Saturday, August 15, 2009

India's 62nd Independence Day



Happy Independence day people!

Well it's time for the patriotic bandha in me to come out. It is after all Independence day. What better day to write a post about your country ah?

I have to be honest here. I feel a bit old. I remember India's 50th independence day celebrations. I remember at exactly 12 noon all the TV channels played Rahman's 'Vande Mataram'. And today I realize it's been 12 years since! That's almost half my life!

Many critics, most famously Winston Churchill,( and more recently some chinese joker named Zhong Guo Zhan Lue Gang) have predicted the end of our nation. We have defied the critics and we continue to march on.

India is not a nation in the conventional sense of the term. We are not one race, or people who speak one language, or follow one religion. We are not exactly a physical entity by ourselves(though this is arguable).

India is an idea. Or, to put it better... India is an ideal. India is not an easy country to understand. It forces man to put aside all his ideas of separation and classification and look at things differently. It forces you to answer difficult questions. It requires you to be tolerant, to be understanding, to be different, to seek the truth, to be lawful, to understand differences, and above all- to challenge convention.

Our founding fathers dreamt up an India that would be an ideal to all humanity. The idea lives on and contiues to inspire us. India to me is a passion. It is pure, it is magic, it is old, it is new, it is vibrant and most of all it is happening!

There are miles and miles to go. There is much to be done. But let's not forget that greatness is our destiny. Let's get together and make our 'tryst with destiny'.

Jai Hind.



10 comments:

iselldreams said...

Nice rendering of the feelings.
Happy Independence Day Ajai...

A New Beginning said...

Happy 62nd Independence Ajai!India is a spirit..a diverse spirit thatruns in every heart and takes it the forward towards the path we all want to achieve..the path of success, the path that would lead to a truely beautiful nation, that it is...time would just add on to its beauty. When I hear ppl takn about all thats negative, I really want to ask them, what hv u done to make it a great country? coz those who have, even if its in the smallest way, have every right to be happy. I am proud to be an Indian..so what if there are certain things that play a negative role in our land...we have loads to cherish and time and our hardwork would give us more reasons to do so in the years to come:)
Thanks for the wonderful post fellow Indian:)!!

Chhaya said...

No non-indian can understand this harmony in chaos that india is..


Jai Hind!

Vande matarm!

Meow said...

Absolutely!! I liked the part where you mentioned It requires you to be tolerant, to be understanding, to be different, to seek the truth, to be lawful, to understand differences, and above all- to challenge convention.

and thats why I am what I am and you're what you're AJ :)

Jai Hind
Vande Mataram!

rimz said...

Its really a feel-good article. thanx for writing it, n makin me remember how proud I am n I shud be as an Indian.
Belated Happy Independence day.

BrownPhantom said...

As you said.man miles to go..But we must wait and savor the achievements on occasions such as these :).
Happy Independence Day :).

Rakesh Vanamali said...

AJ - ever wondered how different we'd be if the brits ruled us for longer? I mean, look @ Hong Kong.....!

Ajai said...

@iselldreams
Thanks Choti! :)

@Sana
I'm happy that the post could evoke such strong emotion in you. Feel the absolute same way you do. And yes we have the future to claim as ours. :)

@Chhaya
Absolutely! Jai Hind! :)

@Sowmi
Glad you liked my post. Me blushing. :). I'm honoured! :)

@rimz
Thank you for reading. And same to you!:)

@BrownPhantom
Ya, if you actually look at it.. we're not so bad. See most of the other countries that got Independence at the same time. Not many are functioning as well as India is. That's a tribute to the vision of our founding fathers!

@Raks
Well... perceptions differ on this. But for me.. I'd rather be a poor free man than a rich slave.

Unknown said...

India is a magic... an idea which is beyond understanding !!!
Jai Hind brother !

Krishnan said...

:)