My memories of wondrous India

In the 80s, we relocated from Kano municipal area to another area where, though still within Kano, had no electricity at the time. Here, our old Toshiba black and white television set had to be connected to my dad’s car battery to enable us watch Indian films screened every weekend on NTA Kano. Being an […]

In the 80s, we relocated from Kano municipal area to another area where, though still within Kano, had no electricity at the time. Here, our old Toshiba black and white television set had to be connected to my dad’s car battery to enable us watch Indian films screened every weekend on NTA Kano. Being an enthusiast of the films, I always made sure that I did my house chores and other assignments early and catch some sleep in the afternoon in order to be awake to watch them. The films, then, always had one moral lesson or the other to impart.
As fate would have it, decades after those heady kiddy days, January 9, 2013 to be precise, I was in India, the land of the “Great Soul”, Mahatma Gandhi, to share my ideas about the history of discovery, on the invitation of the University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India.
I was chosen to be among the participants at the 150th anniversary of one of Indian icons and hero, a man who was born on January 12th, 1863 and died on July 4th, 1902 at the age of 39 which were pre-independent years of India. More than 200 years of British rule – India got independence on August 15, 1947 – the Indian government and people remember and celebrate the young nationalist, Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk and key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world; message that emphasized that people’s everyday lives would be more meaningful only when spiritualized.
January 12 every year, since 1984, the National Youth day is held in the country in honour of Swami Vivekananda, during which his birthday is celebrated. It was therefore a great honour that I received the invitation to attend the 150th anniversary of this hero. While I   was there to present a paper, I met one of Vivekanada’s students who is now 80 years.
Vivekananda made great impression with his very first speech, which received a standing ovation at the Parliament of Religion in Chicago on 11th September in 1893. This famous address in which he spoke of “Sisters and Brothers of America,” was to a huge gathering of about 7,000 people. His connection to the United Nations World Brotherhood Day, has also been declared an annual global event marked on the 11th day of every September as World Brotherhood Day.
For my paper, I chose to speak on The Role of Data Gathering in Public, Private and NGOs bearing in mind that globally in any organization data is the heart of planning, and very essential to strategies, project management, transparency, accountability and promotion of human development.  I felt the topic will interest the audience which comprises of students, young entrepreneurs, academics, professionals, and other interested parties who were there to share their experiences, based on the objective of the anniversary.
Preparing a paper for presentation at the two-day conference, as with other academic exercises, requires dedication, understanding, constant research and contextualization in order to attain the objective from the perspectives of both learner and teacher or resource person. This also requires the application of new ideas and above all the desire to view it as a part of the greater opportunities of capacity building, leadership skill and engaging in activities that bring social benefits which include shaping the future leaders and establishing international link for social networking among the participants from different cultures, religions and countries.
With the challenges of globilisation, people, especially the youth should gird up, for they can do it; be one as a student, doctor, IT professional, driver, teacher, cook, singer, writer. This quintessential statement by the warrior,  Vivakananda, “Be the world’s best in whatever  you want to see yourself as”,  should be the watch word. Without lobbying, without corruption, one can excel and be what one wants to be.
The venue of this conference was in the pious land of Pantnagar University, the “Harbinger of Green Revolution” in India. Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar is the premiere agricultural university of India. It is located in the serene foothills of the Himalayas and is endowed with ample beauty of mother nature.  The university was established in 1960. It’s the second largest in the world in terms of contiguous area, and has become a force in the development and transfer of High Yield Variety (HYV) seeds and related technology around the world.
Before my departure to India I received a letter from the organizing committee alerting me that in Uttarakhand,  January is almost the peak of winter, that I should have in mind for my travel, among others, a  bag that keep winter weather conditions.  That the temperature might be around below 1 to 5 centigrade so I should make sure I have appropriate clothing:  jacket, woolen clothing, cap, socks and gloves. After my arrival, I donned the array of the recommended clothing to keep warm, but I almost panicked when I saw a glimpse of myself in a mirror.  At first, I thought it was an apparition.
From Mumbai airport, I took a domestic flight to New Delhi. Through the plane window, I saw electricity reach as far as I could see in New Delhi. And immediately, my mind flashed back to Nigeria, my home country, and how India with second largest population in the world could achieve this enviable feat, and began to wish this is Nigeria.
Soon I got into a train with sleeper facility as I lay my head on top of my bed. ‘Chook, chook, chook, the locomotive took off and 9 pm we set off for Uttarakhand. We arrived there at 4 am. With an earlier long air trip, I was exhausted, because it was in all a 24-hour journey terminating at Uttarakhand. My jet lag was terrible, because  I could not sleep very well.
The following day, which I will never forget, after the breakfast we proceeded to the venue of the conference where I meet some participants and esteemed dignitaries, among them Anand Kumar, an Indian mathematician best known for his ‘Super 30’ programme, Dr. Mahadevan (Professor in Operations Management, in IIM, Bangalore, who his current research interest include design of software for manufacturing system, and an advisory committee to the government of Indian, some participants from Aligarh Muslim University, India, Vice  Chancellor of the G. B. P. University B. S. Bisht, and Associate Professor, Dr. Shivenda Kumar Kashyap, Organizing Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Communication. 
After the final presentation, on the second day of our being there, activities were being rounded up. I received the International Youth Conference Award with certificate of appreciation as a presenter. I was taken aback, because the award came to me as a surprise. I did not expect it, because in the first place, there was no mention of that segment in the entire programme. I thought awards were for those who impacted on the lives of people in other respects. Well, I recovered myself and walked to the podium and collectedthe award. I was humbled, as the memory of the personality in whose honour the whole event was hosted came to my mind. I could not help it as I stepped from the podium tears coursing down my checks. Three other reasons contributed to the flood of tears: one, it occurred to me that, were it in my country  Nigeria, someone somewhere would have  made it impossible for me to attend an event of this magnitude based on primordial considerations.  The second reason for my tears was the realization that though I didn’t know anyone in India, the panel recognized the need to be all-embracing in putting together its participants. They listened to my ideas and recognized my presence within just two days and, above all, they treated me with esteem – both students and lecturers applauded me. They did not feel they have wasted their resources to accommodate an African. The third reason was that there was no one, Nigerian or African at that material time to rejoice with.
This readily brings to mind the speech of one of America’s Presidents, John F Kennedy, who said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. Indeed Nigerians, and Africans, can do many things for themselves without waiting for outsiders.
After my paper presentation, I had almost five days free during which I visited most of the tourist attractions in India. I visited the Pink City, Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal. One very interesting and most memorable place I also visited was the Jamah Masjid, a gigantic mosque in which I said my prayers. I stayed one night   at the Hotel Hill View, in Mumbai just 10 minutes from the International Airport. It added some dimension to my memories of wondrous Mumbai because from there I had a panoramic view of some parts of Mumbai as it is on top of a hill.  The sweet memory of the tour will remain evergreen in my memory.
Really,   Indians are fantastic people, with the variegated society’s segmentation that does not need too long a look to notice. They are a hard working and lovely people. The officials assigned to me ensured that I enjoyed my stay. They served me delicious combination of Western and Indian (usually very spicy with union) dishes.