CENTURIES before Charles Darwin theorised our shared human evolution from the fish, multiple traditions linked humanity to a single common fold. The 18th BRICS summit in Delhi saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the host leaning on the Sanskrit phrase ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ — the world is a family — to underpin the spirit of unity, which unfortunately eludes much of mankind. The ancient aphorism is a good but an overstretched reminder of seeing everybody as an equal human being. Some would say that there was perhaps a greater need to find a phrase that frames all Indians as one family before stretching it to include the world. A problem with citing one’s ancient aphorisms at international conferences is that it begins to resemble the Sadda Mian complex.

Sadda Mian was a roundly admired elderly Afghan member of Bhopal’s royal family. He wou­­ld walk along the promenade abutting Bhopal’s vast lake called Bhadbhada, which, he decided, was the largest water body in the world. Another characteristic unique to Sadda Mian was that he fed his domesticated quails with his mouth, tucking the tiny grains of food behind the lower lip. The late thespian Dilip Kumar told me about his invitation to Sadda Mian to visit Bombay where the actor took the genial Pathan to watch the Arabian Sea from the city’s Marine Drive. Sadda Mian, his sherwani unbuttoned and fluttering in the breeze, was so awestruck by the sea’s expanse that he exclai­med gently: “Kya haqeeqat hai Bhadbhade ki!” Sadda Mian’s dumbfounded response........

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