I visited Granada in Spain, recently, where we watched a Flamenco show. We had watched one in the Expo at Dubai but my daughter wanted to see it, in the place of its origin. While visiting the Sacromonte cave museum I learnt that the Flamenco dance was first performed in the 15th century by gypsies who had arrived from Rajasthan in India! Though the museum seemed to believe a dance like Flamenco is not performed in India hence it could not have originated there, we could see the similarities in the tonality and pitch of the singers at the Flamenco and the Rajasthani folk singers; the twirling tiered gaghra like bright coloured flamenco dresses and the communal spirit of the clapping and dancing used in both.
https://youtube.com/shorts/GwqtxtBAGoA?si=_nohudL1PF9rfpjR
https://youtube.com/shorts/126ioHp1pFI?si=5yZRjfrtc7MpqtTB
Having read the Golden Road by William Dalrymple, I did know that people in ancient times too travelled across seas and continents for trade and livelihood but the flamenco story really intrigued me. Who are we really and where did we come from...you would need a DNA test to find out. Modern technology being used in archeology and linguistics should really convince us of the fact that the world is indeed a family- Vasudev Kutumbhakam!
I recently watched Idris Elba talking about how he did a DNA test which upset him and his mum so much that he repeated it just because it spoke of him having a mapful of genes from all over Africa even though Idris Elba's mum is from Ghana and his dad is from Sierra Leone which made up only a minority of his genes.
Rabindranath Thakur wrote famously- ."..where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls....Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake!" Even as India was fighting violently and non violently to gain freedom from the British, Rabindranath Thakur warned against hypernationalism.
Today the world despairs as we see ourselves at the mercy of egoistic leaders who have been shaped by their histories and are ruled by their selfish interests.
Ironically today we are much more connected. Most ordinary people in most countries seem to be connected by social media. More and more people are travelling to foreign lands. We consume many more foreign products including our energy demands which are still unravelling. No wonder we are all interested in geopolitics.
While what Trump posted on Truth social is entertaining for the most part, it also impacts our lives so much. For the HNIs it might mean the falling worth of their stock market and real estate portfolios but for ordinary people it can mean job losses due to shutting of businesses due to high cost of energy or job losses or change in career plans due to visa restrictions which in turn can change the course of their lives- where they live, who they marry!
Our kids' lives have been impacted by so many things, we need to understand why their values are so different from ours- the pandemic, the wars (students have had to be evacuated from Ukraine and Iran) the diplomatic fallout from tariffs (when so many H1Bs were cancelled or people cancelled travel plans and got married without fanfare in anticipation) or when Canada stopped visas due to what was seen by the Indian Government as Canada's policy of supporting separatist ideology on their soil....
Recently we saw reports from Ireland about Indians being the target of violent attacks from locals against immigrants. Indians have been a target in many countries like Australia on individual basis but also as a part of national policy for example in Uganda or for that matter in the 15th century in Granada when gypsies, who were from Rajasthan in India, along with Jews and Muslims were turned away from the city and who then lived in manmade caves in Sacromonte in the hills.
We have faced persecution at home and abroad over the centuries but we still exist everywhere making a sizable chunk of the world population. Amit Tandon, the comedian explained his surprise when he started receiving invitations form the diaspora all over the world, from New Zealand to Guyana, South Africa to Russia we seem to be everywhere.
One can only pray for peace and hope we still believe that divinity exists in purush and prakriti... in humans and nature and continue to respect both while working for the welfare and prosperity of all everywhere in true spirit of Vasudev Kutimbhkam.
