Tag Archives: Prof.Kailas Nath Kaul

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 12)

by

1


…continuing the Kaul Journal series

… as I turn the pages I’m enlightened at every word I read. A young mind in turmoil but I see that determination and zest for learning is what takes him places. What follows is the Kaul Journal In Prof. Kaul’s own words:

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

BACK AT SCHOOL

I left working in the villages and returned to school. I was underage. But, from Lokmanya Tilak to all great leaders of the Movement, I had met them all. I had been very near to some of them. I had worked under their instructions and, in a sense I was now a part of their group. But I felt my capabilities were zero. At a young age, I had become an old man. I walked like an old person. When I spoke, I waved my hands. But, I did not understand how to be a leader. I was like an empty bottle that needed to be filled with knowledge and wisdom.

None of the leaders or any of my friends offered to enlighten me. I realized the emptiness within me and was determined to fill it as I felt I had wasted a lot of my time. Until I filled this emptiness, I would not be able to help others!

Our school had opened only recently. The principal, a very good and capable man, was from Aligarh University. He had made a very good library in the school. I began to read. It was in my mind that I should read whatever came before me. If I was not able to understand it fully, at least I would understand it partially.

My masters would ask me, “What will you understand from these books?” They thought I was too young to understand. I would not be able to grasp these deep and profound ideas. They had no idea of the extent of my thirst for knowledge. I did not read these books so that I would do well in my exams.

The-Kaul-Journal

I had seen the poverty in the villages. I had seen the kinds of hardships the people faced. I felt that if I was capable and knowledgeable, I would be able to fight their enemies.

I was going to confront the rulers of the land. I was going to confront the religious leaders. I had made myself into a soldier who would fight injustice. I did not speak about my ideas to anyone or ask for anyone’s help. I felt there was no one who could really help me in my quest. Only technical knowledge would aid me.

My thirst for knowledge was so overpowering that  my parents, who used to say that if I didn’t study I would end up being a grass cutter, now told me not to study and read so much, as I would lose my eyesight!

I considered this as the best part of my whole life because, at this time, I was fulfilling a need which was there deep in my soul. My peers studied to get good jobs but, I was never interested in getting a good job.

I left the road towards a secure future and strove to fight injustice.

                                                     … and the Kaul Journal continues 

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 11)

by

2


As I read on… …what the great man writes… …I realize there is so much that goes on in a teenager’s mind which people tend to ignore.  Some learn on their own by experimenting and some learn by reading books and journals. Prof. Kaul is one of those who learnt by himself. As a teenager he had thousands of questions which were never answered, so he went out looking for the answers. One such episode is part of this journal.

Concepts of Life

Prof. K. N. Kaul

Prof. K.N.Kaul

Once, in a village of Hindus and Muslims, I was very thirsty. On the outskirts of the village there was a well. A tall, lean, dark man wearing only a loincloth was bathing near the well. He had with him a bucket tied with a rope. I thought that he could give me some water. I approached the well.

The man had finished his bathing and was putting on fresh, clean clothes. I asked him for some water. He asked me what caste I belonged to. I thought he would certainly give me water as I was of the highest caste. So. I told him that I was a Brahmin, He told me he could not give me any water. I asked him why and he said that he was an untouchable, and hence I would be polluted.

I explained to him that he was neat and clean and I have no qualms about drinking water from him. But he would not agree. He told me to bring my own bucket and drink. This was my first experience of untouchability.

Later, I learned that untouchables lived in the cities also. The Arya Samaj Movement was against untouchability. I started visiting the homes of Chamars and Mehtars (the then untouchable caste people coming from the class of cobblers and sweepers). They wanted me to visit their homes to see how clean they were. They said that the higher castes kept them away and called them untouchables.

I could not understand this concept. Each day, I felt that I could not be of any service to these people and that I did not have the capacity to alleviate their sufferings.

At the same time, our leaders also felt that inducting the young would not be of any benefit to the Independence Movement. They felt new types of schools should be opened for them.

