I'm responding late to this comment by Chidi, since I have not been visiting my email for some time.
The comment strikes me because it reminds me of some observations I have been making in my recent self aware efforts to develop myself as a scholar publishing on the Internet.
One has to make a determined effort to develop a culture of depth in a world where so much information is available, so much knowledge flows freely, and if like me, you decide to create your own institutional context, outside the rigorous group assessment methods of the Western inspired academy at its best.
I would have liked to say more, but am not sure what to state, since so much is coming to my mind.
I recently started a Facebook group, Studying Mark Dyczkowski, on the work of the great scholar of Hinduism,Mark Dyczkowski.
I resolved not to swell the ranks of the group with members chosen from my friends, since most might not be interested.
I would choose a few friends who might be interested in the subject and post quality material diligently and consistently.
I would distribute the posts as well as I could and let interested parties find their way to the group.
I was able to post on a daily basis for some time, often without distributing, on account of time constraints, then fell back as other projects gathered momentum.
I observed that, even then, membership was steadily building.
Those who read my posts invited others, even contacted me by email and phone, impressed by my effort.
Nobody is asking me about why I think I can comment on this subject which Dyczkowski has spent all his life mastering, from youth in India to studies in Oxford and advanced studies in India and decades of further work in India, till all the man's hair is now white, with his projects still in full force, as he struggles to complete a massive complete translation of the awesome Tantraloka of Abhinavaghupta.
Nobody is asking me where I learnt my Sanskrit, the original language of the texts, a language described as sophisticated and profound in a way that English does not approach, as the Indian lady whom I called in India to request permission to let her university library send me a copy of her PhD thesis on an aspect of Hinduism asked me.
They simply read what I write and draw their own conclusions.
I feel so honoured.
I am taking a book by the man and commenting line by line.
Please forgive me if my post might be seen as not fully in consonance with Chidi's but the general vision is that of developing a Toyin Falola depth and catholicity of scholarly achievement.
thanks
toyin
,
On Sun, Oct 6, 2013 at 7:27 PM, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi.opara@gmail.com> wrote:
--The phenomenon known as Toyin Falola should be a lesson to the facebook, twitter, listservs and blog "gurus", who spew venom and think that being remarkable depends on how many "followers" one has on social networking sites. Great things indeed, are achieved without noise. I salute you Professor Falola, great historian, etc.
CAO.
--
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