Octavio Paz and India.
Hi Satish:
As promised here are some of the comments that Paz made in the book
'In Light of India' that I strongly and vehemently disagree with.I would have taken it up with him were he alive today.
1)
PAZ:"The foundation of Hindu civilization is Indo-European"
(page 92,PAZ once again cites Georges Dumezil to support this notion-According Dumezil (and Paz) Indo-European peoples comprise of Celts,Iranians,Germans,Romans and Greek)
Mohan:Huh????Pure unadulterated Bull shit.
2)Speaking of various religions and in reference to Hinduism...
PAZ:"Hinduism is a conglomeration of beliefs and rituals; although it lacks missionaries its power of assimilation is immense.It does not know conversion in the Christian or Muslim sense,but it practices, with great success,appropriation. Like an enormous metaphysical boa, Hinduism slowly and relentlessly digests foreign cultures,gods,languages and beliefs." (page 55)
Mohan:I don't know what he is talking about do you? Paz conveniently avoided giving any examples of this phenomenon.I wonder whether he might be talking about relative extinction of Bhuddism in India?
He also speak of separatist tendencies of various states including Punjab,Assam etc but includes Tamil Nadu in the list. As far as I know there was no such instance unless he was mistakenly thinking about the Tamil separatist movement in Sri Lanka.
Having said all this I love this guy,his language is quite impressive and his knowledge of India and things Indian was quite enormous,though his understanding of the country,its culture and history might be a bit shaded by academics and his point of views simply that of an 'Indologist' (study of India based on European point of view).
What made me like Paz even more than anything else is summed up in the following passage,particularly the last two sentences:-
Paz:"To return to the lacunae in this book: they are enormous, and they range from poetry, philosophy, and history to architecture, sculpture, and painting. The subject, due to its immensity and variety, rebels against synthesis. Moreover, it is beyond my knowledge as well as my intentions. These are merely glimpses of India: signs seen indistinctly, realities perceived between light and shadow. This book is not for the expert. It is the child not of knowledge but of love." (page 33) |