In Aligarh, the students who graduated from the Muslim University and the students who were studying there, at the instance of Mohammed Ali Sahib, started the Jamia Milia. In Benares (Varanasi), Kashi Vidhyapith was begun. In Delhi, the Swatantra (Freedom) School was opened. I enrolled there.

My parents asked me, “Why did you leave school in the first place, when you have now returned back to school?” How was I to make them understand why I had done this! My parents wanted me to be educated as, without education, I would not be able to get a government job.

No one had ever explained the ways of the world to me. I had no idea where food and water came from and that one needed to earn to live. My elders would admonish me by saying, “If you don’t study, you will end up only cutting grass.” I did not feel that cutting grass was such a bad thing.

Often, on Sundays, I would go into the jungle to collect plants and animals such as snakes, lizards, scorpions and other of this type. I would also collect different types of insects and store them in boxes.

I had no idea of the concept of ‘working for a living’. My father was an officer in Jaipur and the people would salute him. My grandfather was a Diwan (Prime Minister) in Jaipur and people called him their benefactor and people gave him respect. I thought that as the air we breathe is free, in the same way we obtained material things.

No one ever enlightened me about the hidden dramas of family and community life or gave me a map to the ‘Green Room’.

When I left school, I gained knowledge of village life through the teachings of Gandhiji. All the problems of India seemed to be standing in front of me and they needed to be tackled and solved. I did not understand much about them. I was only in the 10th standard.

Our leaders had taught us to sing the praises of Independence and to hail the coming revolution. I did not understand exactly what the revolution was about and only understood that our goal was to confront the British.

And the Journal continues…. 

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 10)

by

1


Some Legends Last Forever

Continuing with the amazing journey of Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

…here’s…

Gandhiji’s  invocation for the freedom struggle

The matric examinations were about to start. Gandhiji gave the call – leave schools and colleges. I was energised and left my school just a few days before the examinations and followed  the leaders holding up the flag and carrying a cloth bag.

At that time, in Delhi, there were two great leaders. One of them was Asif Ali, a barrister. He wore churidar pyjamas and an embroidered kurta, and when he gave his speech, the Urdu he spoke fell like from his mouth like the sparkles from a firecracker. At one meeting, the crowd shouted for him to speak in Hindi. The notion was that he would not be able to. But, when he started in Hindi, he spoke the pure ‘Hindi of Benares’ (Varanasi). It flowed like the Ganges at Vishwanath Ghat, pure and chaste. He also spoke excellent English. His way of speaking was that of Mughal Durbar.

I was hardly old enough to be able to understand his politics but by standing by him, I learnt a great deal.

The other great leader was Swami Shradhanandji. He was tall and broad chested with shining eyes, he would be covered in a draped cloth, and carried a stout staff. When he spoke, he gave the impression that he was totally unafraid, even of death.

Near Haridwar, he had established a school which is today the Gurukul University. When Gandhiji returned from South Africa, he stayed with Swami Shradhanandji .

I remember, very clearly, an example of his bravery. The Government had enforced Penal Code 144. Swami Shradhanandji organised a march in Chandni Chowk. The army was out in full force. A Gorkha soldier pointed a loaded rifle at his chest. But Swami Shradhanandji  stood his ground and challenged the soldier to shoot if he had the guts. An officer near by motioned to the soldier to step aside. Swamiji proceeded on with his followers. I learned many things from Swamiji also.

We were told to go from village to village and sing the songs of independence. We would go from one village to another and would sing songs of dying for the sake of independence.

I would be fed by the villagers and we would spend the nights in their houses. This was a new experience of life for me. I had always lived either of my grandparents. I had only seen the markets of Delhi and Jaipur. I knew only the masters at my schools and Madarsas. I had the impression that our whole  country was like this. I felt all men lived similar happy contended lives.

When I visited the villages of India, I could understand how these people lived their lives. They would bring their problems to me. They felt I could help them and ease their sufferings. They were not interested in independence. They did not even understand the concept of Independence. They felt that any ruler whether he was Hindu, Muslim or English, would loot them.

