TALKING HEADS - On the subject of the fragile peepul leaf in bronze

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140907/jsp/opinion/story_18787363.jsp#.VAvcIvmSxqo

I have written in these pages earlier on the subject of the Bharat Ratna, that fragile peepul leaf in bronze, which so many want conferred on so many others but, in fact, covet for themselves — by proxy. I can only imagine the following conversation, as fictional as it is conceivable, that might well have taken place in 1953, or thereabouts, between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Rajendra Prasad in the president’s study, Rashtrapati Bhavan.

JN: Rajenbabu, I have been meaning to broach one matter with you but what with one thing or another, have not been able to do so.

RP: Achha…tell me.

JN: Every nation state , every stable state, through history, has had a system by which the Crown recognized and honoured the good and the great among its citizens. This has been mostly through titles, grants, land grants, mansabs and so on. I am not quite sure if Chandragupta Maurya decorated Chanakya with a title, but perhaps he did.

RP: Very possible. In fact, ‘Chanakya’ was perhaps itself a name of acknowledgment, of recognition. Unka naam to vaise Vishnugupt thaa.

JN: Jii haan, Chanakya probably was such a conferred name, though his other name Kautilya was not! Apte’s Sanskrit to English Dictionary tells us that ‘Kautilya’ means ‘crooked’. The Mudrarakshasa apparently has the line “Kautilyaha kutilamati”.

RP: (Chuckling) We are naming our new diplomatic enclave after him!

JN: I hope having that name in their address will encourage the ambassadors of other nations posted here to study our history and our ancient literature.

RP: That it will and should. Otherwise they will be stuck with Minto and Curzon and Irwin.

JN: Quite, though I would say there is no harm in keeping some colonial names like Curzon’s alive for he did things that were good for our archaeological heritage. The Taj may well have been a potholed grey mess but for him.

RP: Hmmm…Curzon’s speech at Brindavan praising the temple to Govinda Deva as an example of Hindu art is inspiring.

JN: Is that so? I must look it up. Thank you for telling me. Curzon’s speech before the Legislative Council in Calcutta on the Ancient Monuments Bill is of course quite a classic: “The remains or groups of remains with which this country is studded” or something like that. Sorry, Rajenbabu, I have strayed. Puraanii aadaat hai…

RP: Nahiin, nahiin…aisii baat nahiin. We are not just president and prime minister.

JN: That is very, shall I say, very elevated of you. But your time is precious , Mr President, and, in talking to a friend of decades, I must not forget that I am talking to one who represents the sovereign will of the people of India. So, to come back to the honouring of the great, such a step, while it does what it does for the person honoured, it also, in a sense, validates the state by recognizing its authority to confer a decoration.

RP: Yes, of course. The ratna is the ratna, the receiver of the ratna is the ratna-sushobhita, and the giver of the ratna is the ratnakara.

JN: That, Rajenbabu, I must say is quite brilliant. I could never have put it like you have. And ratna is just right. Akbar had his nauratan, did he not? Abu’l-Fazl, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, Birbal, Faizi…

RP: Raja Man Singh , Raja Todar Mal.

JN :Tansen

RP : And, before that, Chandragupt Vikramaditya had his nine gems, his navaratna. Kalidasa…

JN: That is exactly right, and Varahamihira, Dhanvantri… With that let me come straight to the point, Mr President. I would like to propose that the Republic of India should identify its own contemporary ratnas, from the world of thought, letters, the sciences.

RP: But do we have …?

JN: Of course, we do.

RP: Like?

JN: Before we come to names, shall we perhaps look at the idea itself?

RP: Yes.

JN: We will have to be modern. That is to say, we will also have to think of the great new category that has ushered in our new renaissance, our political emancipation.

RP: You mean freedom fighters, starting with Gandhiji?

JN: That would be the first name to occur to you and to me, but I have reservations on making Bapu, the Mahatma, Father of our Nation, a ratna. Not just because gems and jewels do not go with him, but because he is too big, much too big for that. Ashok could have made Ananda a ratna but not the Buddha himself.

RP: Haan, voh to sahii hai.

JN: Also, I think the scheme — of course, I am presuming that you will look favourably at it — should not be retrospective.

RP: You mean it should not have posthumous application?

JN: Precisely. Because if we were to make it posthumous how far back do we go ? Do we go back to the Buddha, Ashoka, Krishnadeva Raya, Rajendra Chola, Akbar, Shivaji…

RP: …Rama and Krishna!

JN: Quite. That would lead to a volcanic eruption of suggested names, one from each province, and each religion. It would open up a Pandora’s Box — or what would be our equivalent of Pandora’s Box, Rajenbabu?

RP: Bhanumati ki pitaarii

JN: (bursting into laughter): Exactly.

RP: So, who?

JN: Let me first send a proposal to you.

RP: No, I mean yes, but just for an idea.

JN: Very well. Let me clarify that you and I, as the originators of the idea, should not feature in the list.

RP: Ratnakaras as ratnas. Jachegaa nahiin.

JN: Exactly.

RP: But Jawaharlalji, that is right as far as I am concerned. I cannot give it to myself, but you…

JN: Let me stay out. That would be, shall I say, the decent thing to do.

RP: But I can decide to give it to you.

JN: You could, of course. But then it will be through the procedure of advising. You know the Constitution better than I do. Let me say, since you feel we should go into names, that we think of exceptional names. Not excellent names but truly exceptional names. People of whom no one will say “Why him?” For instance, Rajaji, representing our freedom struggle at its finest.

RP: Hmmmm

JN: Then our vice-president.

RP: Dr Radhakrishnan?

JN: Yes, as a philosopher of world renown.

RP: Hmmmmm. Have you mentioned it to him ?

JN: No, of course not. I have not discussed this with anyone. How could I, before broaching it with you ?

RP: Achhaa.

JN: And, to not leave out the world of science, Sir C.V. Raman.

RP: Naam to tiinon bahut acchhey hein.

JN: So, let us make a beginning. Of course, if the scheme as such meets with your approval. And then the names…

RP: Hmmm. Tiinon Dakshini naam hein.

JN: Oh? I never thought of that. But then, I guess when gems sparkle it does not matter where they have come from.

RP (smiling) : Voh to hai…

JN: What shall we call it, this…?

RP: Award.

JN: ‘Award’ is too, shall I say…too trite.

RP: Decoration?

JN: Far the better word, thank you. I do the talking and the rambling but you clinch it.

RP (thoughtfully): What about ‘Rashtra Ratna’?

JN: Hmmm. We could consider Rashtra Ratna, yes. But, as I was driving in to meet you, I was thinking about the name. Of course, subject to the scheme meeting with your approval. And I thought of Tagore’s magical line, “Bharat-bhagya-vidhata”.

RP: Of course, yes. Bharat Ratna. Besides, that is the country’s official, constitutional name after all... Bharat.

JN: Bharat Ratna. I like the sound of that name. It has, shall I say, the right taste.

RP: It will be a decoration, not a title. We have abolished titles.

JN: True, decoration. He will not be Bharat Ratna so and so.

RP: He can add it after his name...

JN: ...in some suitable manner.

RP: Very well then, let me have a note from you. But we should also have some decorations for men and women who may not be of the exceptional kind, but still deserving.

JN (getting up): Yes, you are right. There could be a gradation. That has been a fulfilling discussion, Rajenbabu. Thank you.

RP (also rising): Good. We have thought of a fine scheme. Let us hope future generations will continue to find Bharat Ratnas among them.

JN (with a namaste): Why should they not? Of course, they will.

RP (to the AdC, as the PM’s car drives out): Who is the next visitor?

AdC: Sir, an astrologer by name...