It has long been a habit for us to watch the Republic Day Celebrations on TV, since my childhood days. Probably that's the only day which we switch on Doordashan in our homes. As always, I watched the majestic parade over the Rajpath, today. It was quiet a visual feast as the aerial cameras gave us a birds eye glide over the Royal path and the VIP cabin where the Hon; President, PM and the Chief Guest Barak Obama were seated. The floral embellishments were majestic and I thought how great the natural aroma there would be!
The Amar Jawan jyothi, the National Anthem, Modi waiving hand to his well wishers, the cheers from the people around, the beautifully choreographed parade, Floats by different States, rich of their heritage; as things pass, I saw a warm cheer in my Amma's eyes.. Seemed blood was throbbing in her veins, and so was mine. Don't know why this day makes us proud!
There may be enough reasons that one could feel bad to be born in India, A nation where people are feeling bad of Corruption, lack of infrastructure, developments and opportunities. Despite the talent, where the Religion, Castes and political recommendations earn people positions. Where the word 'Profit' stays important than the Life of poor, where the phrase "Incredible India" is more often used as a Sarcasm rather with pride; yeah there are enough imperfections, but why do we feel the pride while we say "We are INDIANS!"? Because we Love India despite it's imperfections!
Despite all its imperfections, somewhere inside, we know it's the best place we could live in this world! A Land of diversities in unity, a land of different languages but of a single feeling, the feeling of an Indian! I saw someone saying its a sheer waste of money and efforts for such a big event. Heard some asking what's the whole point of celebrating the Republic Day itself. May be they have a point. But, it's an event which brings together 120 crore people of different thoughts and perspectives. One which makes a Tamilian, a Kashmiri, Marathi and Bengali feel the warmth of togetherness. One which makes us respect our Cultural, Traditional and demographic differences! A glance at the soldiers and widows whom we saw today would dilute those whole questions, Because, if those soldiers had thought only of their monetary benefits, would they have guarded us against those terrorists, at the cost of their lives?
The best (or probably the worst) status I saw on fb today was that "Why should I be proud of India which is just a Man-made boundary? It was never my choice to be born here, nor I am responsible for my predecessors to divide the world like this!" My reply to him is that, If he could convince his same point to all those terrorists (Al Quaida, ISIS, Taliban, etc) and wicked nations over the world, we would be really grateful for him, for a terror free world. :)