…and the journey continues.

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 9)

by

0


Some Legends Last Forever

Continuing with the amazing journey of Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

…here’s…

My Disposition

My disposition to learn gave me the habit of questioning thoroughly and understanding a subject before accepting it as the truth. Because of this, my parents never interferred in my work. At school, I constantly argued with my Arya Samaji teachers on all aspects of vedic teaching. I was a master at debating, I used all my ideas to back my arguments.

I always spoke to my masters with great respect. But, with my peers, I won the debates with forceful arguments.

After the debates, I always found myself in the library, verifying and researching my view. I looked at many books and thoroughly studied the topics I had argued upon.

In this way, I learned that often I was in too much of a hurry to jump to conclusions and, at times, debated heatedly without reason.

However, I benefitted from this as I gained knowledge of the changes which were occurring in society and I learned to validate my ideas. I also learned how to improve my style of speaking.

The Master of my eighth standard would beat me and say that he would take out all my pride in my wealth and status. He was not able to do this because I had no false pride. From a young age, I was unable to accept any ideas just because they had been propounded by older person.

I once went on a trip with my parents to Mathura and Brindavan. For the Sanatan Dharmis, these are places of pilgrimage. Here, at the temples, I watched the devotees worship and pray in different ways. I watched their antics with interest.

In that area, there is a place called Radha Kund. The legend is that here, when Radha was thirsty, Krishna dug a well for Radha with his flute. He also stroked some trees with his butter-stained fingers and, wherever he touched the trees, they have black lines. While the Brahmin was explaining this to us, I took out a knife and peeled the bark of the tree. The trees are called Abnus and, under the bark, the wood is black. Obviously, the Pandas were not willing to accept a scientific explanation.

It is not a fact that there was ever a Radha with Krishna. After the 12th century, poets invented her and linked her with Krishna. The devotees of Krishna could now sing the love story of Krishna and Radha like that of Lord Ram and Sita.

———————————————————————————————————————

For you all to read as he takes us down the memory lane in his own words—-

The Legend Unknown- Prof Kailas Nath Kaul—

Part 8, Part 7 , Part 6, Part 5, Part 4, Part 3, Part 2, Part 1

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 5)

by

2


Some Legends Last Forever

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

In the last chapter of the Kaul Journal, Prof Kaul told us such interesting unknown facts…

Some about the Mughals … the Mongols… and Genghis Khan… and how the countries and civilizations shaped up.

Today, he takes us many a years back into time.

… as I add another chapter here, in his own words.

* * *

MUGHALS IN KASHMIR

And My Ancestors

When the Mughals reached Kashmir, they found a cold climate, beautiful scenery and fruits and flowers which were the same as in Turkey, China and Mongolia.

Besides this, though the people of Kashmir did not have Chinese features, they were fair-skinned like the Mughals. They thus felt affinity with the Kashmiris.

This is why, during the Mughal period, many Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir to settle in Agra, later in Delhi, and other parts of India where the Mughals ruled and where the Kashmiri Pandits can still be found. The Mughals considered the Kashmiris to be astute and clever.

Aurangzeb, in a letter to his son, wrote that he wished that he had a Kashmiri adviser to deal with the Nizam. Aurangzeb wrote this during his conquest of the Deccan. After Aurangzeb the Revenue Minister of Shah Alam was a Kashmiri.

It was in this atmosphere that the Kashmiris moved from place to place.

As the Kashmiris moved so did my family… my maternal family settled near Jama Masjid in a huge house. In Delhi, this family was known as ‘Topa’. This was because an ancestor who was given several villages and jagirs near Meerut and, hence, literally, he wore a ‘big hat’ or ‘Topa’.

The Kashmiris have one failing in that they do not consider their real names. They change names according to habits.

A Kashmiri used to carry a large stick or lathi, and thus his family came to be known as ‘lathmar’.

