Chapter -III
Future as Imagined by Rahul Sankritayan in his work Baaeswi Sadi
The work of Rahul Sankritayan in which he has projected a future vision of the world is Baaeswi Sadi ( The Twenty Second Century) which is the story of a person named Viswabandhu teaching at Nalanda University, which was ancient centre of learning and knowledge in India. At the age of 60 years he goes into a cave and gets a long sleep for the period of 200 years like the tale of Seven Sleepers of Epheuseus who hid inside a cave to avoid Roman persecution outside the city of Ephesus around 250 A.D and emerged 300 years later. Similarly Viswabandhu enters the cave in the year 1924 which is also the year of composition of this work and emerges out of cave after 200 years at the age of 260 years. After he wakes from his long slumber he climbs down from the cave into a beautiful valley and by the stream of a crystal clear water takes bath and collects some leaves and ties them up to cover his body. Then he takes fruits from the trees grown on both the sides of the road and observes Banana orchard on both the sides of the road and takes his first meal consisting of these fruits after his long sleep. He also observes copper wire overhead thinking that these wires must be carrying electric power to some nearby settlement. So Viswabandhu proceeds to find some human settlement and after walking for Four Kosas ( nearly 12 Kilometres) he hears the voices of both men and women who looked neat, tidy and with happy and smiling faces. At first they appeared to be the members of some royal family of Nepal. They also spotted him with surprise and wonder at his strange get up of leaves covering his body. They looked at my strange appearance and milk white hair and beard as if he was some strange creature from other universe. A person named Sumedh comes towards him. He asks Sumedh about the time and he told him that the year was 100 Universe. Viswabandhu asks Sumedh to translate it into Gregorian Calender and he gets the reply that the year is 2124 as a result of which Viswabandhu realises that he had been sleeping from last two centuries and his age is nearly 260 years old. Similarly Sumedh and others are also equally surprised to find such an aged man among them and he tell him that it is perfectly natural and normal in their world to find people of 100-120 years of age who live together in a town named Vraddhpuram ( Old People’s City). Sumedha asks another person named Arjuna to bring a fresh set of clothes- dhoti and kurta for Viswabandhu and asks him to rest in hall after the refreshment during lunch break which consisted of tumbler of milk and a plate of sweet, ripe and juicy grapes and ripe sweet banana. At the refreshment table both men and women were sitting side by side amicably and taking their fill of refreshment in harmony. It implied that the gender equality has been achieved in the current world of Twenty Second Century. Just by the side of Sumedha his life partner Sumitra was sitting along with him. He tells him that Nepal produces rich,sweet, juicy grapes and supplies it to the rest of the country like Bihar, Orissa, Half of Bengal, Kashi and Kosal. After the refreshment Sumedha and nearly 100 workers working with him go to finish their work at the plantation. When Viswabandhu tells him that he taught at Nalanda, Sumedha tells him that it is still one of the best centre of education and learning not only in the country but also of the world. It was still the best school in the subjects like Jytoisha, Philosopy, Linguistic, History and Political Science. These workers were from different places as Sumedha belonged to Kathmandu, though he was educated at Nalanda and now his parents were living in Vriddhpuram in Hazaribagh Bihar. His wife belonged to Kashi, though she was also educated at Nalanda that implied that women and girls had equal opportunity and rights to get educated. Arjuna who had brought clothes for Viswabandhu belonged to Anuradhapuram in Sri Lanka but when he was one year old his parents migrated to Bodhgaya. Viswabandhu is informed that in contemporary times a child leaves his village early in life to get education and then according to his aptitude, skill and inclination he or she chooses his or her profession. And rarely returns back to the village again. Viswabandhu also comes to know that monarchy has been abolished in Nepal. Everything has been nationalised and everything from the level of the village to the Universal World State is managed and ruled by elected representatives and this change took place nearly 100 years ago in the year 2024 A.D. In the book this change came after nine years war. Perhaps world is approaching the same change after the Russian- Ukraine conflict when UNO may be replaced by the emergence of some sort of World State ruled by elected representatives. Then Sumedh gives information about Viswabandhu on Radio-Phone to village representative which is similar to today’s video call on smart mobile phones. Village representative promises that the information and photograph of Viswabandhu would be flashed throughout the world by evening. Then Sumedha leaves Viswabandhu in the library to finish off his pending work of the day. Viswabandhu sees some books on History, Botany, Literature, and International History and Politics written in universal language in the almirah of the library. He took a book on History and started reading it to pass his time. He finds that the major events of twentieth century recorded in the book are Indian independence by 1940, creation of United Asian State by 1990, emergence of United Australia, Africa and Asian State by 2000, coming up of United America- Europe State by 2010 A.D and finally emergence of World State by 2024. Author’s speculation of Indian independence is nearly correct as India achieved independence in 1947 and even European Union also came into existence in 1990’s but other things have not emerged so far. Viswabandhu also comes to know from this book that an Indian Mr. Dutt is President of World State for the term of 3 years and he had been educated at Taxila, Prime Minister of the World is a Japanese named Mr. Ohara, Education Minister is a Russian lady Manolin and Health Minister is an American Mr. David . Throughout the book Viswabandhu could not find the name of Defence Minister or Commander in Chief anywhere in the book that implied that the modern world has done away with any type of warfare in the modern society. Perhaps war has also been abolished nearly a century ago. Not only this other harmful creatures like monkeys, dogs, cats and rodents have also been effectively controlled and can only be found in museums and zoos. Every village produces only one item and hence has been named accordingly like Sevagram (Apple Village), Narangigram (Orange Villagse), and Kelagram or Village of Bananas. When Sumedha returns Viswabandhu asks him about the ruler of Nepal Shamsher who built a dam by collecting the water in the Himalayas with a view to produce electricity. Sumedh replied that though the intention of Shamsher was noble but collection of water at one point caused scarcity of water in other areas leading to deforestation and imbalance in greenery. Viswabandhu also observes that the mountainous terrains have been levelled up and the rivers, streams and ponds of water have been reduced to drains or trickle of water though the mountains are full of greenery and look majestic. The second project that was abandoned was the creation of farms by cutting down the trees of the forest that led to imbalance in nature affecting the greenery adversely. Sumedha also informs Viswabandhu that he spends in vacations in Nepal and Tibet which was still unthinkable in twentieth century even by the affluent people like University Teachers like Viswabandhu, let alone a farm worker like Sumedha. He also tells Viswabandhu that he works only 3 hours a day and spends the rest of the time in giving lectures, creating awareness and writing articles.
