With the on-going discussions about Mumbai attacks, I had a rather interesting conversation with a colleague who wanted to know more about India and why I wanted to go back. While the latter was pretty easy, what took me aback was the fact that I was not able to succinctly describe what my own country is all about. For a moment there, I was embarrassed (and quite ashamed) of not being able to talk with eloquence of the nation I am so attached to, whose roots have been nurtured for long and the one I deeply care for. Of course, we did babble about stuff like Unity in Diversity, Vedas, Religion, Culture, Family and Cricket. And then there was Gandhi too. But really, those were not my first flashes of India during the chat. I frankly do not know why I was unable to articulate what India is really all about but then again, the concept of India itself is nebulous enough that cannot be justified in one obvious answer. One may call that an excuse for me to not describe this entity, but how else could I lucidly substantiate a country with one-billion people of varying regions, practices, languages and even modes of communication among varied others? So this reminded me of a long list of contributions that India have, till date, made towards global development since ancient times.
We all have our own interpretations and definitions that permeate the other. One of my favourites though is the way Rabindranath Tagore describes India in 'Mind Without Fear' from Gitanjali:
If you have any of your own, do share the same. As I get set to revisit my roots, and seek more answers to the same, I wish you all Happy Holidays - one with peace, love and hope.
We all have our own interpretations and definitions that permeate the other. One of my favourites though is the way Rabindranath Tagore describes India in 'Mind Without Fear' from Gitanjali:
Where the Mind is without Fear and the Head is Held High;
Where Knowledge is Free;
Where the World has not been Broken up into Fragments by Narrow Domestic Walls;
Where Words come out from the Depth of Truth;
Where tireless striving Stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!
Where Knowledge is Free;
Where the World has not been Broken up into Fragments by Narrow Domestic Walls;
Where Words come out from the Depth of Truth;
Where tireless striving Stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!
If you have any of your own, do share the same. As I get set to revisit my roots, and seek more answers to the same, I wish you all Happy Holidays - one with peace, love and hope.
Here's to the year that has gone by....
and to the one we would all wake up to!
and to the one we would all wake up to!
