The Chapters are -

1. Surya and Esamskriti.
2. Dedicated to Whom.
3. What is the meaning of Culture.
4. Who is behind the Site.
5. One more site on India !
6. How are the essays put together.
7. Diverse range of topics.
8. Legal Disclaimer.



1. Surya and Esamskriti

Surya or the Sun lives for bringing light in the lives of one and all. So also Esamskriti seeks to remove darkness arising out of ignorance by sharing information about Indian culture, history and philosophy.

Surya never gets tired of providing light because it enjoys its job. So we enjoy our work and believe that you are the reason for our existence.

Surya is not attached to the fruits of action. So also we are not sharing knowledge because we want something in return, we are involved but detached.

Surya derives strength from itself. Similarly we derive strength from the Soul within, the Atman.

Surya is without a second. It is our constant endeavor to be unique.


2. Dedicated to Whom

This site is dedicated to Veda Vyasa (the Guru of all times), Sankaracharya, Shivaji, Guru Gobind Singh, Swami Vivekananda, Sardar Patel, members of the Indian Armed Forces who have sacrificed their lives for the protection of our motherland and last but not the least, my late father Amrit Parkash Nayar.


3.Samskriti or Culture means

The last fifteen years or so have thrown up many questions. Where do Indians come from? Why is family such an important part of our social structure ? Why are we a non-violent country ? and so on. Unless we have roots in the soil, knowledge about Indian culture, we will not be able to understand what our people are, why they behave in a certain way, what they want. Instead of letting them blossom we will try and impose our ideas on them. Today few of us have an insight into our culture and history. Ironically, foreigners find our culture fascinating, often asking us questions that have us scouting for answers.

What is Culture ? It is the sum total value of values expressed through art, religion, literature, social institutions and behavior, the overt acts of individuals and mass action inspired by collective urges. Its first characteristic is Continuity.

A distinctive culture comes into existence when people develop a continuos way of life. This is expressed in many ways like common traditions and norms of conduct, common institutions ( marriage, family ) common memory of triumphs achieved ( Bharata war fought at Kurushetra between the Pandavas and Kauravas ). Example where ever we go in India there are certain accepted norms of conduct.

The most important characteristic of a vital culture is a common outlook among the people, who when faced with adversity, difficulty can generate a collective will to action. However, when the collective will to resist adverse circumstances is weak the culture starts decaying ( do you think it is happening today, since a common will to tackle the country’s problems seems to be lacking ).

Nations are formed through amalgamation of identities and not by harping upon differences continuously.

With the passage of time the environment changes, society-culture comes under pressure to respond. When this happens it is up to the best among the dominant minority to adjust their outlook, institutions but under inspiration of its Central Idea. When this does not happen the culture dies and with it the people.

From the time a child is born it is series of continuos tests. Enter school, study hard, get good marks in the Board exams, make a correct career decision, get into a professional course, work hard, climb up the corporate ladder, make money, buy consumer durables, car and house, produce children, make them go through a similar drill. In short, the aim of our life is acquisition of materialistic objects which is essentially a Western way of life. Thus most of us, esp the urban Indian, grow up without an understanding of our culture, samskriti. Impressed with the material progress, the rural Indian begins to ape his urban counterpart.

While I am all for material progress, it must not be at the cost of forgetting our roots. In today’s situation the urban Indian represents the dominant minority. If he is able to acquire wealth yet retain his culture, the rural Indian will follow him.

Take the case of a modern Greek or Roman. Both these cultures have been overwhelmed by the West and are now where near the culture of their ancient civilizations.

The vitality of a culture cannot be passed down from father to son through a Will. Its values have to be recaptured afresh by every generation and would be subject to constant reinterpretation. If a culture is living the young would be impacted by it.


4. Who is behind the Site

The site is promoted by Sanjeev Nayyar, a Mumbai (India) based Chartered Accountant turned Management Consultant. After working with some of India’s best companies over a span of fourteen years, he listened to the voice of his soul and branched off on his own. The name of his firm is Surya Consulting. Its objective is to add measurable value to business. Its core competencies are Profit Enhancement Strategies, Feasibility studies, Financial Due Diligence, Organization Restructuring and Help setting up New Businesses.