On reaching the village Sevagram ( Apple village) Viswabandhu meets the headman of the village known as Gramin named Deodhar. Here he sees a row of three rooms neatly built tidy houses for the village. All the houses had same pattern and map. Here he meets another person from Nalanda named Viswamitra who has written a book on History of the World State that he hasd reach in the library of the orchard. Viswabandhu asks Viswamitra to contact the Head of Nalanda University on video call. Soon he sees the face of another person on the screen named Acharya Vashista who welcomes him and extends invitation to visit Nalanda. Viswabandhu is delighted to get this invitation and promises to accompany Viswamitra on Airplane to Nalanda. He is excited to see the great institution where he had studied and taught after such a long time and where he has taught for a period of thirty years before entering the cave and going to sleep for a long period. Viswamitra briefs Viswabandhu that Nalanda is one of the best educational institution in the entire world particularly in the field of History, Philosophy and Jyotisha (Astrology), where students from different countries like Australia, Europe,America, Japan and Lanka come to ge higher and specialised education in these branches. and there is also an observatory to watch the movement of the stars, moon and the Sun. It was also mentioned that canons were fired to mark the time of meals and time to get up and sleep up as the human beings of this age have done away with clocks and watches. Only prominent members of the society like Sumedha are entitled to keep a watch. He comes to know from Viswamitra about the Education system in this country that education is compulsory for everybody till the age of 17 years. A person starts education at the age of 3 years. Their school is known as Shishu Kaksha where an indivdual studies up to the age of 6 years that can be treated as Pre Primary Education. Then he enters Bal Kaksha where he studies till the age of 14 years which can be considered as Primary and Middle Education and then he enters Taruna Kaksha to acquire education up to the age of 20 years that can be considered as Higher Education. After completing this education an individual joins some profession as per his interest, inclination and aptitude and even besides doing the job a person gets ample opportunities to educate and update himself. Streets were lit by cool moon light produced by electricity which were illuminating the roads. Viswabandhu also observes that these houses were of three rooms- one bedroom, one sitting room and one wash room. There was no need for a kitchen or cooking space as everybody took meals at the common place where women sat amicably with men to take their meals which was not even remotely thinkable in 1924 when this work was composed and even still today it has not become the order of the day that is in 2024 nearly a century after this work saw the light of the day.
The social and political structure of this state was that it consisted of Shrenis ( Categories) comprising of hundred families. Sumedha was heading one such Shreni. Every Shreni had a hall with some books and other objects of entertainment. In the village Sevgram there were 25 such Shrenis and the hall of each Shreni had the modern system of communication in the form of video phone. After the meals that day every body collected in the auditorium of 5000 capacity known as Sansthagar. Here Head of Village Dev Mitra announced the arrival of Viswabandhu who would share his thoughts with them in the meeting that will be chaired by Ismail who is the elected representative and Ex- Chairperson of Nepal. He was also educated at Nalanda. Ismail invites Vishwabandhu to address the gathering and enlighten the audience about his experiences of the life in India during 20th century. He informs the audience about the squalidness, social and economic inequality, corruption prevalent in 20th century to the audience, that has simply disappeared in modern world along with army, weapons, violence and war. People were fighting among themselves and killing each other in the name of religion, region,caste and even language in the senseless and meaningless violence. Only a few were enjoying a good and fulfilling life but that too at the cost of others. Viswabandhu closes his address by saying that he is happy to note that what he had visualised to be perfect and ideal world has come into existence in the year 2124. After the meeting Vishwbandhu retires to his accommodation in the guest house. In the morning he finds toilet and wash rooms at the back of the guest house though he does not mention whether those were western style commodes or eastern style squat type toilets. However he observes that the village had perfect drainage system as the flush of water carried the waste matter to sewer drain that took it to some place outside the village to the pits which were covered by sand. These large pits were dug with the help of large machines and the moment the first pit was full the second was ready for use. This waste matter was converted into organic manure and used to make land fertile and get good crops. He also finds that instead of Neem twig to clean his teeth there was a powder and a brush to clean the teeth. This powder was made of grounded shells of dry fruits like walnuts, cashew nuts and almonds. After that Vishwabandhu takes a bath. Devmitra had given him option that he either could take bath in the open by the side of the pool or in the bathroom of the guest house which was a three room accommodation. After wash and change he and Vishwamitra go to take meals; and as people were collecting in the hall he goes into the kitchen to find that everything is automated – from cooking to washing dishes. Food was cooked in large cauldrons which were put on stove by big machines taken off from the stove by machies to be served on the plates arranged by the volunteers. People of this age have done away with demeaning menial jobs like cleaning dry latrines, tanning animal skins to make leather products as now instead they were using products of canvas and rubber. They have also done away with the practice of killing animals for food like mutton , pork and chicken as they have evolved a synthetic meat. Whenever any cattle dies it was buried under the ground and later that soil was used to produce organic manure to make the soil fertile. Vishwabandhu also observes that in front of every house in the village there is a small garden of flowers of diverse colours, variety and aroma. The streets and roads of the village were clean , wide and the whole village was nicely planned as every street intersected each other perpendicularly. Perhaps author had in mind the plan of ancient cities of Harrappa and Mohenjodaro of Indus Valley Civilisation which were quite systematic and planned. Even author might have in mind the existence of Jaipur in his time which was a systematic and planned city created by its founder Sawai Jai Singh in eighteenth century. Even in the attire of the ladies there was not a single cloth that was superfluous, worthless and harmful to the body. Both the genders had common uniform for working hours that shows that perfect gender equality has been attained. Their working uniform was woollen pants, blue stockings, and a shoe covering whole of the toe made of canvas or rubber, a woollen coat under the tunic and a cap. Normally ladies also wore tunic, socks, shoes, saree, a long woollen coat up to feet and a cap in the winters. They do not wear any ornament or jewel even on ceremonial days. Every one was equipped with a fountain pen and a pocket book to record the events and thoughts. Low vision people wore spectacles also. Pen was made of gold and the point of the nib was made of Irridium. Here it is noticeable that author does not mention ball point pen as the year, 1924, in which this novel was written and composed, ball point pen did not exist. As ladies did not wear any jewel and ornament and men had overcome their desire to hoard gold so enough gold was available to make sufficient number of fountain pens. Many things in this world have simply disappeared like betel leaf, tobacco products and opium and other toxic products that may affect the health of the people adversely. Even the number of creatures like monkeys, cats , pigs, dogs and rats have been effectively controlled and are available only in zoos and museums for the academic research.
