INDIA: A country of paradoxes

              India. My Beautiful India. You are unique. Did you know that? Nah… I am not saying so to flatter you. You indeed are unique. OK you want me to prove it. Fine. You answer this. Tell me who among your brothers’ and sisters’ can boast of having a desert and a glacier, a peninsula and snow capped mountain ranges, islands and union territories all interwoven to make one single nation? You won’t have an answer you know because there isn’t anybody apart from who Mother Nature has blessed so abundantly. 

You aren't called Incredible India without a reason you know. You have the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas which are perennially covered in a blanket of green and filled with the hoots-roars-trumpets-bellows-drones-hisses and chirps of the gorgeous animals you provide shelter to. You are home to different languages due to your cultural and geographical diversity; a whooping 347! I don't even want to start n the festivals and rituals we Indians have. You should be proud of yourself. Hey, why are you so vehemently disagreeing with me? WHAT!!! You say your assets have now become your liabilities. Your blessings have turned into banes. What are you talking about would you care to explain please? Yes I promise I will listen to you carefully answer your questions to the best of my conscience. Let’s begin then. 

Do I know APJ? Are you kidding me? Off course I know APJ. Which other country can boast of a rocket scientist for a President! I see that brought a smile to your face, but that wasn't your point was it? Hmm.... your right we Indians could make a Muslim a President, but we haven been able to shun are deep rooted parochial tag of a terrorist from our Muslims brothers. Go ahead. You want to talk about the cow now??? HOLY COW! Ooops sorry I promised I would listen carefully. Yes I do see gomathas all over Bangalore. How? Eh....probably because they have been let loose by their masters, to fend for themselves, after providing years of selfless service. Hey wait a minute isn't the cow sacred as per our scriptures? If our religious sentiments prevent us from butchering her doesn't it also mean we need to give her a respectable death? But when are scriptures actually followed here. A huge hue and cry was raised when Richard Gere planted a peck on Shilpa Shetty's cheeks. 'Barthiya Sanskrithi to Dhaka' read newspapers across the country. I pity the cows for not being able to get national coverage for their despicable plight. Our scared River Ganga is also dying a slow death don't you agree? 

But all is not lost India. What about our languages. That sure is something to boast of. No you say. "Indians have stopped respecting the very same diversity the would have otherwise boasted of to their Brit friends." I will have to agree with you on this. You know what happened the other day? I happened to board this local bus to commute to my workplace and I noticed one of my friends from office, Aditya, having a tough time explaining to the conductor where exactly he wanted to be dropped off. Now here down in the South things are a little different. People here can be just a rude as they can be helpful. In this case the conductor happened to be the former and he let loose a string of profanities. I was left wondering whose fault it was: the conductor’s because of his total denial of the fact that Hindi is our national language and every Indian should no how to speak in Hindi or is it Aditya's since he has obstinately refused to learn the local lingo for the past 4 years? You were divided on a linguistic basis India, and we still remain divided even so many years of freedom!! Truly sad. 

I know the Ambanis', Murthys', Birlas' etc. used the bountiful resources you provided and sent their children to Stanford/Oxford/LSB without fail. Your IITs was not worthy enough for their sons and daughters. Do we see any of them coming back to improve your condition. No chance in hell!!!No wonder the millionaires of our country move on to become billionaires or if they can swindle the common man more probably trillionares but the slum dog, alas will always remain the slum dog. 

But you still have me India. Not just me, many like me. I can try to change your plight, but I sure won't join politics to do so because when I see floods I see misery and not the power sharing tactics my state witnessed. Me being a girl have my limitations after all the once epitome of courage and strength - Kali Maa is today reduced to a victim of incest-rape-dowry death! You still maybe the country where the judiciary decides how to punish Ajmal Kasab and not the mother of Sandeep Unnikrishnan. You may well be the country where till date the girl child is shunned upon, fair skin is lusted after and religious intolerance reaches new atrocious levels. But you were my 1st love India and to date your status remains so.  

Your only salvation is true and impartial education to the future generation. I can only promise to strive to remove you from the shackles of terrorism, riots, scams and malevolence that hold you back from realizing the hallowed place of glory thy truethly deserve.  

India. My Incredible India, I only pray - "Into that heaven of freedom my Father, let my country awake"

                              Happy Republic Day, fellow Indians!!! 

 

P.S I had written this 2010 and I never thought my sentiments would change. They haven't in the least bit, but suddenly earning in pounds seems much much more gratifying than busting my ass over morons for peanuts paid in ruppaiyyas.   

P.P.S: The video attached here is played  at a multiplex in a local mall before any movie begins. The audience are politely asked to stand, some do, some don't. Those that do at remind me at times of the geometric constructions of angles my tuition students did, acute or obtuse, never 90 degrees!!! During the last bit, at the salute of muchad-uncle, goosebumps pop out of every follicle on me and I always add a mental note, I'm proud I am an Indian. When did a hypocrite creep inside me? When I say, when!!! But then, it's IN the Indian DNA to manifest itself as the biggest hypocrites mankind has ever known.