reverberating patriotism

Life seems evanescent. The lost yesterdays have begun to seem more precious and more beautiful. Today seems to be growing longer and wider, whose area in our engineering [or mathematical, why be biased!] terms tends to infinity. We make our today, a living hell or even worse to make our tomorrows comfortable. Ironically, tomorrow is just a wait, an infinitely long wait. So is happiness for those who prepare their tomorrows with all the precision and care.

The above lines have no connection [or disconnection] with the ones you may or may not read further. Man tends to get corny sometimes.


December! A season of merry and joy for the whole world. Nevertheless, a period of frustration n vengeance for the VTU students. Second year in my engineering career has been a disaster. However, the urge to do something remarkable for the society is growing so deeply within me. A slideshow of our freedom struggle, a patriotic flick like rang de basanti, an inspiring ad; a slogan and now the lead India finalists have and will always trigger a hurricane of emotions in my stomach. I, instantly choke on my tears n can feel a lump of patriotic pleasure in my throat. One such day, when I was still nursing the ooze of patriotism, I caught two of my friends online on yahoo messenger. A redundant talk that usually begins with the ‘how are you studying?’ somehow escaped the tight clutches of our engineering life and merged into the melody of patriotism. Strong words, some inspirational quotes and we were almost ready with an agenda to reform the world. On unclogging my chocked feelings, I felt a sweep of solace, but a new question stood beaming. Will all these thoughts materialize? Two years hence, will we share the same ideals?

I still remember the night when the Indian cricket team, captained by dhoni won the world cup. The whole country united to celebrate the victory, with zeal. It was a national fiesta. Not just the joy, we also unite to share sorrow. Such unanimous response by the citizens of INDIA can be expected during crisis. The earthquake in Gujarat, the tsunami crisis, a famine or any calamity, the whole country unites. The Government n the non-governmental organizations throw their mighty arms of aid around the traumatized victims. There has not been a single INDIAN who wasn’t impregnated with patriotic emotions for at least a few hours after watching movies like roja, rang de basanti, swades etc. and I’m sure just like me, you would have also felt a need to disembark the communal and class differences and make genuine contributions to the country. However, as time progressed we forgot about the movie or our contribution to be made. The next morning, stuck in a traffic jam, we curse the government, as usual, guilt pricking our conscience, mocking at us and reminding us of our mighty contribution to the traffic hazard.

Masterminds have debated over the reason behind the ‘developing ‘adjective labeled to our country. It would be a premature act to blame either the system (who has always accepted the criticism with grace) or the surroundings (who is never blamed) alone. The day we learn to blame ourselves and rectify our misdeeds, we are developed.
Let us not depend on an initiator (like a movie) to transform thoughts into actions. Let us not hide our patriotic feelings. Standing up to respect our national anthem or saluting our national flag is our duty. Discharge it with pride. Be proud to be a part of India. Make the country proud of you.