There is a story that a Kashmiri had ‘shehtoot’ (mulberry) trees in his house. His family came to be known as ‘Tootwala’. In anger he chopped the tree but the name remained. Then to try and preserve his name he dug a hole and buried the tree along its roots. In his garden there was a big gadhha (hole) so the people started calling him ‘Gadhhewala’.

My ancestor’s family continued to be called ‘Topa’… I have never been able to find the real name of this family…

The-Kaul-Journal

The-Kaul-Journal

And so The Kaul Journal Continues….

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 4)

by

2


Some legends last forever

Last week, in the Kaul Journal, Prof. Kaul took us down the memory lane to his ancestors.

In continuation, he now takes us further down the lane less travelled, into history.

Here it is … in Prof. K.N.Kaul’s own words … ‘The Mughal Rule’.

MUGHAL RULE

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul

At the time of the Mughals, a change came about. The Mughals came to rule India.

Babur was not a Mughal. From his mother’s side, he had Mongol blood but his father was a Turk. The Turks were under the rule of Genghis Khan and his descendants for many a years. For this reason, Babur’s father despised the Mongols. The original Mongols, who came from Mongolia, were fair skinned. Because of this, Babur’s father referred to them as ‘the colourless ones’.

Genghis Khan was born in Mongolia in an uncivilized age. The hard life made him grow up to be a brigand. He first looted his own people and then moved on to China, which bordered his lands, where he was captured and imprisoned.

His time in the Chinese prisons gave him a new kind of experience. The Chinese had progressed and were highly civilised. Genghis Khan learned much from the Chinese. His most valuable lesson was the use of gunpowder. The Chinese used gunpowder to make fireworks and were very adept at this.

The Chinese civilization is said to have begun more than 3000 years before Christ. At that time they had mastered the art of making silk from silkworm cultivation.

Later, the Buddhist religion reached China from India. Then, the decline of the Chinese civilization began. At this time, Confucius and Lao Tse, expounded their great philosophies.

From China, Buddhism reached Mongolia. At the same time, some Nestorian Christians also reached Mongolia.

After imprisonment in China, Genghis Khan was a changed man. He possessed the lion’s strength of a Mongol and a brutish nature, and he hunted with his teeth and claws. But, he had now learned to hunt in the Chinese manner.

Besides, fireworks he learned how to fill gunpowder in iron pipes, the mouths of which were filled with stone pellets. The walls of forts could now be felled. With these methods, Genghis Khan turned on the Chinese. Whenever Genghis Khan attacked the Chinese, he looted and then murdered.

It is said that in one of the battles, the Prime Minister of China was captured and brought before Genghis Khan.

The Prime Minister said to Genghis Khan, “When you have killed everyone, who will be left for you and your descendants to rule?”

Genghis Khan asked him, “Then what should I do? I know how to murder, not how to rule. You can take care of the business of ruling.”

In this manner, the last Prime Minister of China became the first Prime Minister of Genghis Khan’s kingdom and Chinese ‘secularism’ became a part of Mongol ethos.

Genghis Khan’s children were brought up in the Chinese tradition and even after they defeated the Turks in Turkey, the Chinese education continued.

From Turkey, the Mongols moved East and the people they defeated were also subjected to the Chinese influences.

When Babur came to India, he considered himself as a Turk. But, just as an Indian calls himself ‘Sahib’ and his wife ‘Memsahib’, the Mongols referred to themselves as ‘Mughals’ and their wives as ‘Mughalanis’.

The defeated people were instructed in Islam. But their barbarianism was still not destroyed from their roots. Chinese secularism still remained and when the Mongols reached India, they considered the Indians as friends and were just rulers.

…To be continued next Sunday in the 5th part as to how the Mughals reached Kashmir.

Click here to read The Legend unknown – Prof.K.N.Kaul-(Part 3)

Click here to read The Legend unknown – Prof.K.N.Kaul-(Part 2)

Click here to read The Legend unknown – Prof.K.N.Kaul-(Part 1)

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 3)

by

1


Some Legends Last Forever

Last night I met a few intellectuals when a debate ensued on the origin of our ancestors. It then went on and on. I found many groping in the dark while wondering who they were!

