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Folklores have heroes and villains, gods and demons. Heroes are too perfect to be true, villains too cruel to be humans. In shades of white and black.
History adjusts the same people into humans in shades of grey, in a blend of right and wrong in them all, without taking sides.
History has the word “Story” in it. While most believe History is proof of the past, another popular opinion is that it is often influenced by the glory of the powerful and manipulated into making them heroes. As time passes, events are taken over by human opinions and differences, social and political influence, and personal perspectives and are often evolved into moral stories called folklore. However, it doesn’t change the fact of “What was” once true.
Every person, character in history or legend or epics has their reasons for action. The cruel and vain Ashoka has his own justifications, as does his grandfather Chandragupta for his struggles, Akbar had his own reasons for his policies, and Maharana Pratap had his own for not accepting them. History cannot dictate right or wrong. The work of history is to state an event. The Akbarnama, often referred to as the detailed Biography of Emperor Akbar, glorifies his actions, policies and intelligence. Of course, his policies were, in fact, path-breaking in forming alliances in that era. Maharana Pratap has been glorified for his struggles in the folklore of Mewar. Of course, he is also equally worth mentioning for his never-giving-up intentions over his kingdom.
But what history or historians often fail to do is to be unbiased in opinion. Unlike Folklore, History doesn’t need to dictate right or wrong. It just states events, battles and characters through their achievements and shortcomings. Folklore makes people heroes and villains in an attempt to make a moral story.
The proof of history is the forts, statues, palaces, battlefields and records kept of the same by dynasties. Sadly, the walls cannot speak of what they witnessed. Who fought more valiantly or who lost a war to win hearts is for the bards to imagine and weave into folklore. The only scientific proof that remains is what is left behind. That is History. Hence, science plays a role in History as well. The stories we often hear in folklore describe wars and kingdoms. This folklore is thus backed by facts that history provides of the existence of these places or the occurrence of these battles.
We often listen to stories as children, especially from our grandparents. Growing up in India, the first and the most popular ones we are told and retold are the epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Interestingly, all the Hindus fall under “Gotras”, tracing their ancestry back to the sages mentioned in these epics. For each place mentioned in these stories, topographies and terrains exist in geography. Many also believe that the initial scriptures of these tales were lessons of morals as well as Geography made interesting via stories. True or not, the vivid description of the social, economic and climatic features of these places exists in folklore. Every character of these stories, be it the Jauhar of Padmini or the Kal Kothari of Anarkali, has places, palaces and tombs attached to the legends. These are not mere coincidences enough to discard these legends as simple moral tales with no historical evidence or significance. There always lies a possibility of such people being a representation of many like them through Bard's eyes.
Names may change through time and era, languages and cultures, and versions may vary from country to country, with respect to the perspective of the storytellers. But some stories are repeated time and again in folklore. Be it the star-crossed lovers like Laila Majnu, Romeo and Juliet, Heer Ranjha or others, or epic battles like Troy or Kurukshetra. Often, characters in different cultures overlap with each other. Are these mere coincidences or proof of someone or something of a similar kind happening in the past? Some say this folklore is a classic case of “History repeats itself.”
What remains as truth, and will remain, is only the history that survives with proof. But for how long? Everything is perishable. So what we call history, because it is 500 years old, can turn into legends and stories once the proof of the same perishes. Man’s liking for stories perhaps keeps them alive longer than harsh reality and the truths of battles.
When Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey many years those were termed History. Hinduism calls Ramayana and Mahabharata “Itihas”, meaning “What has happened, is happening and will happen”. Clearly indicating that mankind, progress and time are all in a vicious loop of stories. Today, perhaps the Historian Homer is the creator of one of the world’s finest literature. It was not until the discovery of the ruins of Troy and evidence of war that the modern world accepted that it was indeed a historical event Homer had narrated. The characters of his tale still remain epic because the world will perhaps never be able to prove their existence.
Those who study history know the importance and contribution of legends, myths, epics and folklore in the reconstruction of events that happened ages ago. They are also aware that the study of history is important in the implementation of plans in the modern era. A man should learn from his mistakes in the past and hence lay a foundation for a brighter future. History provides man with that. But let’s not discard the stories and legends we grew up hearing as mere tales of entertainment as well. They perhaps provide us with sides and stories of people that History can never prove existed.