ROOTS

What you sow, is what you reap,

What you inherit, forever you shall keep.

Even the tallest concrete,

that stands proud says,

its strength and height,

depend on its base.

Same as the longevity of a tree,

and sweetness of its fruits,

depend on its roots.

Strong roots bind the soil,

And prevent the plant’s fall.

Weak ones can devastate,

the same well before harvest.

ROOTS by Alex Haley. That’s the latest novel I've read. The comprehensive description of seven generations of a family from well before American independence to the mid-twentieth century is flabbergasting. It is a leviathan that describes the plight of the Africans that were bought as slaves to the present day America. The virtual journey from the fresh breeze, bright sunlight, lush green grasslands, dense forests and an amicable atmosphere to the stinking, unhygienic, dark decks of slave ships and the atrocities of contemporary Americans is unbelievably shocking. The adverse conditions, the forlorn life and inhumane treatment those people went through is spine chilling. This novel illuminated a fact in my mind I had not paid much attention to before. The importance of our ancestors…

           

For every structure to exist there ought to be a strong foundation. If it is erected on a weak base, it may sustain for a while but it’ll be vulnerable to even the slightest storm. A strong base ensures stability and sustainability and prevents it from collapsing even in adversities. Similarly, in the case of us humans, our foundation is our ancestors. Why, if it had not been for our ancestors, I would not have been here writing this article..!!

           

Our ancestors are our identity. Since time immemorial, from the oldest tribes to medieval-age dynasties, all have been mostly recognized with a common name or a ‘surname’. We have been continuing this trend since. This common name tells us who we are and where we belong. This brings all the descendants of the same ancestors together.

           

Physically, our bodily appearances, features, disabilities, likes, dislikes, etc. depend on the genes we inherit. And these genes come from none other than our forefathers. Often, in social gatherings, elders recognize the young ones through their resemblance with their grandparents and so on. This in itself is an example.

           

The lifestyle our ancestors lead and the habits they had, have a great impact on our characteristics. Our deeds are greatly influenced by what we carry in our blood. Years of evolution, inter-mixing and speciation has resulted in today’s global population scenario. No wonder, our present and future depend greatly on our past…

When I was studying evolution, I used to believe we progress and become ‘better’ with time. We can boast of being the most intelligent of all times because of our sciences and technology. However, on a close observation, we find that every single modern device, gadget, medicine or art is sculpted out of an ancient base. Our ancestors are the ones who invented them, we have just enhanced them. In fact, the quick tricks, remedies and intelligent solutions they devised have proven to be a mojo in this ‘developed’ and masked world.

All the morals we are taught, the principles we follow, the culture we have adopted and the rituals we perform, are all bestowed upon us by our forefathers.

The importance of knowing the lineage of our predecessors is immense. This is what history is basically all about. When we learn more about our ancestors, indirectly we come to know ourselves even better. In our day-to-day lives, whenever we get stuck in some situation and problems seem to be never ceasing, it is advised to restart from scratch, and mostly, we get the solution. Same applies to studying about our ancestors. Until we are not sure of the structure of the ‘roots’, how can we expect a good ‘shoot’…??

When we know more about the experiences, achievements and the daily life of our forefathers, we come to know of their intelligence, their mistakes and can strive to shape a better future.

There was a time when it was a custom in families, irrespective of religion and caste, to pass on the information about the forefathers to the younger generations. Even a child knew the origin and life of his ancestors. And now, looking at the modern culture, it seems our great grandfathers have disappeared in the vast sands of time.

We remember them only annually, that too customarily, in times of ‘shraadhs’….

Today, we don’t have them among us, but deep down, they are present within us, in the form of an invisible conscience that guides us at every step of our life and when we tend to digress, they bring us back to our so-long followed principles and values….