Lot of brainstorming, recalling, remembrances and … then … many of us did find them. And as I sit to write this, some are still searching…

Indeed… lucky are those who know their origins.

Hence I take this opportunity to make an entry into Prof. K.N.Kaul’s Journal, in his own words as he writes about himself and his ancestors.

My Ancestors 

I continuously searched for this man who is called my ancestor and all that I came  to know was that from my father’s family, there was a man called ‘Tulan’. In the Kashmiri language ‘Tulan’ means a ‘collision’ so a man who causes a ‘collision’ is called ‘Tulan’.

He lived in Lahore at the time of Raja Ranjit Singh and was enlisted in the Army. After Ranjit Singh’s death, and the subsequent battle between the British and the Sikhs, he was killed and his son left Lahore and moved to Jaipur.

Possibly because he was a Brahmin, the Maharaja of Jaipur employed him and he began to look after all the palace work including administration and accounts. Today, in English, he would be called a ‘Comptroller’.

In India, we are known as ‘Kashmiri Pandits’. In Kashmir, not everyone is called a Pandit and, at no time, have all the people been Kashmiri Pandits. As people all over the world  follow different occupations, this is so in Kashmir also. In all those occupations one is that of a Pandit. A Pandit studies and teaches and, therefore , a learned person came to be called a ‘Pandit’.

Today, a prefix of ‘Dr.’ or a suffix of ‘Ph.D.’ or ‘B.Sc.’, shows the accomplishments of a man. In the same way, ‘Pandit’ was written at the end of the name.

Therefore, in the old-fashioned way, I am called ‘Kailas Nath Kaul Pandit’.

___________________________

Click Here To Read The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 2)

Click Here To Read The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul (Part 1)

The Legend Unknown – Prof. K.N.Kaul

by

2


The Kaul Journal © The Gappuccino ~ gcaffe.com

Some Legends Last Forever

Starting a journal today – a promising series wherein I will present excerpts from the life of the renowned scientist and botanist Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul.

As I share his work here at gcaffe, you shall get to know him better with some of his research in abridged versions, in plain non-technical texts for easy understanding. Let us start with a very simple question today as he answers…

* * *

TICKET TO THE LAND OF THE NAP

Can Milk Induce Sleep? 

Sleep Induction – A very common question that everyone discusses and perhaps asks or answers quite often. But do we really know why and how?

Prof. Kailash Nath Kaul © The Gappuccino ~ gcaffe.com

Prof. K. N. Kaul

According to Prof. Kaul -

A glass of warm milk is perhaps the best known of all folk remedies for curing insomnia, but old wives tales are not the only evidence for the value of milk as a sedative.

Milk contains a bio-chemical agent that may help the weary drift off too. The agent L-Trytophan is an amino acid essential to the body. The amount in a simple glass of milk is not itself sufficient to induce deep sleep directly. But L-Tryptophan with soothing warmth and, not the least, a belief that milk will do the job – and together they can all add up to a ticket to the land of the nod.

One of the things for which the body uses L-Tryptophan is to make Serotonin; brain chemicals that research has suggested might be a key link in the mechanism that triggers the onset of sleep.

Serotonin is secreted by neurons to the reticular activating system, located deep in the brain. This system controls the level of activity of the whole central neuro system partly and regulates it too.

The lower portion of the reticular activating system is thought to maintain the brain in normal state of wakefulness. And insomnia has been linked to the lack of the supply of serotonin into the system. Thus conversely, an extra supply of serotonin may assist in restful sleep.

So…  When are you planning to start taking a glass of warm milk for a good sleep! Or would you still prefer reading a guide to evaluate and manage any sleep disorder. Hope you would settle for getting enough sleep to smile the next morning and every morning day-after-day. It’s a fast-paced world. Keep shining after a restful sleep.