The architecture of the village of the modern world can be studied on the basis of the map of this village or Sevgram where protagonist had come to stay first of all. As this village was situated in a valley so it had more length than width. Each village had five roads and streets with canopy trees full of shade on both the sides of the road. The each side of the street was lined with houses and the rear part of a Shreni was joined with the front part of another Shreni or the garden of both the Shrenis were joined. There is every facility available in the village like Library, assembly hall, Mess, Tailoring shops, Glaziers shops, Repair shops, Laundry, Children’s park, village hospital and a motor garage where vehicles were not only parked but repaired and maintained as well in emergency. Though Vishwabandu wanted to visit Children’s park but the canon fire announced the time for meals and so he along with everybody moves towards the mess.
After taking lunch he visits village hospital and dispensary along with Vishwamitra , where they were received by Manorama and Rahimbaksh at the door of the infirmary. Here he comes to know that many diseases like piles, leprosy, diabetes and asthma have disappeared from the modern world and had been conquered by the modern medical science. There is hardly any need of surgery in this modern world,so it has also nearly disappeared. Now most of the patients were of wounds, cuts, fractures and other minor injuries. Still medical workers were involved actively in creating awareness among the people to remain healthy and fit. Then he visits children’s home where toddlers up to the age of 3 years spend their life in the company of their mothers. It was looked after by an old lady of about 80 years named Fatima, who was a widow, whose husband worked in the village dispensary. The entrance to the home was adorned by large, bright coloured flowers of different types like Roses, marigold, Jasmine and the like. Children of this home, like the flowers of the garden were quite bright and healthy and hence happy. They welcomed the guests by their vocal and instrumental presentation which was very sweet and melodious. Very small infants were in the lap of their mothers. These children were fed six times a day and their meals consisted of milk, fruits, rice, pulses and chhapatis. The atmosphere of this institution was highly congenial and healthy and full of comforts that could not be afforded even by a prince in twentieth century. There were prams, cradles for the children where they spent the whole day while their mothers were at work. Lactating mothers were allowed to feed a child after every couple of hours. The facilities and pits for a number of games like Kabbaddi, Football and wrestling were there. Children were taught simple things like alphabets, simple words, identifying simple objects and elementary arithmetic- that is 3 R’s, here through play way method. Vishwabandhu also visits their cooking place where meals for children were prepared. It was fully automated where nutritious food in complete hygienic conditions was cooked for the children. Here safety and hygiene was given prominence as these people considered these children as sources of bright future of the country. There was also a museum here where children could learn about some of the great leaders of the humanity’s past like Mahatam Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and the like. After returning from the Nursery Vishwabandhu prepares to go to Nalanda. He decides not to go by Air but by a passenger train in the company of Vishwamitra so that he can observe the developments in the new world more closely and more minutely.
Next day Vidhwamitra and Vishwabandhu takes an emotional farewell from the people of Sevgram and proceed for Mohanpura where they were to board the train to Nalanda. He observes an ice factory at Mohanpura and he was informed that the population of Mohanpura is almost the same as Sevgram. He was also told that size and map of houses in every village and town were similar, identical and uniform though the length and width of the town and village varied depending on the availability of land. Mohanpura sends fruits, collected form 14-15 villages to other parts of the country by packing them in refrigerated coaches of an electric train. Fruit, brought by lorries to the railway station, was picked form the lorries and put into rail carriages by machines, cranes and lifts. One train packed with apples was ready to move to Colombo. People of this village greeted and welcomed them with garlands and flowers affectionately and with respect. This village also had everything like Children Home, Village Infirmary, Auditorium, Assembly Hall and Mess. Vishwamitra hoped to see the chimney of the factory emitting black smoke at some place of the town but to his wonder and surprise there was none as these people had learnt to control pollution of every kind- land, air and water.
As they reached the station he found a waiting hall for the passengers but to his surprise he did not find any cigarette and betel leaf shops at the stations. There were no porters at the station nor he could see any pauper begging for alms at the railway station. There was no need for bedsheets and baggage like blankets as they were provided in the trains. As the stations are in heart of town, at a walking distance mostly hence there was also no need for public transport. Even if some body needed then he could ring up and the conveyance comes immediately. Now there was only a uniform broad gauge line in the whole of the country, the feat that our country still could not attain even nearing 2024, hundred years after the composition of this work. Train was run on electricity and coaches were quite comfortable, pleasant, congenial and brightly painted. The engine had aerodynamic shape so as to cut the air confronting it. Some power back up was stored in the batteries while some was produced while train was in motion and then transmitted to enhance its speed.
Everything is utilised to the optimum here and nothing is left waste. Everything is deposited in the warehouse of the village. Policing is done by a few volunteers who are selected at the time of the election of village assembly solely for this purpose. As everybody has sufficient amount of everything as per their needs so there is no fear of theft in the society, and as the society is refined through education so nobody starts any dispute or quarrel unnecessarily. Even if there is some dispute these policemen, who are excessively humble and polite as they are called Sewaks ( Servants) take the culprits to reform houses as they believe that crime is state of some psychological disorder that needs to be treated sympathetically rather than cruelly punished. So there are number of counsellors treat such people and reform and rehablitate them in the society. As there is no need of a ticket so there are no ticket conductors and ticket collectors. Mostly tickets are send through phones. As railway tracks are maintained through telephone messages so there is also no need of train inspectors and their weirdly looking van. But there are mechanics and stations masters but all of them are equal and can do each others work easily.
