Punjab Sind Gujarat Maratha
Dravid Utkal Banga
Vindya Himachala Yamuna Ganga
Ujjchala Jala Dhitaranga
These words echo in my mind today as I remember my forefathers who fought 62 years back to give me a dream. A dream where I am hoisting a tricolor on top of the sunrise peak and chanting 'Vande Mataram.' The swadeshi he believed in gives me the power to say, I make my 'own goods' and I have my own gram panchayat. 60 years hence the Incredible India he dreamt of hasn't belied his expectations for most parts. Though the occasional gum-chewing youth with his KFC may have miffed my grandfather during his life time. The growth of consumerism and food chains that prepare food faster than a fly could lap up a crumb of bread didn't sit well with him either.
Let's face it, we live in a different India today, the India with sprawling paddy fields and gorur gari (a cow drawn cart) ambling down rough terrain look good in RK Narayan's short stories. The khadi that my grandfather prided his country for is now the 'in vogue' thing. But for a totally different reason. It is chic and a breathe easy fabric. Let me make no mistake but these are India in it's very core and will always be.
However, generations change and we carry on. India now is a pot pourri of cultures, both eastern, mid-western, and western. History has given us a gift. Perhaps that's what makes India exotic. I am not getting into the miniscule details of Indian hygiene sense or the railways that have a reputation for not working on time. But I am going to look at the positives now. A nation that earned it's own status of being 'independent' and dealt with increasingly hostile neighbours with little to offer by way of foreign treaties or economic advancement. I am going to say most of them (our neighbours) for us are now a liability.
I lost my great-uncle a Colonel in the Indian army during the 1971 war, whose body was mutilated and thrown into the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh while he was stocking the amunitions after the war he thought and we thought was settled. Winning was a different story altogether. We still haven't made peace with our neighbours.
However, we have travelled a while from the 1960s India, be it the overrated IT or the prevalance of the English language. Or even Bollywood. My India looks different from what my grandfather perceived it to be. A far cry from the communist manifesto or the gram panchayats that did little justice to women who went against the patriarchy.
India is still in transition, but I am not in favour of a rapid one. I would rather hope that it takes another decade to let the changes seep in.
For the most parts, I am proud to be Indian. Not just today, not just this month. But for every day of my life.
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2 comments:
One thing that pisses me off here in the US is when they pronounce 'khaki' as ... well, it's difficult to spell, but you know how an American would pronounce that, as if they invented the bloody word. Same thing with 'avatar' these days. I feel like I am the only one in the entire country who says it correctly!
I had the same problem with 'Avtar,' the other day. The person at the cinema ticket stall said a not so palatable 'AAvaatarr.' I was on the verge of writing a phonetics book :D
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