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Pandits are hired to chant Vedic verses at yagya s and other public and private events. The chanting is meant to be listened to with a quiet mind for the purpose of spiritual development of the listener and enlivening of the atmosphere at the event.
In India today, pandit is a term of great respect, and is given to Indian classical musicians (usually Hindu) if they are acknowledged to be masters, such as the great Pandit Jasraj or Pandit Ravi Shankar. In this latter sense, it is analogous to Ustad .
The word "pundit" has been assimilated, into English, as a reference to someone who is very knowledgeable on a particular subject, usually in the social sciences. In the English-speaking west, the pundits are those who are the presiding experts on a subject; and write signed articles in newspapers or appear on radio or television to opine on current events. Television pundits are sometimes called talking heads. By extension, the term pundit is also used to refer to individuals that express opinions in the media without necessarilly being a recognized expert on a particular subject matter. Pundits are often accused of being politically biased and for using informal logic in fallacious ways; in this sense, the term is also used as a term of disparagementAn insult is a statement or action which affronts or demeans someone. An insult may be intentional or accidental. An example of the latter is a well-intended simple explanation, which in fact is superfluous, but is given due to underestimating intelligenc. For a partial listing of pundits in the print media in North America, see the article newspaper columnistA Columnist is a journalist who produces a specific form of writing for publication called a "column. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. Some Internet columns are called blogs or Weblogs. What differentiates a column from other forms.
In the second half of the 19th century, the term was used to denote native surveillors who explored regions to the north of India for the British.
One of the greatest projects of nineteenth century geography was the Great Trigonometric Survey of India . The English also wanted geographical information on the lands further north. This was not just out of scientific curiosity: The RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Withns were expanding their empire into Central AsiaCentral Asia is a region of Asia. Various definitions of its exact composition exist. Definitions Under one definition, Central Asia covers about 9,029,000 km2, or 21% of the continent. Under this definition Central Asia includes the following countries:, and the English feared that they might have set their eyes on India. Thus, the Russians and the English both tried to extend their influence in Asia. Knowledge of geography of the region was of course of utmost importance in this so-called ' Great Game'.
However, in some regions these surveys seemed impossible. Some of the Indian border countries, in particular TibetThis article is on Historic Tibet. Tibet" can also refer to the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibet ( Tibetan : , (Bod) pronounced Po, Chinese: , pinyin: Xizang) is a region of Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900, would not allow westerners to enter their country, let alone a British surveying team. In the 1860s, Thomas G. Montgomerie , a captain in the survey, realised that the solution to this problem would be to train natives from Indian border states such as SikkimSikkim ( is a mountainous state of India in the Himalayas. It has borders with Tibet in the north, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west and the Indian state of West Bengal in the south. Its capital is Gangtok. Population: 540,493 (2001 census). Its offic to be surveyors, and have them explore the region. These would raise less suspicion than Europeans, and might be able to make observations disguised as a trader or a lamaLama can refer to: the Tibetan word for religious teacher (like the Sanskrit term 'guru') see Tibetan Buddhism. Some well-known lamas are: the Dalai Lama the Panchen Lama Buddhist terms a commune in the Haute-Corse departement in France Serge Lama is a Fr (holy man). These native surveyors are called pundits.
A number of tricks were developed to enable the pundits to make their observations without being found out. They were trained to make exactly 2,000 paces to the mile. To count them, they used what looked like a Buddhist rosary, called a mala, but instead of the usual 108 beads had 100, every tenth being slightly larger. Every 100 paces a bead was dropped. A prayer wheel did not hold the usual buddhist prayer om mani padni hom, but maps and notes. Pundit Nain Singh also found that these could be used to ward off curious co-travellers: Each time someone came too near, he would start whirling the wheel around and thus pretend to be in religious contemplation. Usually this would be enough to stop others from addressing him. Another way of keeping their observation was to turn them into a poem, and recite that during their travels.
The pundits were given extensive training in surveying: They learned to use the sextant, determine height by measuring the temperature of boiling water, make astronomical observations. They also received medical training. Despite the precautions and tricks, some of them were sent back, tortured or even executed. But with their travels they managed to map the Himalayas, Tibet and surrounding areas with remarkable precision.
Famous pundits: