I've always wondered why & how my own nation INDIA holds importance in my life, in my own macrocosm. When I was a child, I have seen INDIA in my text books, in Manoj Kumar's movies, in the news slot of Doordarshan and most obviously, in the speeches of Independence Day. (We never celebrated Republic Day in our school or society. I really don't know why. I guess, they couldn't afford samosas, toffees, blatant noise of children, khit-pit of their parents, and those boring, highly outdated, repeated patriotic speeches. Doh!)
Okay, chuck it now! The point is, I never understood INDIA around me. Lively, Dramatic, Colorful, Aggressive, Shameless, Caring, Corrupt and a lot many more made of said-unsaid things. May be I didn't have the understanding or may be I never wanted to understand. (That's the beauty of childhood, one can get away with anything, any blunder just by saying that I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND! Hehe.. but an innocent & confused expression on face is compulsory. ;-) :-P)
But, now when I look back on those days and also view what's happening here around me. I UNDERSTAND INDIA. It's not a tough job to know & understand your own country & countrymen. And, Trust me, It's beautiful & satisfying when you start knowing your OWN things & people.
India is a land of great diversities. (As we have read this millions of time, once again I was tempted to write that. Not my mistake ;-) :P) But, the real thing is that We all live in harmony and we all live in conflict. So, while Hindu & Muslims are friends, they sometimes become fierce enemies too. So many festivals... all happening at the same time. We build great monuments and we destroy them too. Ugly would be a proper adjective rather than ruined or destroyed.
Some people are sharp & blunt while some are simple & generous. Some are thick friends, Some are fierce enemies. Some are rich but many are poor too. Very Very poor and Very Very rich.
All I can say is INDIA is a beautiful country at the same time it is also a troubled country. We Indians must count our blessings but also must not forget our adversities. INDIA does not belong to 'them'. INDIA belongs to us rather to me, as an individual.
I wrote this all not because I'm patriotic, not because I take pride in being Indian. I don't fit into those elite categories. I wrote all this just because I LOVE BEING INDIAN :-)
Patriotism is a tough conception to gorge upon. Atleast I am bad at speaking on it. Patriotism is love for our own country, ( for some it also means hatred for others), so how do we express the love, is it by not pointing the bad shades of it, by praising it all the while, because that is what we have seen good patriots make and we have been taught. May be that is the reason, I love to learn but hate to be taught. My idea of patriotism is to act and not secrete behind words.
ReplyDeleteI loved the way u dealt it, I mean as I mentioned it above; I am not apt at playing so beautifully with words. Yeah, our nation means a hell lot in our lives, it shapes us, it makes us who we are. N I am proud to be an Indian too. But I wont take the pride in saying that I understand India. I don’t understand India. I understand just the Indian piece where I live. I am aware, and feel awkward, that I don’t know the whole of India. I don’t know what it means to be a Kashmiri and having to drop the school because of the continual curfews. I don’t know what it means to be a poor farmer’s daughter, who chooses to die than to live to see his family die of hunger. I don’t know what it means to be an Ambani’s daughter and sink in luxuries. I don’t know many more. But yes, I will agree, that when I see an Indian, I know we share a thread, unseen and untouched.
I am proud to be an Indian too..And yeah, as a child i loved celebrating both, the 15th of august and 26th jan. Those were the tender days. As we grew, those seemed to have doomed to be just public holidays, some patriotic songs aired. Border and Sarfarosh are definitely playing on some channel..HeHe...Hoping for a better tomorrow. Relishing the gud ones. But at some point, i dont worry about the future. Why worry about the future, when today itself has got its own evil.
Keep writing...U are beautiful at it. and i wud keep commenting...