5. One more site on India - How and Why ?

For nearly thirty seven years of my life, all my energies were devoted to acquisition of materialistic objects and accumulation of wealth. Inspite of being reasonably successful, I was perpetually unhappy.

A visit to Mount Kailash in the summer of 1998 changed the course of my life. I had heard stories about how tough the trip was but nothing deterred me. From the time we left Kathmandu for the Chinese border, I could sense a change within me. Our first night was spent at a height of 15,000 feet. Inspite of being in a tent with some four layers of clothing, tucked into a sleeping bag, I nearly froze to death. It took us four days to reach the base camp of Mount Kailash and two and a half days to do the Parikrama ie a 52 kms trek round the holy mountain. The comradrie during the trek, our helplessness before mother nature, trekking at 20,000 ft, seeing the Tibetans doing the trek lying down, had a profound impact on my mind and soul. By the time I returned to Mumbai, I was a changed man. There was an infinite quest for knowledge.

I landed up at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan book shop and bought eleven volumes on the History and Culture of Indian People. I read and read as if there was no tomorrow.

Around this time, the Indian Army had organized an exhibition on the Arms seized From Kashmiri Militants. Like many others, I was surprised to see the nature of arms used in the Valley. My empathy for the Army got me talking to the Lt Colonel who was supervising the exhibition. After reading the army booklet on Kashmir, I realized how ignorant I was on the Kashmir issue. And so was born my first essay. Around the same time I got an internet connection at home. After lots of running around, got fifty email addresses to whom I sent the mail on Kashmir.

I was reading a book on Indian History by Percuvial Spier which said that India had invaded China in 1962. Bharat had never invaded any country ever, so how could it have invaded China is a question that haunted me for days. I wanted to discover the truth for myself. The book, Guilty Men of 1962 told me how untrue that was and became the subject of the second essay. After that topics have just been coming to my mind. During Kargil, thought people might want to know on the history of Indo - Pak War’s, so wrote about it. Seeing Indians celebrate Diwali with great fervor got me interested in knowing the significance behind it. And so I read the significance of festivals. I was sitting in a pub on eve of Gudi Padwa when I overheard a women talk about it. Curiosity led me to a calendar shop at Dadar ( Mumbai ) that stored calendars in different Indian languages. I was buying fruits in the Worli market when some boys came and asked me for a donation on the occasion of Guru Purnima. My first question was Guru Purnima, what ! Lack of knowledge about my samskriti made me feel incomplete.

India’s customs, traditions, philosophy are complex but have lots of significance behind them. I had questions to which I had no answers. How did this evolve ? What was the impact of foreign invasions ? Were we always poor ? The desire to find answers, unearth the beauty of the past, integrate it with the present resulted in an infinite quest for knowledge.

Reading helped me find answers. Then, I asked myself a simple question. Did I want to be selfish and keep this knowledge to myself or share it with the world ? I realized that there was more happiness in sharing.

Feedback made me realize that today’s generation would like to know of the past, our culture and civilization but are disinclined to read thick books or listen to some learned man’s discourses. They would like to read all about it in a precis format and in an easy to understand language. The first few essays were very long and as I realized later, were written to satisfy myself.

Buoyed by the response, I decided to keep on writing. My first essay in November 1998 went to some fifty people. With the blessings of all, the mailing list continued to increase and has touched some 3,000 ids at the end of fifteen months.

A number of friends suggested that it was time to have my own web site. Unsure as how I would combined work + site, I did not act till a friend Ganesh, pepped me up to the extent that I decided it was now or never. So was born www.esamskriti.com.

An email friend once asked me what brought about this dramatic transformation in my life ie from a guy who never read a book to a voracious reader and this writing. I was foxed and could not find an answer till an Astrologer Shri Murthy told me that by turning intellectual I was doing what I had left incomplete in my previous birth. I do not know how many of you believe in rebirth but after seeing this dramatic change, I believe in it 100 %.


