A Rainy Independence Day
It had rained a lot last night and I hardly had three hours sleep. At night it appeared as if the droplets which were falling in a strange orderly symphony were determined to erase everything and greet everyone with a new sunrise, happier than ever. The reluctant sunrise in the morning brought the 68th anniversary of Indian Independence and today all over the country people celebrated it in their own manner. 67 Independence days have come and gone and 68th one too shall pass. The National Flag will be again folded and preserved with utmost care for upcoming national festivals. The patriotic songs being played by the people in schools and homes and radio stations will be again forbidden. The characters of the patriotic skits too will have to wait for months to meet the new actors trying to look and talk and act like them. My friends and I will again wait for a year to watch ‘Rang De Basanti’ together. The Facebook and Whatsapp profile pictures will again look forward to another occasion for getting a chance to say hello to our tricolor. And this blog too will have to wait.
Those raindrops from last night pretended to know how to keep everything in order and calm me down. And they did it without mimicking any beautiful human face. When I woke up rubbing my eyes, I had a bad taste in my mouth and I desperately wanted to go outside. I checked messages and texted a couple of friends. Then I got ready, on my way I looked up in the sky and watched the sun which was trying its best to melt big lumps of clouds. I went to college and watched our national flag being hoisted by our Director. He gave a short speech and my college mates sang a couple of nice songs. And then again came the rain. Everything was wrapped up quickly and everything was over with a happy feeling inside. There was a signing board placed to write messages for our soldiers. We read all the messages aloud. My friend from Delhi wrote a few lines in Hindi which she said her mother had taught her. We saw some messages written in languages other than Hindi and English. So, my friend from Patiala wrote a message in Punjabi.
All this reminded me of the times when I was in school. All the anticipation and innocence got somewhere misplaced in the practice of growing up. Back then I’d dress up early in the morning in white P.T. uniform and my Dad would take me to the school. As we approached the school, I was able to hear those patriotic songs from ‘Manoj Kumar’ movies. Everyone would buy small-small paper flags from the vendors outside the school. And then I’d roam around for sometimes with my friends. Then there would be speeches, songs, skits and what not. As I returned from the school, I felt a bit different. There was some fanatical emotion I would get. And this feeling too continued to taste a taste of erosion each upcoming year.
As I sit and reflect upon things and try to write this bit, I look outside. The clouds give an impression of being half sad and half reluctant. Sun is making apologies once again. It isn’t pouring and it’s not even sunny. Likewise there is a lot of mix-up and lack of direction all around.
I wish I could witness and write about the India our forefathers imagined and dreamed about. I wish I could write all good things which should’ve existed and about my own more than negligible contribution. I wish I was there. Moreover, I wish we all were there to witness our country gaining independence and the unparalleled love and sacrifice of freedom fighters. I wish I was able to write myself into those moments when we celebrated our first independence day.
We are burdened by corruption, crime, poverty, inequality, terrorism, religious differences and countless types of divisions. Also, our country has achieved some tremendous milestones and it is the largest democracy on earth. We’ve accomplished a lot in space, defense, IT sector and many more. We may not be the best, we may be frustrated but we are moving ahead, we are solving our problems and we are raising our voices.
Whenever the criticism is extensive, optimism takes birth. It impartially keeps the soul and the faith alive and in this process negativity has to be overruled. Let’s not forget the freedom fighters by forgetting them the very next day, August 16th. Let’s make India a better place to live. Let’s improve ourselves and our surroundings. Let’s decide our priorities and spread love and compassion.
Jai Hind!
Source : leotaurian.blogspot.com
