India Appreciation Day (for Republic Day)

Happy Republic Day!

Some appreciative quotes from across history, incl. my personal hero Mark Twain:

1. Will Durant, American historian: "India was the
motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's
languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother,
through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother,
through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity;
mother, through the village community, of self-government
and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of
us all".

2. Mark Twain, American author: "India is, the cradle of
the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother
of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand
mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive
materials in the history of man are treasured up in India
only."

3. Albert Einstein, American scientist: "We owe a lot to
the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no
worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made."


4. Max Mueller, German scholar: If I were asked under what
sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its
choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest
problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point
to India.

5. Romain Rolland, French scholar : "If there is one place
on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men
have found a home from the very earliest days when man
began the dream of existence, it is India."

6. Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA: "India
conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries
without ever having to send a single soldier across her
border."

7. Mark Twain: "So far as I am able to judge, nothing has
been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India
the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his
rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing
overlooked."

8. Keith Bellows, VP - National Geographic Society : "There
are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into
your heart and won’t go. For me, India is such a place.
When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the
land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its
ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated
intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds... I
had been seeing the world in black & white and, when
brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything
re-rendered in brilliant technicolor."

9. Mark Twain: "India has two million gods, and worships
them all. In religion all other countries are paupers;
India is the only millionaire."

10. A Rough Guide to India: "It is impossible not to be
astonished by India. Nowhere on Earth does humanity present
itself in such a dizzying, creative burst of cultures and
religions, races and tongues. Enriched by successive waves
of migration and marauders from distant lands, every one of
them left an indelible imprint which was absorbed into the
Indian way of life. Every aspect of the country presents
itself on a massive, exaggerated scale, worthy in
comparison only to the superlative mountains that
overshadow it. It is this variety which provides a
breathtaking ensemble for experiences that is uniquely
Indian. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than to be
indifferent to India would be to describe or understand
India completely. There are perhaps very few nations in the
world with the enormous variety that India has to offer.
Modern day India represents the largest democracy in the
world with a seamless picture of unity in diversity
unparalleled anywhere else."

wonderful collection. thanks for sharing.