Platform where the passenger train was parked was near the ice factory where every operation like transfer of ice slabs and fruits was done mechanically through cranes, machines and lifts and everything, including machines, were run on electricity. Platform was levelled, smooth and shining as it was well tiled besides being neat and tidy. As soon as train came on platform they boarded it and Vishwabandhu found to his surprise that most of the passengers without any luggage. There was a single class in the whole train with uniform facilities and comfort. There was no such thing as I Class, II Class, or III Class as in the trains of our country in 20th century. On boarding the train Vishwabandhu expressed his desire to see the whole of the train. On one side in coach there was way for the passengers to move while on the other sides there were benches fitted with soft and comfortable mattresses to sleep on. In every coach he was warmly welcomed by the fellow passengers as his white hair and long flowing beard gave them the impression of a pleasant old man from the past. Some passengers were busy in reading newspapers while others were engaged in reading magazines and books. Newspapers of this age were simple, factual and informative without any brightness of advertisement to lure the customers, as there was no need to increase the circulation of the paper by giving needless get up to their papers. Articles on meditative themes filled the periodicals while daily events found space in the daily newspapers. Mostly newspapers were published from the capital cities of the provinces and their paper was recycled and reused as they were collected and deposited in the warehouse of the Paper plant. Photography was realistic and at the height of technology and growth. There were journals also related to every branch of learning stacked in the library of the train. Journals were available on almost every branch of learning. Photos can be sent from one part of the world to another in almost no time and it comes in all the newspapers across the world. Vishwamitra recollects that the day he had appeared in Sevgramhis the news of his appearance along with his photo was published throughout the newspapers almost the same day. As he moved forward the came to the library of the train that contained books on every conceivable subject like Maths,Astrology, Psychology,Philosophy, Linguistics, Literature, Electricity, Agriculture and Ayurveda. Here people are busy either in discussing things or reading and enjoying books of philosophy and literature. This tendency even now can only be seen in South India where people are in habit of travelling while reading books on buses and trains. Even people were listening and enjoying music. After the library the next coach was Pantry Car where passengers could get whole, fresh, nutritious, healthy and delicious food. At the appointed time there used to be a bell and wooden benches with meals in plates used to come before the passengers powered by electricity and with another bell, when passengers have finished their meals these wooden benches used to move back to the pantry coach. There is availability of clean drinking water almost in every coach. Neat, tidy and hygienic toilets were positioned at the end of the train. After the pantry car there was dispensary or Medical Aid Coach in which the patients were being carried to other places for treatment and they were looked after with professional soundness by well qualified trained medical and paramedical personnel. They were travelling in perfectly sanitized, tidy and hygienic environment. Two patients in the coach were from Tibet and they were being taken to Taxila for advance treatment of some chronic illness. There were also patients from different parts of Nepal. This comfort can not be imagined even in the 21st century. After making the survey of the whole train Vishwabandhu settles at one place where a scholarly lady from Andhra University was returning after a tour of Six months during which she visited Madras ( Chennai now), London, Java, Bali Islands, and Australia. Vishwabandhu asks her if there was still white domination in Australia, her reply was there was no such domination or discrimination anywhere in the world as every race was living everywhere in the world. She also told him that She got information about him while she was in Lhasa. She also informs him that people of South India have overcome their language and other problems while duirng 20th century Aiiyars and Namboodripads used to be defiled even by the shadow of Pariah ( untouchables). Now there is no discrimination based on language, caste, race, region and colour anywhere in the country though these things exist in the books of the library for the students of history to ponder and contemplate People of modern age have accepted Bharti as the national language and lingua franca though the study of regional languages is not discouraged. She told him that language issue existed till 2066 A.D, when it became essential for everybody to learn Bharti lest he or her becomes a frog in the well. So people of even Kerala and Tamil Nadu accepted it. Vishwabandhu asks her whether national language emerged on tombs of regional languages. Her reply was that no language is stable as none can remain in the same form for more than two centuries. Even in Tamil Nadu the earlier language was Shant or Sangam Tamil that existed for nearly 8-10 centuries and that was totally different from modern Tamil. She felt that the language and literature of ancient languages should be preserved and even their study should be encouraged but not at the cost of the growth and development of human society. Due to development of universal language the entire world appeared to be home to her and she could travel easily to Australia and strange countries of Asia. She then tells him that she had visited different cities of the world like Beijing, Borneo, Nippon ( Japan) , Nanking, Manchuria, Siberia and even North Pole. Now she, whose name was Gargi,was returning to Nalanda via Mongolia and Tibet and she was a sound scholar of Astrology and Geography.
In this society there is perfect gender parity. Man and woman are equal and they are bound in the bond of matrimony only by the bond of love. So man does not have any special privilege or power over woman. As they are married by mutual consent, so there is no question of dispute between them. Still if they are unable to live together they are free to dissolve the bond of matrimony. So only two types of disputes can be found in this society. Those who have violated the national laws and those who had been infidel towards their life partners. The crime has been so much confined in this society that in the whole of Nepal there is just one prison with 50 inmates. Even Bihar has also only one jail with just 100 inmates.
Train had its first stop at Kagazgram ( Paper village) which is a town of about 10000 people. It was identical with Sevgram and everybody was enjoying the modern amenities of life without any distinction. There is a large paper factory in this town where all the operations ranging from cutting of trees to preparation of pulp is being carried out by the machines. Produced paper is sent to printing press across the nation. Trash paper and trash clothes could be seen in the wagons of the goods train standing on the platform of this town and there was no scarcity of raw material for making and recycling of paper. After Kagazgram came the town Lakdigram( Wooden village) where wood was being transformed into door frames, window frames, tripods, tables through machines by the skilled artisans and carpenters. Vishwabandhu asks Vishwamitra that in 20th century there were no forests in this area. To his query Vishwamitra replies that these forests were planted only a century ago that has bloomed into fully grown forest. Another teacher named Haq informed Vishwabandhu that now they have full control over weather and climate and can arrange rainfall according to the need and requirement so as to spread greenery and maintain it even on the hill tops. Even the course of rivers and streams have been fixed. Then came the village Gaugram ( Cow village) containing a number of healthy white cows where four thousand people lived . Settlement was just besides the railway station while the place where cows were kept was at the distance of one mile from the station. There were green pastures all around and heaps of hay and other cattle feed. In all there were about 1 lac cattle. Nearly 50000 cows were milked daily through machines and rubber tubes that transferred milk to containers and coaches standing on the railway tracks of the station. The prime duty of the people of this village was to maintain high quality of cattle and milk and then send its products to different parts of the country. Cattle wealth not only had cows but also buffaloes, sheep, goat and even horses which were used by cattle keepers . Medical facilities of a good veterinary hospital with equally well qualified and professionally sound was available to take care of the unwell cattle.
