Thread by @vakibs

Any sensible country would have rebuilt this temple and not showcase ruins. If India were a sensible country, Vijayanagara (the correct name of the city) would have been rebuilt completely as a living heritage city. It was the 2nd largest city in the world just 500 years ago.

https://twitter.com/vedicgyaanindia/status/1402860403428794376

How recent is the destruction of Vijayanagara? The sack of the Inca empire (1533) was older to that. The sack of Vijayanagara happened in 1565, at the battle of Tālikōța. At that point, it was the 2nd largest city in the world, larger than any European city, 2nd only to Beijing.

We in India have no shortage of people who confuse uselessness (असमर्थता) for grandstanding of moral principles (चित्तशीलता).

What you see here is a snippet of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, rebuilt after World War 2 bombing. Some of the old bricks are retained to show the scars.

https://twitter.com/krishymohan/status/1403659615460417539

What moved the people to rebuild the Frauenkirche? It was a great architectural beauty iconic of the Dresden skyline. Dresden was praised as “Florence on the Elbe”. Its sublime beauty is destroyed wantonly in WW2. But what moved the renovation is not culture, but faith.

Right next to the Frauenkirche is the academy for training artists and sculptors. This living culture of sculptors and architects is necessary to rebuild or renovate.

In India, we don’t have this as the government cruelly destroyed the Sthāpatis and the temple culture ecosystem.

So the question all the Indians need to ask themselves is, are you a dead culture or are you alive?

Are you a wrapper for industrialized emptiness, or do you have roots like the Banyan tree?

If you are a dead culture, fine, show the ruins. Otherwise be ashamed of your असमर्थता!