and software development. Apart from that, the works of innumerable English writers has placed India on the global map. Outsourcing helps to create more jobs and a quality market for India. Writing more about the strengths of the country will not only improve the chances that India has in the Western market, it will also go miles in improving its image in the world. Amusingly there are still many countries in the world that can only think of elephants, snakes and maharajas once India is mentioned! Only writing about the ground reality can remove prejudiced views that non-Indians have of India. The cream on the cake of culture, business and trade is not the real thing. It is only by writing about the concrete facts that the world can know what the cake really tastes like!

Influencing the Trends of World Evolution

Writing reflects, as it were, the crystallized thoughts of the best minds in the world at any given point of time – such as inventors, scientists, philosophers, and others. This writing influences the evolutionary trends of the world – and it is only natural that India, with its rich historical and cultural background, forms an integral part of that process.

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—About our writer:

Shail says, “A freelance writer for the past ten years, I write and edit articles and also compose poetry. My interests lie in music, public speaking and painting. My family is my lucky mascot as my folks help me understand life and its intricacies. I nurture dreams of writing a novel someday. Love, faith and a wee bit of organizing is my tonic for each day!”

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