Next stop was Bhainsgram ( Buffalo village ) that had plumpy, healthy buffaloes. Its population was also about 10000 people. Same facilities were available too as at Gaugram. There were ponds of water for buffaloes to swim, take bath and clean themselves with the facility of constant inflow of fresh water and outflow of dirty water from the pond. Its milk besides common use was also send to a particular place only on the prescription of a qualified medical officer. Butter is extracted from the milk and sent to the diverse places of the country and its remains are used to make colourful buttons in a factory through a chemical process and to make smooth handles , white in colour for the doors, windows and machines so that it does not get dirty due to touch of human hands. There were heaps of dry grass stored for the cattle at different places which was reaped from the farm by the machines and the straws and other remains were recycled and used in the manufacture of paper. Suddenly Canon fired announcing the afternoon time for meal and the benches with plater appeared before the passengers. This refreshment had come from a neigbouring village that contained light fried snacks, green peas and roasted grams. Next station was Shaligram where there were endless green farms of green grams and rice of the topmost quality Basmati. Cropping of rustic grain had nearly disappeared. Every agricultural operation was performed by machines and rice was processed in large rice shellers. Population of this village was also almost ten thousand. Manure for it came from Bhainsgran and Gaugram and the Grams were processed into pulses ( Dals) and powder ( Besan) and sent to almost every corner of the country.
This civilisation had learnt to make use of the remains of the dead animals as there were large machines to grind the bones of dead cattle so as to extract phosphorous that was used in the manufacture of match boxes. Vishwabandhu saw a football field near the station of this town where healthy children were playing the game that was being watched by equally enthusiastic audience who were celebrating the goal hit by one of the players. In another corner of the field some hefty people were playing the game of Kabbadi clad in vests and shorts. As the train moved out he saw a number of canals and he was told that now steams of Rivers Ganga, Kosi and Gandak are not as wide and as large as they used to be in 20th century as now they have been narrowed down as a number of canals have been dug and the waters of these rivers have been diverted into these canals to irrigate the forests and farms in the remotest part of the country. Electricity and Water is the basic need of this civilisation and as electricity is produced from water hence water of these rivers is harnessed at the heights of mountain right from their point of origin. Now came the landscape where there were endless green farms of wheat and a number of floor mills nearby. This wheat was even better than PUSA- S grown during author’s time. Normally farmers take two crops in a year from this land- bazra and maize in rainy season and wheat in the winters. Due to proper manure and abundance of water the yield is quite good. After fulfilling the need of the people maize and wheat was fed to the cattle to improve the quality of milk and other milk products and the last remains of the crops that is straws were used in paper plants.The name of this village with endless green wheat farms was Gehugram ( Wheat village). As the train moved out of this place there came a number of orchards of fruits like mango,and litchi. Vishwamitra was informed that now they are moving towards Motihari and these orchards belonged to a school Every child after the age of 4 years leaves his family and comes to study in a school. There is one school per 30-40 villages and in each school nearly ten to fifteen thousand students study. Children of extra ordinary talent are sent to other schools specialised in some profession. Normally an average child after completing his education from such a school is sent to work in some part of the country as per his qualifications. Motihari was a neat, clean, tidy town altogether different from 20th version. Its population was also ten thousand people. However, all the old names of the places have been retained like Kosi,Motihari, Nalanda, Panchala and Delhi is still national capital. Motihari is District Panchayat Headquarter where a council of Chairperson and Executive Members look after its administration. It has a paper mill cater to the needs of the paper and stationery of the whole country. After Motihari came Berry Village (Ber Gram) that had Berry orchards whose fruits was as large as apple and sweet and delicious to the core. Then again came the endless green farms of oilseeds known as Telgram (Oil Village) producing mustard seeds,linseeds, ground nut and other edible oil seeds. Every kind of oil was stored in the tankers of the train and taken to other parts of the country like Cooking oil, Perfumed Oils for hair and massage and the like. Next station was Achargram ( Pickle Village) where pickles and jams of various fruits like lemon, mango, apple, green Chilli, amla and the like were being produced in the factory. Then came Dargi Gaon ( Tailor village) where the pulses like Urad, Moong and Arhar could be seen in the nearby fields. Mostly the fruits were of seedless variety. These fruits were being sent to Asia, Europe and America. This was Village Dalgram ( Pulses village). Now the darkness of the evening descended and the train on the great bridge of River Ganga was crossing into Magadh province. Vishwabandhu also learnt that people whether in factories or farms had only to work for four hours per day and then spent the rest of the time in pursuing their interests and hobbies. They changed train at Patna and took another train for Nalanda from here.
Through wireless telecommunication Vishwamitra had already informed Nalanda authorities about their arrival. So they were welcomed at railway station by a group of Professors and students. They were felicitated by garland of flowers. Though there was a vehicle parked outside the station for him but Vishwabandhu preferred to walk down the distance up to Vasubandhu Bhawan acknowledging the greetings of learners standing in a line on both the sides of the path. It was built of marble surrounded by lush green lawns and adored with statues of great people academicians, scholars and leaders. He was glad to see the idol of Vidyavrat ji who had donated his entire savings and property for the construction of this august institution as he had no issue. It was a great selfless sacrifice on his part. He had donated his entire property worth 25 lac rupees at that time of the first quarter of 20th century. He was greatly inspired and motivated by the personality of Vidyavrat ji. Vasubandhu Bhawan was semi-circular in structure that can accommodate nearly 1.25 lac people. It was constructed in a manner of a theatre as elevation increased as it moved backward. There were three layers of galleries fitted with long comfortable plushy chairs. At regular intervals there were electric lamps and fans. In order to make even the weak voice audible to the last man sitting in the hall there were loudspeakers and audio enhancing machines fitted in the corner. It was well ventilated and well aired and well lit place with nearly 50 ventilators. The wall of the hall was adorned with the sayings and portraits of the great personalities which were mostly written and painted by students and faculty of the university. The whole staff of the university was eagerly waiting to welcome them. As the time of the meals was near so they felicitated and welcomed them briefly and Vishwabandhu accepted their welcome with utmost humility and gratefulness. He was overjoyed to see his alma mater after a long time. After breakfast he went to the University Guest House which was a five storied structure that could accommodate one thousand guests at a time easily. Toilets and baths were the same as author had seen in Sevgram. Inthis building there were escalators and lifts to take guests and other people to their desired storey . There were a number of attendants- man and women – to look after the comforts of the guests. It had its own mess where healthy, delicious, whole and nutritious meals were available and served four times a day. In the building there was a swimming pool, library and even a dispensary attached to it. This guest house was like a little autonomous village in itself. At the gate of the guest house there are a number of trams waiting to take guests to diverse destinations. After taking refreshment with Vishwamitra and Acharya Vashishtha, Dean of University Vishwabandhu decided to visit the school for Elementary education see for himself a child-class so as to comprehend the structure of the education here.
