A castle built of a pack of cards,
Each carefully placed.
Cruel claws tear my world to shards.
All dreams disgraced.
Innocent, unconditional smiles -
Taken away.
Teary-eyes, quivery lips -
And a teardrop gives way.
No hands to wipe my tears.
But they eventually dry.
No one to soothe my fears.
But I still try...
To rebuild my castle
For my dreams to reside.
To stand as testimony
To a fairy-tale life...
As I tuned into the radio this morning I heard the song ‘Bharat hum ko jaan se pyara hai…’ when I wondered is it so? And thought that if it’s true then why are patriotic songs played only on national holidays? Why doesn’t any one remember the martyrs on any other day? What exactly is the significance of these days (January 26th, August 15 and October 2nd) in our lives?
To be honest, for us, these are mere days of relaxation and recreation. Most of us don’t even bother to go to our institutions for the flag hoisting, we simply enjoy the day either by sleeping more or having a hang out with family and friends! We don’t value the independence just because we didn’t do any thing to achieve it… we opened our eyes in a free state, we never breathed the air of prison, we never were ever ruled by any foreign nation… should we not value the cost of millions of martyrs who spoilt there presence and sacrificed there future for us? Don’t we have any responsibility towards our nation? We have but we don’t give a damn for it, we plan for our betterment and not for the country’s!
They say that today, we have already achieved sixty years of independence… but are we really free? I don’t think so! We are still their slaves… we feel proud, to use foreign multinational products, to work in foreign multinational companies. In other words its not pride, its slavery! None of us bother about the nations problems… we do read newspapers just to have a general awareness and are least interested where the country is going! We admire the corrupt people, for instance take the case of an actor imprisoned a few days back, the whole day news channels kept on covering his imprisonment, his songs and movies being telecasted on each and every national channel, be it television or FM! People said that they felt sad, that their (so called) hero was imprisoned, and I pity them! Was he the real hero? We have easily forgotten the real life hero like S. K. Dubey! (I wonder how many have recognized him!) And say that we love our nation… do we? We admire such people (as the actor mentioned above) who are selling the country for their own betterment… who are valuing the Nation’s freedom with a few currency notes!!! Do you still think that we love our nation?
I doubt how many of us can speak fluent Hindi, or say aloud; all the swaras and vanjans (vowels and consonants) used in the National language, or use the Hindi Dictionary! I’m sure only a few, and the worst part is that we feel proud of it! What a shame! Is this what we should be proud of? Is this for what martyrs like Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandrs Bose sacrificed their lives? I don’t say that foreign multinationals or English should be banned… but we should use them, but we should not forget our culture!
Simply hoisting the flag for a day or singing or playing patriotic songs for the day doesn’t mean we are proud of the Nation… it should come from the heart. Have you ever wondered that millions of Indian National flags are sold on the eve before such days, but what happens to them after that? They are trampled beneath our legs! After the eve of independence we don’t care for the flags, we again preoccupy ourselves into our daily schedule, and that flag left all alone to be crushed and dishonored, awaiting for the arrival of next National day where it can get its lost respect! Don’t buy it if you lack the respect for it!
Its time now, when the generation should awaken… Feel proud of being an Indian, wearing Indian brands, eating with hands, speaking Hindi and following Hinduism! Don’t be a slave of foreign multinationals or corrupt nationalists who are selling the Nation to the hands of foreigners… set you self free… value the Nations independence… and do contribute for its welfare and upbringing. It is independent… and do care that it remains!
Winds of change are these
Which touch our lives with
Hopes and dreams anew
And bring sad moments too.
But, look back
And thou (you) shalt see
The footprints
Which our hearts
Have held dear
And shalt
Leave stamp upon our "new" lives
Like the sweet memories of spring
That embalm our minds
During the frosty winter spells.
