Category: Asia
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Dronacharya: A father, a teacher, and a human
Rao UppuBaton Rouge, Louisiana, United States The epics of ancient India, particularly the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, offer enduring insights into human nature. Among them, Dronacharya, a revered teacher of warfare and royal preceptor to the Kuru princes, stands out as reflecting both the strengths and limits of a teacher. Dronacharya’s…
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The kingdom of Bhutan: Culture and health
Situated high up in the Himalayas between India and China, the Kingdom of Bhutan has a population of some 780,000 people. It is notable for its traditional, rich culture and a constitution that mandates that at least 60% of its land must always remain forested. The Bhutanese people are predominantly of Tibetan and Nepali descent.…
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Babur, the first Mughal emperor
Babur is remembered as the conqueror of India and founder of the Mughal dynasty. Born in 1483 in Andijan, present-day Uzbekistan, his full name was Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Babur. His family was part of the “Mongolized Turkic” population that arose following the conquests by Genghis Khan in c. 1200 and the establishment of the mixed…
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Ancient India in 1,500 words
Homo sapiens originated in Africa about 300,000 years ago and arrived in India in waves beginning about 65,000 years ago. Early populations were hunter-gatherers and did not adopt a sedentary way of life until about 7,000 years BCE, when they began to domesticate plants and animals. As their civilization expanded, villages grew into towns and…
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Tibet: History and medicine
Situated 14,000 feet above sea level, the vast Tibetan plateau has been inhabited by humans for at least 21,000 years. Adapted to extreme altitude and cold, early nomadic pastoralists hunted, herded, traded, and developed routes linking Tibet with other parts of the world. Their early religion was animistic. Mountains, rivers, and sky phenomena were regarded…
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Turmeric: The golden spice
Ashutosh GuptaChicago, Illinois, United States Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a flowering plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Turmeric is called haldi in the Hindi language and is derived from a Sanskrit word, haridra, meaning “one that enhances health.” Turmeric stems (rhizomes) with multiple buds and…
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Sri Lanka, a pearl of the Indian Ocean
Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean just south of the Indian subcontinent. Once called Ceylon, its history spans over 2,500 years, beginning with the arrival of Prince Vijaya from India in the sixth century BCE. In the third century BCE, the Emperor Ashoka’s son introduced Buddhism. The island’s position along ancient…
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Along the Silk Road in Central Asia
The historical Silk Road was a vast network of land and sea routes that connected China with the West for over 2,000 years, facilitating the exchange of silk, spices, gold, and also ideas until the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Its origins have been attributed to the Han Dynasty, and Samarkand and Bukhara have long…
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Siberia medical
Siberia is a vast expanse of forests, tundra, and remote settlements that covers 5.1 million square miles of land and stretches from the Urals to the Pacific and from the Arctic to the southern steppes. It encompasses roughly 77 percent of Russia’s territory but remains sparsely populated. Approximately 36 million people reside in Siberia, primarily…