Education System : Primary
After the refreshment he,Vishwamitra, Acharya Vashista and Vice Principal Veerini visited the child class of a primary education centre. Students had already been informed about our intended visit. From the guest house they boarded a tram that took them to a school situated nearly one kos ( 3 miles ) from the guest house. On the way he saw a number of school of various levels and subjects along with lush green fields and farms. On the tram there were other passengers also who were either the guests of the university or parents, relatives and guardians of the students studying there. As it was a holiday so most of the learners were either moving or sitting at one place. Tram stopped in front of the garden of the school. They were greeted by the staff. School was a three storey structure created aesthetically with pleasant ambience. It also had a garden like the Pre-Primary School at Sevgram but the strength of the students was more than in that school so this educational institution was a village if independent identity in itself. Besides bedrooms there was library, mess, dispensary and a store attached to it. There was also a pool of fresh , clear water for the children to play in and swim. Gardens of this school was adorned with fountains and there were large and spacious playgrounds and of course a basement. It also had a pool of warm water to bathe and swim in the winters. In this academic organization students from the age of 4 years to 6 years studied. Elementary education was almost uniform in all the schools and books were only rarely used as mostly education was oral and informal. Learners were taught to identify the alphabets and numbers. At the end of this stage they learnt three R’s – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic- well. Subjects were presented before the children in such a manner so as to arouse the curiosity and interest of the learner towards the subject. Tendencies and aptitudes of the children were closely absorbed and monitored and encouraged to advance in the area of his or her interest. Equal attention is given to the physical development of the children as the school had pit for wrestling and facilities for other games. Vishwabandhu witnessed a well contested duel between two wrestlers of the school- Krishna an Ebrahim in which first round was won by Krishna while Ebrahim outclassed Krishna in the second round. Inmates also exhibited their skills in other games like racing, football and swimming. There were hostel facilities available in the school as students were divided into a group of ten and a room was allotted to each group where these ten students stayed and slept during night. After the last meal of the day learners were told some inspirational or motivational story from mythology, history and legend by the attendants working in the school. Though the date is not given but the inmates are informed about the great personalities like Ashoka the Great , Gautam Buddha, Chandragupta Maurya and the like. Sometimes these stories were also related to travel and science. At another time students and teachers sang songs collectively. Children are taught about the need and significance of hygiene not only in individual life but also in their surroundings. They are also taught to have respect for elders and affection for the young. Children are attracted towards learning by making the teaching interesting by the use of audio-visual medium and by informal method of teaching by play way method. They also learn gardening, to construct houses and to do social service. They are taught about the solar system and heavenly bodies like the Moon, the Earth, the other planets of the solar system by the use of modern projection system in a planetorium. They are also taken to zoos and museums to learn about the extinct species of the flora and fauna. Likewise they are taught simple mathematical operation through interesting style and manner. Through literature they are taught subtle difference between sensitive, emotional and normal narratives. Their uniform was shorts, socks, tunic, coat and a cap for both boys and girls in the season of winters. Then they went to the garden enclosure portraying pictures of great personalities. To test the knowledge of children Vishwabandhu asked a student to identify the portrait of Karl Marx. He not only pointed out the painting correctly but he also gave a brief resume of life and achievements of Karl Marx. Then he asked about Charles Darwin to another child and he gave the similar response. Then some questions related to Botany and animal kingdom were put up which were answered by the learners with same promptness. Every child seemed to be well aware and well informed. The commendable trait in these young personalities was that they had no inhibition and were bubbling with confidence. He also listened to their narration of the texts and songs.
Secondary Education
They had plan to visit the secondary school the next day. After riding the tram in the morning they reached the secondary school where learners from the age group of 6-14 years took education. This school was situated nearly 2 kms from Guest House. In this curriculum there were courses comprising of study of two years. And every class group had a separate residential arena that children of the age group 6-8 years lived in a one complex while the children of the age group 8-10 years lived in another residential complex and so on. At this stage brief introductory knowledge of Literature, Mathematics, Geography, Grammar, Music, Agriculture, Calligraphy and Cow Keeping was imparted. But a learner was not expected each subject in detail, only those learners who had special leaning or interest is allowed to study that subject in detail. The students of five years of age are taught Sanskrit or some other language. Such a congenial environment is created that a learner comes to know language easily, rapidly and conveniently but if it is observed that a leaner does not show aptitude for language then he is not forced to pursue advanced study in languages. At the time of admission learners are made aware of their duties. Guests were welcomed and felicitated by faculty and students and students were in uniform which was Tunic or Shirt, shorts, shoes, socks. Each sub-class in the campus was an independent and autonomous unit. It had its own garden , mess, infirmary, auditorium and a store. Every section had a swimming pool of its own and playground for football and pits for wrestling. Normally the houses are of single floor only but the buildings of educational institutions were multi-storied. Electric operated lifts were available easily to take anybody to reach the floor of his choice.
In the morning after bath and change students take breakfast. These learners are given four meal a day while toddlers and infants are given six meals a day. Every possible step is taken to make every subject lucrative and palatable. History is taught through audio-visual aids like Bioscope, Cinema and Light and Sound shows. Perhaps author had nor visualised at that time power point presentation or projection through Computer and LCR and even through role play by staging plays related to history and historical characters where students themselves take play the role of the historical character. For the study of science, astrology, astronomy and Jyotisha there is a telescope and other lab equipment to study the movement of the stars in the firmament. Agriculture and Cow Keeping subject is mostly practical activities as there are adequate farms and cows to teach the learners about the nuances of this field. After a student completes the syllabus of first sub-class successfully he is taught universal language and he is shifted to Universal Hostel where it is compulsory for everybody to converse in universal language. Prior to that most of the education is either in mother tongue or Bharti Language.
