On this day the Fifteenth of August Twenty Ten

I thank you God for giving us this wonderful land called INDIA. I like everything here. The majestic mountains, the green farms, the sparkling streams, the silent Ganga and the graceful Kaveri. I relate to the strong aromas of the Indian kitchen and the heady fragrance of agarbattis. I like to warm my hands over the arati flame in the temple and wait for the soothing touch of a spoon of sacred water as it flows down my throat.


I take a fresh look at the mounds of crisp vegetables and the symmetrical garlands at the weekly market and smile as it evokes happy memories. I like the way we poke into the affairs of everyone and make it our own. Their dreams, their sorrow and their recipes… We own them all.

I look at movies like Tare Zameen Par and MNIK and feel proud for the people involved. I read newspaper articles about small time heroes who have made big time strides with courage and determination and talk about them in soft tones.

The whole is always bigger than the sum of its parts.

There are aberrations in this happy story?
There are black sheep who make us feel embarrassed?
There are persons who have sold their soul for a paltry sum of money?
A family member has gone the wrong way?

Well … What to do?

Aisaa hota hai

But, does that mean we become sarcastic, that we look at everything with a sneer, or that we paint the future in dull colours?

The bad guys need not usurp all our attention.

Let our papers talk more about great Indians and relegate the black sheep to the inside pages.

Let us feel proud of our achievers and applaud them so that they know that we care.

Let us think of the glorious actions of the never say die patriots and hope to be like them in our own way.

Let us hold our head high

For all said and done

We are a great nation.

We began 63 years ago by hitching on to a bunch of powerful horses all pulling in different directions. But the chariot has held and is moving forward. Sometimes when we suddenly look back we are amazed at the distance covered. Perhaps our dreams are bigger than our progress, but then that is how dreams are. Perhaps we would like to see a nation that is only honest and achieving. That too will happen.

Let us dream on.

Again

I thank you God for giving us this wonderful land called INDIA.