One Day Mataram...

Whenever 26 Jan or 15 Aug approaches it develops a sudden sense of patriotism in us which is generally absent throughout the year except for cricket tournaments. And a national holiday ofcouse to have some fun for common people and ramp walk for politicians where they put up a good face as protectors of the nation and its people like it’s all because of them. I think Indian Independence Day has really lost its charm just after 69 years of independence. People will share patriotic videos and songs, TV channels will show patriotic movies and people will buy tiny flags to decorate their desks and vehicles. ‘Salute selfie’, forward messages, statuses and at most tricolor fashion is all that is left to do. Then, suddenly everything will die down the very next day.  But on second thoughts maybe this is our generation way of celebrating it. Have we really become that fake? Think!

Showing respect for your country and actually respecting it are two different things, & true respect is never limited only to 15th August and 26th January. Patriotism is not one day affair. What is actually to be Indian? When does it feel to be Indian? Or more importantly proud Indian? Well for me, when Afghan youth thanked India for reconstructing The Salma Dam by carrying a 100-metre tricolor and their tweets filled with thank you note to India I feel proud to be Indian. When I hear about a Muslim Mohammed Zahir as caretaker of Lord Shiva Temple with utmost dedication I feel proud to be Indian. When everything around me changes and yet remains the same as I step into another state I feel that’s India that’s my country, I can never get enough of it.  I feel Indian when prices rise, when I complain about corruption, when I buy something cheap in black or frustrated by misconduct of administration. 

Here are the thoughts that inspired me written by someone for TOI.

If you look around you, you will find many people like me who in the midst of their many identities, accidentally chanced upon their Indianness. Each of them will swear by their regional culture, the language they speak, the faith they follow or do not. And, as they wander through all these, and discover themselves, they also discover the magic of being Indian.

Being Indian is not about speaking a particular language even though some of us think so. It is not about the gods we worship or the traditions we have inherited. It is not about some deep patriotic fervour that courses through our veins. In fact, the more you go outside the cities, the less they care what being Indian means. What they understand more are things like caste, dialect, honour, custom. That’s what they identify with.

I am an Indian in whatever I choose to be.

Yes, each one of us is different. And it’s this difference that brings us together. As one nation, one people, fighting, squabbling, arguing, struggling to make good. It is this struggle that will keep us together.

There is just one thing to do that is become a better Indian for rest of the year.

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