Universal language is purified form of Esperaanto language where articles have been dropped. It has only 15 grammar rules. In Genders, suffixes and the like these rules are perfect and without any exceptions. This language has only two numbers- Singular and plural- and three genders-masculine, feminine and neuter. Feminine genders end with sound /a: /, /i: /,and /u: /and can be used before a living object only. Similar is the rule with masculine gender; and there are four forms of verbs- Present,Past, Future and Infinitive ( command, request,order).Verbs have been selected carefully from various languages like Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Roman, Slav and Celtic- to form this universal language. Scientific words and terms have been taken as they are from European languages, only they are suffixed at the end according to their gender. This language is spoken and comprehended all over the world like China, Japan, Siam ,Tibet, Burma and the like. Inmates of the Universal hostel welcomed the guests with joy and enthusiasm.
As far as the language was concerned in this world in India national language was Bharti while Persian was spoken from Peshawar to Baghdad which also belonged to this family. Same is the case of European languages that have been accepted and spoken in Africa,America and Australia. As it has been pointed out earlier that a child pursues his studies according to his inclination, interest and aptitude and he is not forced to go into any profession as in 20th century just to fulfil the whims and wishes of parents and teachers like a patient who is not suffering from malaria yet he has to swallow the bitter pill of quinine. Similarly a child who has no interest in medicine yet he is sent forcefully to swallow the bitter pill of medical education. Normal information and knowledge is given informally and the education begins from his aptitude. Those learners who show inclination towards Jyotisha and Maths gets so deep and sound knowledge of these subjects in middle education that even a post graduate of 20th century can not claim to have so much knowledge about these subjects. He gets mastery over every branch of mathematics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Trignometry, Calculus, Matrices, and the like. Teacher decides to give which book to which student on the basis of his interest and inclination. Students with similar interests and aptitudes are put together in the same group and supervised by a Psychologist constantly to monitor them. There are adequate equipment, books and other material required for a perfect education. Girls are taught Music, Calligraphy, Medicine and Literature. By the time a child attains the age of 14 years he gets sufficient education in every branch of learning to lead a dignified life.
Higher Education
After surveying the education for a number of days Vishwabandhu found that up to middle level every subject is taught to the learner while in Higher Education only specific subjects are taught only to those who show extraordinary interest and inclination for a subject. So there were a number of schools of higher education dedicated only to a specific subject or branch of learning. Even in Nalanda there were 15 institutes of Higher Education imparting specialised education in the fields of Languages, Heritage,Jyotisha, Philosophy, Science, Literature, Music, Architecture, Engineering, Ayurveda, Botany, Zoology, Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering, and teaching. Perhaps at the time of the composition of this work the fields like Robotics and Computer Engineering were eve beyond the imagination of the man of this period. Normally teachers were sound scholars of their field. In the School of Heritage various tool and methods to collect and interpret the historical data and evidence were taught. Their museums contain almost all the objects found in the land, air and the sea. Great research has been carried on the history, behaviour, religion, philosophy of ancient civilisations and countries like India, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Mexico and Brazil . No stone has been left unturned in in protecting and preserving this material. Many people have put their entire lives in extracting precious material from the depths of the sea and preserve it for posterity. Hundreds of scholars are toiling hard to find out the truth in order to solve the mystery of nature and the past. To find out the about the Indian culture and civilisation countries of Middle East, Tibet, Himalayas, Java, Bali, Siam, Sumatra and Lanka have been researched. In the Heritage School there is a large museum housing the artefacts of not only India but Syria, Egypt and Mexico have been preserved. Even the prototypes and replica of objects found in the other museums of the world have been preserved. Even those objects that have gone to other countries in the past have been brought back. Here author perhaps refers to Kohinoor which was taken away by the Britishers from last ruler of Punjab Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and a piece of it still adorns the crown of the King or Queen of England. This museum is an eight storey structure spread over a large area and visible from a distance.
An interesting and easy way of teaching a language has been evolved and languages are taught to the students who show flare for language. Similarly there is Jyotisha School whose large observatory is situated on a neighbouring hillock named Vaibhavgiri. In the period of 200 years it has been completely transformed completely as it has been connected with a high quality road lined with shadowy trees. There are a number of telescopes, and binoculars to watch and observe the movement of the stars and other heavenly objects in the firmament. There are three large telescopes in which the objects can be magnified even up to million times. There is also a very powerful and strong spectroscope in the observatory. It also houses a strong centre of wireless communication. Now people have a lot of information even about neighbouring planet Mars. People discuss problems encountering humanity freely and openly without and fear or favour. Earlier there used to be hurdles in communication due to different languages but since the evolution of Universal Language that barrier has been overcome. Some of the problems facing modern humanity of this world are declining rainfall and water level, and decline of life and energy on the Mars. So as to overcome the shortage of water a network of canals have been spread over the surface of the earth and the rainfall and even population has been effectively controlled and it has not stabilised but the process has even been reversed. People of this world even discuss the option of leaving the Earth and go to live on other planets like Mars if the conditions do not improve in future and worsen further. There are a number of houses on Vaibhavgiri with good and adequate arrangement of water and electricity.
At the distance of two Kos from Vaibhavgiri there is School of Philosophy that not only teaches abstract and concrete form of the Creator, dualism and non dualism form of the Creator but also other philosophies prevalent in other countries of the world. Acharya Vashishtha himself is a great teacher and scholar of philosophy. All these institutes are situated at the interval of some distance and the interspace between them has been occupied with fruit orchards and playing fields of football, wrestling and Kabbadi. Mostly the fruit orchards are of Mango and Litchi. All these academic institutes have been well equipped with well stocked library, laboratories, and adequate other materials and equipment required for the research and teaching in these fields. Agriculture and Botany schools have large farms attached to it. In each school some people are employed to cook food and do other work for the students and are housed in the separate quarter of the town. To wash, sew, and repair the clothes of the learners there is a separate community. In the neighbourhood of these institutes there is a cow village supplying adequate quantity of milk and milk products to the inmates working and living in these institutes. But this village is situated outside the muincial limits of Nalanda. This Nalanda is a world university where learner from various countries like Lanka, Burma, Siam, Java, China, Japan and Tibet come to get higher and specialised education. There is hardly any corner in the world where there is no one who is not educated from Nalanda.
