12-Aug-10
At my daughter’s school. Waiting for her to finish her day and come back to me. She had been unwell for a long time, so the parent in me dint want to let her wander outside alone. Though I trust her school as much, still..
As I entered her school, I could hear a loudspeaker at its best. Yelling the most patriotic songs ever. At once, I thought that this won’t let me work today and instead would give me a bad migraine for the rest of the day. I wondered why it was being playing in school so loud. What would these little children, aged 4 to 10, understand from songs like “Himmat watan ki tumse hai”, “Jab zero diya mere Bharat ne” , “Ae mere watan ke logo”… et all.
My amazement was taken away too soon, when I saw those little toddlers rocking to the music, nodding their heads, and jumping and moving to the tune and to their respective classes. Soon, I had goose-bumps all over me, when I heard, “jab zero diya mere bharat ne”. one such line in particular woke up the Bharatiya in me.. it said..
“sabhyata jahan pehle aayi, pehle janmee hai jahan pe kala
apna bharat woh bharat hai, jiske peechhe sansaar chala
sansaar chala aur aage badha, yoon aage badha badhta hi gaya
bhagwaan kare yeh aur badhe, badhta hi rahe aur foole fale”
A range of memories gushed before me, a range that reminded me of the Indus valley civilization, the first chapter that I studied when the History subject was introduced to me in school, to today, where I can see most of the sabhyata only in theory. Not just a change, it was an over turn, and I hadn’t even realized. Not many had either, I assumed.
Do we realize that every time we go to a movie hall, though we cringe and crib at being forced to stand up for the national anthem, we do stand up. I even have goose bumps all over by the end of it. Though I don’t understand most of the national anthem, I still feel it running through my blood.
Every time I see the national flag, I make a promise, without thinking about how it will be kept.. That is.. at someday to do something to make it proud.
And the inspiration to do something such, ends as soon as the movie starts. One of my friends, once said to me, “The courage is right inside you and everyone else. Figuring it out is not the difficult part. What's difficult is the channelizing bit.”
Soon the children entered their classes and it was time to start when slowly each class either chanted the national anthem, the “saare jahan se achcha” and the “Vande mataram”, ending it with Jai Hind…
Do we really feel that “saare jahan se achcha” is “Hindustan Humara?”
But today’s nostalgia makes me promise me yet one more time, “to serve the motherland in any possible way – that could be as small as not littering the surroundings to as big as making yet one more Bharatiya atleast feel like you.” Once the feeling has come, the action will follow.
Jai Hind!
