Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ...

Patriotism.. that oft-repeated word to sum up the sudden burst of pride one feels on seeing the tricolor aflutter, on seeing India win a cricket match, on seeing the Mig fighters fly past us in an impossible formation.
How seriously do we take this one word? Have you ever thought about it? The above examples are merely pop-culture references to define the momentary adrenalin rush of blood on being reminded that we belong to INDIA. But what about the life after that moment. My guess is , we go back to our daily lives and end the day discussing the problems the country faces in the name of corruption, incompetent bureaucracy, indifference , apathy and the lack of awareness amongst common people. In some cases these are not even worth discussing coz it is depressing.(disclaimer: take no offence, those who choose to ignore are within their rights to do so. Democracy gives you this right in case you were not aware... )

In conventional terms when I mention 'love for the country' , what images conjure up in your mind? The tricolor, Republic Day Parade, Army Jawans, Lagaan, Rang de Basanti, IAS(oh sorry, its taboo but i'll come to that later!!)? If anyone who has read this , gets something close to 'nation building' claps for you , and if someone got closer to 'What have I done in my own capacity or even What can I do for nation building' . salutes!!!  I use 'nation building' as a fluid concept here as not many really would believe it when I say it can be done and on a sustainable basis. 9/10 people would be busy pointing out flaws in the system and how it impedes progress.

The tragedy of out nation is that we all want a BHAGAT SINGH to come and change things. But we want him to be born in the neighbour's house , not ours. I can bet whatever amount of money on the fact that anyone who listens to 'SARFAROSHI KI TAMANNA' gets goosebumps. What is the reason behind it?? What power does this poem possess that can shake people out of their indifferent slumber and cause them to feel an emotion that is unparalleled. Just imagine if this emotion gets channelised and we have a million people just like that(in a country like India where population records are not news anymore ... ) , what all can be done and achieved. Dont get me wrong, listening to a poem is not the solution to all problems but the point is of awakening people and keeping them that way.

Rang de Basanti had a nice piece of dialogue which went something like ," Koi bhi desh perfect nhn hota, use behtar banana padta hai. Politics join karenge, Military mein bharti honge, IAS banenge. Yeh desh badlega , hum badlenge ise". With all due respect to the naive idealism that the film preached, even today IAS is referred to , as the shortcut to a life of power, respect and money(??). And dont worry, if the IT sleuths come calling, there are more than enough banks in the ALPS that are willing to help.And dont even bother about Wikileaks. The people asking for details from Assange have to save their asses first and by the time its ur turn, u'll be 90 and a pauper. U dont mind that, do you? Yes I am being cynical here and I am just trying to put things in perspective because lets be fair, not everybody is corrupt. But tell me one name who has been charged with crime and has recieved due punishment.

Its not a very healthy sign for a country already dealing with a social fabric on the brink of a fracture. As a fellow Indian and someone who feels very strongly about it, I just say this - Go live your life. Yes do what you have been assigned to do with all your heart and believe this when I say it, you are making a contribution to this country by being honest and thats some contribution. For the sake of well-being try to avoid the convenient way and go the whole hog. Believe you me, paying ur taxes on time, purchasing goods with bills and being postive about living life can lift the spirits of a lot of people. It is indirect , it way too idealistic but then it isnt so tough is it ?

There is this line that I 'll close this blog with ," Kabhi kabhi insaan ke andar ki aawaaz use itna door kheench laati hai jahaan darr ki saari seemayein khatm ho jaati hain aur wahaan hota hai ek ajeeb sa sukoon, wahan insaan azaad ho jaata hai woh karne ke liye jo sahi hai.Aur yahi karna sabse mushkil hota hai aur sbase zyada aasan ... "

The beauty of nothingness ....

As a child I used to wonder , what all is happening simultaneously in this world. The sheer magnitude of the thought is too big to even comprehend. Picture this, as I type this blog, there are people in this world who are leaving for office, people who are meeting their loved ones after a long time, people are are separating, people coping with the bitter reality of life , people smiling and thanking god for what they have been bestowed with...  And this is just the start of it. The idea is very artistic in nature and is inspiring enough for creative minds to come up with their own interpretations of the collection of little things  that the world is made of.

The point to be noted here is that in the larger picture , how significant is it really. While on the question of significance, comes the question of purpose. What purpose is being served by each happening in the larger picture created by god. In Stephen Hawking's path-breaking book, 'A brief History of Time' a lot of time is spent in trying to explain the science behind the cosmos with an entire chapter dedicated to the concept of BIG BANG which if you realise is taken to be the start of time in the universe's life. The most mind numbing idea given by Hawking is to try and go behind the start of time which would effectively mean, imagining a space where time doesnt exist. A man of Hawking's stature who dedicated his life to Science, is forced to close out the book by saying , "If there exists a god, going behind the beginning of time would tell us the mind of god."

Personally I believe every human has the right to define god in his/ her own way. Its too personal a concept to be made available for public consumption. People worship deities, god-men, spiritual gurus and in some cases end up so disillusioned by the entire thing that they choose to drop their belief altogether. Coming back to the concept of beauty, it is again one of those things that work in different ways for different people. A bunch of dry leaves may signify spring for some, days gone by for some ,sadness for some and grief for some. Its a simple example but its interesting to see the diverse reactions being elicited from people regatrding something as docile as dry leaves. Yes, it is kind of stretching the idea of romanticizing everything in this world, but it works for me.

In one of my all time favorite films 'American Beauty' there is a particular scene that is based on the concept of finding beauty in everyday stuff and believing that if you look closely god will smile back at you. --

The dialogue goes something like this --

" It was one of those days when its a minute away from snowing. There was this electricity in the air. And ... this bag was dancing with me .... for 15 minutes. Thats the day I realized that there is this entire life behind things and that there is this benevolent force that wants me to know that there is no reason to be afraid.
Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world, that my heart fills up like a balloon and I cant take it. "

The scene has been shared below --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijv67WuTiIM&feature=related

The next time you see something seemingly ordinary, try to look closely, you may find ur inspiration to live there itself and if it doesnt work, dont worry , it will.... one day ..