Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend, as a visitor, a
Naturalization Ceremony here in the DC area - an oath taking ceremony for
approved individuals to become US citizens. I thought it would be a
routine procedure, formal yet quite to the point. Candidates take the oath, there is
the anthem, the pledge of allegiance, some paper work and thus, citizenship.
Yes there was all of that but much more.
I was pleasantly surprised at the approach of the
event and the overall enthusiasm expressed NOT by those to-be Americans as much
as by the organizers. The feelings were that of excitement, celebration,
honor, and most importantly, the warmth in welcoming the 'opportunity'. The lead speaker presiding over the 'ceremony'
expressed how excited she was to be present today, almost as a promise to her nation to build a better country - a country of immigrants coming together as
a melting pot of diversity, cultures, circumstances and now joined together to
be part of one nation. She called out the list of all the countries that
were being represented in this location - 62 nations, 250 participants.
Many of them must come from countries that have
disowned them, the land to which they can no longer go to, the land that does
not acknowledge them, the land that would take away their freedom and their liberty. Thus, for many of those 250 individuals who from
today on, have a new identity, this to me represents a defining moment in their
lives and that of their loved ones and how fate must have had a larger role to
play.
Today, as I do my little bit to celebrate the
Independent India, I look back at yesterday and feel thankful and privileged
that I can still feel ‘belonged’ to my birthplace, that the thought of settling
down there still exists, that a stronger part of me wants to see a better India
and that the word ‘opportunity’ has significant meaning there too! Here’s to
the country I was born to as it celebrates its 'freedom' and to the country
that continues to embrace diversity.
