On The Fence- A Fear Or A Fault?

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The other day I was talking with a close friend of mine who is currently residing outside India and since then I am with this big bug in my head. It was the usual questions and answers ‘How-are-you-I-am-fine’ kinds, but there was something else that we discussed which is now bothering me a lot. This is a dilemma to every Indian of today’s times I guess, especially the youth. Many among us are right now pretending to be unaffected and unaware about this issue, inside as well as outside India. For us life goes on, no matter what the country is going through!

When someone is off from India for higher studies, work or reasons whatsoever their folks and friends back home have this habit of asking “So when are you back?” and I did that with this friend of mine, well it’s been months I met him in person and therefore it was an obvious question from my side. And more obvious was his reply! I am not complaining about him, but the factors that have brought this change in his ideologies and perspectives, also of many Indians here and elsewhere about India are of grave concern.

From corruption to politicians, scams to hunger strikes, donations to price hikes and bribes to bad roads we blamed and cursed them all. And like every time and in ever case the talk ended right there with a ‘Nothing-Can-Be-Done-About-It’ sort of common opinion. My friend told me that he plans to work outside India after his studies, which means he shall be away from home for a few more years with a few visits to the country now and then probably. An ideal and a brave but not a very pleasing decision for everyone, not because of the lack or excess of patriotism or anything else. There is much more to loving our motherland and living with our fellow countrymen is what I believe. I know he can do that, no second thoughts.

But right now he has his reasons, and all of them are genuine. There is nothing that I find to support my point. I just had to nod in agreement for I felt he was right in a way. We are the kind of friends who usually joke about things for hours together which the rest of the world remotely finds funny, this one was not even amongst that. In fact I still have not found an answer to one of his questions, during the middle of this serious conversation he asked me” Do you see a future for your kids in India?” and for a second I realized that we are growing up in a frightening place! There are now going to be a hundred national, social, professional, financial, ethical, emotional, personal [in whatever order one may like :-) !] duties and responsibilities for all of us soon. The very thought of managing everything sends a shiver down my spine. Will we be able to?

Can someone help us? *Pratibha Patil? Manmohan Singh? Anna Hazare? Baba Ramdev? Sonia Gandhi? Suresh Kalmadi? Kanimozhi? A Raja? Rahul Gandhi? Jayalalitha? Mukesh Ambani? Yedyurappa? Mamatha Bannerjee? Karunanidhi? Arundathi Roy? Bal Thackeray? Mayawati? Narendra Modi? JRD Tata? Rakhi Sawant? ;-) Any other popular public figure for any reason good or bad we can think of? Lets try asking them if they can help us in paying the petrol price for a day at the least or in getting our friends back home at the most!

All of us speak a lot about this like how I am blogging right now. After reading this one may think about it for a  few minutes and finally get back to his or her routine. But give it a thought, why are we stuck at square one when it comes to equality in progress? The poor get poorer, the rich get richer and then there are the average folks sandwiched in between making ends meet. Is this what we call unity in diversity? Today the common denominator does seem far from reality. These unbearable compromises are definitely demoralizing. Better is possible and all we lack is the willingness to try. Let us not forget that what we cannot risk losing in the first and the last place is our human resource and by now we already have let go gems in majority.

  

Years down the lane what if we repent that we did nothing about this matter but rely on someone else just because we think that it is not directly affecting our lives, someday it definitely will in a huge magnitude, actually it already is! Why do we leave everything on our so called leaders more than doing something ourselves? Why are we letting this happen? Why are we running away? What is that we can do individually and collectively? What does it take in the present to value our past and build a better future? I am so confused and I am not really glad that I have company,most of us  really are!!!

By the way all I could tell my friend was” Looking at the current situation I will surely think a hundred times before having one;-)!”

Does a tree lose its roots while fanning out its branches in the sky, then why do we? Here is a beautiful poem and some advice from a tree for all of us to follow.Nature always has a way to teach us everything about life, its just that we refuse to walk that way.

Advice from a Tree 

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud 
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth 
Reflect the light of a greater source 
Think long term 
Go out on a limb 
Remember your place among all living beings 
Embrace with joy the changing seasons 
For each yields its own abundance 
The Energy and Birth of Spring 
The Growth and Contentment of Summer 
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall 
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the sun 
And delight in their presence 
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you 
And the mystery of the stars at night. 
Seek nourishment from the good things in life 
Simple pleasures 
Earth, fresh air, light

Be content with your natural beauty 
Drink plenty of water 
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes 
Be flexible 
Remember your roots

Enjoy the view!

-Ilan Shamir-

*Random sample of names, no offence or defense meant. Any omissions regretted!


-R.