Amitabh Bachchan on 'Navigation' & its Indian origin

Big B is one of the few Bollywood celebrities who
use the social media to the hilt to let the world
know about what is going on in their mind. His
fascination for ancient Indian culture has been
finding eloquent expression on social media sites
these days.
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Nothing can illustrate it better than his recent post
on leading social media portals. In this particular
post he talks about how the world ‘Navigation’ has
been derived from Sanskrit and India’s pioneering
contribution to the science of navigation and
shipbuilding. This is what he writes: -
“The art of Navigation was born in the river
Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation
is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Navgatih’. The
word navy is also derived from Sanskrit ‘Nou’.”
It’s a long post. Here are a few more excerpts from
it.
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“In those days India had colonies, in Cambodia
(Kambuja in Sanskrit) in Java, (Chavakam or Yava
dwipa) in Sumatra, in Borneo, Socotra
(Sukhadhara) and even in Japan. Indian traders
had established settlements in Southern China, in
the Malayan Peninsula, in Arabia, in Egypt, in
Persia, etc., Through the Persians and Arabs, India
had cultivated trade relations with the Roman
Empire.”
“Sanskrit and Pali literature has innumerable
references to the maritime activity of Indians in
ancient times. …A panel (was) found at
Mohenjodaro, depicting a sailing craft. Vessels
were of many types. Their construction is vividly
described in the Yukti Kalpa Taru an ancient
Indian text on Ship-building.”
The other Bollywood celebrity who has been
showing great interest in ancient Indian culture
and philosophy is Shekhar Kapoor. Recently, he
mentioned on of the SM sites about the origin of
the word ‘Entrepreneur’. It has a Sanskrit origin
too. It is derived from the Sanskrit word
‘Antarprerna’. The word traveled from India to
France and then to the rest of the world.
(Rajesh Kumar Singh is Editorial Consultant for
Festivals and Markets for BollywoodTrade.com.
He is a filmmaker, critic and market analyst)