6. How do I put together these Essays -

Since I read continuously, I come across, lots of informative stuff, issues that are in the news, misrepresented by the media or stuff that I think would be keen to know about. Each essay has inputs from atleast two books. It takes hours of reading to put together one essay for eg to write a seventeen page essay on Shivaji + the Maratha Dynasty, I had to read, comprehend some four hundred pages, pick up the most important parts, ensure that it flows smoothly like the river Ganga, type it in, analyze the whole period, compare it with contemporary events, draw on the thoughts of other learned men in this case Chanakya, edit it some four times. It took some forty hours to put together the essay. I take a print out and show it to Mom for her critical inputs. To make it user friendly, use Bold so that you get the gist of the para.

Whenever I am foxed, unable to find answers, write to my Email Guru. He is a very learned man, an exponent on Vedanta who conducts lectures across the country.

I do not claim to be some great writer or something. I was an average student, am an ordinary human being whose love for his country ie Bharat, motivates him to compile these essays. I believe that knowledge of the past helps you understand, accept the present and lays the foundation for a brighter future.

How do I get the time to put these essays together -Reading is an ongoing process and happens about five days a week. Essay writing is done on weekends while mails are sent out early morning. I rarely watch television and avoid wasting my time on mundane things. Being unmarried also helps. Some of my email friends visualize me as a Sanyasi, this guy with big black glasses. I am neither. Sanathan Dharam gives me the freedom to work, read, dance, drink, visit pubs and a lot more. Happiness comes from balancing each of these acts, not too much or too little of either.

7. Why is the range of topics so diverse ?

I agree that the range of topics is diverse. Wars, foreign policy, festivals, history, quotes, notes to myself, economics. As time passed by, people wanted to know the truth on various topics. That’s how the range of topics increased.

I had written an unpublished book on quotes called "Straight from the Heart". While jogging in Mumbai’s rains it struck me that sharing the thought behind some of the more memorable quotes would be a good idea. After all the quotes did not come from thin air but are a reflection of my life’s experiences, observations and philosophy. Thus was born "Notes to Myself"

Sometimes I ask myself a question, Will I ever run out of topics ? For the last eighteen months have been releasing an essay every four weeks. Am 38 today. Even if I were to write for the next fifteen years that makes it one hundred and eighty essays. Where will I get so many topics from ? I believe that you must do what you think is right and the future takes care of itself. Look at it this way - when I started out, never could I have dreamt of reaching this far.

Why do not I stop working and take to this full time - Every human body has two parts , body and soul. One cannot be separated from the other. Both co - exist. So also work and writing are two inseparable parts of my life. If I were to stop either, life would be incomplete. Even if I were to be gifted five crs tomorrow I would continue doing what I am doing now. A young MBA asked me, whether Strategy or Operations is more important. If I am a good strategist but not good at implementation it’s of no use and vice versa. It is similar to the relation between electricity and a bulb. What use is electricity without a bulb ? Without a bulb, power has no value.

The key for each one of us is to look within and figure out what makes us tick. Having done so, we should go ahead and do it.


Legal Disclaimer

While I have put together these essays after lots of research, checking with learned men, it is possible that some of you might disagree with me or may be, I have made a mistake. I respect your views and with all humility am willing to stand corrected, make changes in the essays. Having said that, neither do I expect every one to agree with me nor am I in a popularity contest.

Some of you might feel that I am trying to discredit, write against a community. When faced with a similar predicament, this is what one of my Gurus, K. M. Munshi, founder of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, eminent writer, freedom writer, said in his preface to Volume 6 of The History and Culture of the Indian People.

"Political uncertainties of the Indians during the last phase of the British rule underlined the importance of the alliance between the two communities, and this was sought to be smoothly brought about by glossing over the differences and creating an imaginary history of the past in order to depict the relations between the two communities in a much favorable light then it actually was. Eminent Hindu political leaders went so far as to proclaim that Hindus were not all a subject race during Muslim rule. A fear of wounding the susceptibilities of the sister community haunts the minds of Hindu politicians and historians, and not only prevents them from speaking the truth, but also brings down their wrath upon those who have the courage to do so ". Ignorance of the actual relations between Hindus and the Muslims - an ignorance deliberately ignored by some " may ultimately be found to be the most imp single factor which led to the partition of India ".

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