This is a quote from a memoir by Dorothy Wordsworth, reflecting on a trip she took with two famous poets, her brother, William Wordsworth, and their similarly gifted companion, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. We sat upon a bench, placed for the sake of one of these views, whence we looked down upon the waterfall, and over the open country ... A lady and gentleman, more expeditious tourists than ourselves, came to the spot; they left us at the seat, and we found them again at another station above the Falls. Coleridge, who is always good-natured enough to enter into conversation with anybody whom he meets in his way, began to talk with the gentleman, who observed that it was a majestic waterfall. Coleridge was delighted with the accuracy of the epithet, particularly as he had been settling in his own mind the precise meaning of the words grand, majestic, sublime, etc., and had discussed the subject with William at some length the day before. “Yes, sir,” says Coleridge, “it is a majesti
Akhil (Universal) and Amar (Immortal) are Sanskrit names for men, both of which are very common in India (and among people of Indian origin). But the 'Reed,' I guess, shows that his ancestral roots are not exclusively Indian. I used to enjoy listening to him, mostly on PBS, explaining the subtleties of constitutional issues. This was a decade back, when I was a resident of the US. During the 1995-2005 period there was an influx of IT professionals from India into the US, so much so that the perception of Indians in the US was that we were all a bunch of computer and engineering professionals. (Of course, this applied only to those Indians who were not slum dog 'millionaires.') Seeing high-profile people of Indian origin like Akhil Reed Amar, Neal Katyal, Atul Gawande, Indra Nooyi etc. used to make me happy -- we weren't all just high-tech coolies, some of us could think philosophically, and had the ability to discuss larger social, legal, political and economic issues as well!
ReplyDeleteWith all respect, I have to say that the idea of India as a subcontinent full of techies was confirmed NOT merely by the influx of IT pros, but by many of the IT professionals who seem to have stayed over there and are at the other end of all the computer Help phone calls. ;-)
DeleteThere is also "Raj" on The Big Bang Theory.
So yes, I can see how the academic stature of Prof. Amar in a non-STEM field could come as welcome news.
As an Indian, I am supposed to feel and express outrage at the 'racist stereotype' perpetuated by Raj (Big Bang Theory). Unfortunately, I really like the goofy, loveable Raj -- I even know a few people who have very Raj-like characteristics. As for stereotypes, Sheldon, Howard and Penny were all far more standardized group generalizations. When you mix all these stereotypes to create a really great show, your sins are forgiven! Nothing succeeds like success!
ReplyDeleteHaving said this about Raj, I can only hope that nobody reports me to Big Brother!
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