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| Skyline with Churches |
The first thing that strikes one in Tbilisi, Georgia is the love Georgians have for their language and their history and their resilience in maintaining their religious and cultural identity despite centuries of rule by foreign powers: Sign boards and billboards are all in Georgian, schooling is predominantly in Georgian, daily interaction is in Georgian, books and magazines are in Georgian, cultural performances are in Georgian and of course there is this distinctive Georgian Orthodox Church with its visible presence in every nook and corner and over the skyline of the city. So unlike Pakistan, where one has the foreboding of an impending complete loss of language, culture and tradition due to a whole scale adoption of English by the ruling elites including the religious elites. Here I would relate some of my observations and conversations in my trip to Georgia and would later contrast them with what we see in Pakistan, and would derive some lessons.