System of Governance
Beginning at the grass root level of village, there is a representative council in which one representative per hundred voters is elected by the people. For example if the population of the village is 5000 then its council will have 50 representative members. Any body can contest elections and can vote in it without any discrimination of gender, sex,religion and race. They elect a chairperson known as Gramin or Sabhapati. These elected representatives elect an executive body comprising of 16 members There is also one Nayaka (Leader) of every category elected normally one per two hundred or less. It may be less as some people may be unmarried. These Nayaks are like policemen who help administration in everything particularly in maintaining law and order. In their absence there is an Assistant Nayaka or Upnayaka to work in their place. The Executive Body also appoints as per need of the area a doctor, storekeeper, nurses, librarians and other attendants. The village assembly and its executive body is elected for a period of three years.
Then a number of villages combine to forma Sub-division or Tehsil and there is also an elected body at this level or even at the level of a circle. One representative is elected per twenty thousand voters. Twenty percent of the elected members comprise the Executive Body that is roughly there is one executive member over 4000 voters. The population of Patna is ten lacs, hence there are fifty representatives in the executive body looking after diverse departments like Health, Sanitation, Water supply, Education, Population Control, Justice, Peace, Economy, Agriculture , Architecture, Heritage,Post, Railways, Air-Travel, History and Press. Similar representative bodies carry on administration at district level where the elected representatives elect a Sadar or President . These bodies also elect an executive not exceeding 20% of the total membership of the representative elected body. Some of the departments like Courts, Lawyers, Stamp have become defunct in this society. Though there are courts but there are no regular judges in it. Learned and experienced members of the society are elected as Judges. Now law is confine only to three articles -defamation, murder and arson. Capital punishment has been totally abolished. People who had been convicted of some crime are sent to some island where they are educated and looked after with psychological treatment. His health is also monitored closely and when it is seen that he has reformed then he is sent back to settle down in the society. Every province has only one jail. Number of districts combine to form a province that is governed by a Legislative Council and the Executive body elected by it. In the province of Bihar there are two crore voters who elect 100 representatives who form an executive body of ten members who look after the ten departments of the administration. It is observed that as most of the work is done at the lower and grass root level so there is not much to be done at the district and provincial level. Only supervision is to be done that can be easily done by an executive member of ten people easily while at the level of the district there can be nearly 50 representatives in the executive body. After that there is national assembly comprising of different provinces. At the national level one representative per ten lacs of voters is elected. In India there are nearly twenty crore voters who elect an executive committee of ten members. Shimla is now no more capital of India as New Delhi has replaced it as new capital. India consists of number of provinces like Punjab, whose capital is Lahore, Rajasthan whose capital is Ajmer, and the provinces of Bihar, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and the province of Sindh and Pakhutinistan in the west.
After that there is World Assembly in which each representative per 50 lacs of voters is elected from different parts of the world. From India alone there are 40 representatives to this body. It has an executive body of 15 members, and it is a matter of pride for India that an Indian Mr. Deb is Chairperson of this Executive Body and President of the World. The capital of the World State is by the side of Amazon river in Brazil. The Executive Council looks after various departments like Education, Health, Law & Order, Finance and Economy, Agriculture, Mechanics and Architecture, Road building and Construction, Post and Telegraph, Aviation, Population Control Heritage Conservation, History and Minting of Coins. At the time of Rahul Sankritayan perhaps the Department of Post and Telegraph appeared to be a necessity but in today’s world telegraph department has nearly become defunct and Post department has changed its nature to a great extent by taking up financial services.
It is a strange thing that the world has controlled the population rise though China has also recently controlled the rise in population that it has even decreased in China recently. Similarly this trend has been reversed in the modern world. Though the methods of population control have been opposed vehemently by the people in 20th century, particularly the emergency period but the modern society has succeeded in controlling it systematically by segregating the people infected with fatal and infectious diseases and slowly their procreative potency is destroyed in the same way as it has controlled monkey, dogs and cats. That’s why in this world there are no patients of diseases like Epilepsy, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Piles and the like. These maladies have been exterminated with time and human society has become manageable and freed from any lethal disease.
There is a large network of Canals,Roads and railways throughout the world in this society to make the world a single organic unit. Tunnels have been dug even under the sea and peaks have been levelled. The whole world seems as one family. In bigger cities like Patna and Varanasi the old narrow lanes containing the toxic shops of wine, cigarettes and other tobacco products and marijuana shops have disappeared. Though there are still boats in the river, but they are powered now by electricity. Mostly people of this world prefer to travel by air as it is the convenient, safe and quicker mode of transport. Earlier the world was moved by greed and profit so a few rich people succeeded in amassing the wealth that led to human exploitation of the worst kind even slavery. This tendency also harmed the environment in the long run. However, with time mankind has learnt to overcome these barriers and costs of development and learnt to manage the waste creatively making possible the optimum use of the available resources for the maximum possible well being of the human society. Tendencies like exploitation, poverty, backwardness, illiteracy, narrow nationalism, provincialism have simply disappeared in this society. Similarly the shops of harmful products like alcohol, tobacco products, opium, have got defunct. Since children and old people are responsibility of the state so people do not feel the need of amassing the wealth. The social security is strong, as everybody gets enough to eat and a pleasant, comfortable, and healthy life. All the houses are of single floor except the official buildings in the capitals of the provinces and academic institutions like libraries, laboratories and museums. As everybody gets sufficient to eat and a decent life to lead with a comfortable routine of working only four hours per day, so he utilises his spare time in pursuing his hobbies, inclinations and interests like music, arts, painting and literature and playing diverse games. As everybody has adequate material like job and food, so crimes like stealth, theft and loot has disappeared and with them the need of these laws have come to an end and with that the profession of lawyers and advocates have ended. Now mostly the cases are of defamation, murder and infidelity. As man and woman enjoy perfect parity in this society so there are no cases of divorces or the lawyers and courts related to it like the Family Court of the 20th century. Now the cases are decided by wise, experienced people of the society and their verdict is accepted and honoured by everybody in the society. War, army and weapons have become defunct in this society as everybody has enough and world state has come into existence so there is no dispute of territories leading to conflicts. The only negative thing in the society is that the people suffering from terminal diseases are segregated from the society and and systematically decimated by not allowing them to produce children.
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