BENGALURU: Discussing what it means to be a true Indian today, educators from around the state, in an interaction with famed writer Ruskin Bond, agreed that it was about respecting diversity.The idea of being Indian resounded in the discussion with educators across the state facilitated by Ratna Sagar publishers, where a teacher, Anita George, said it was about mingling with cultures and languages as India was a melting pot. Another educator pointed out to accepting the ‘other’ and strengthening the local economy.
A teacher from the Sri Sri Ravi Shanker school said it was about staying connected to one’s roots, but at the same time, taking what the best other cultures have to offer.For Bond, who has a European descent but was born and grown up in India, he talked about how his European descendence made people, even a receptionist years later, when he arrived in India.
He would reply -- 1935 -- adding he was delivered by a stork. “Race did not make me an Indian, but history did. And in the long run, it’s history that counts,” he said. Speaking to Express on the Ayodhya verdict, he said, “I hope it makes everybody happy.” Diversity makes India unique, he added.