August 14 2006, eve of the independence day of india and the independence day of pakistan.
August 15 1947... seems such a long time back that its remains are childhood memories of history textbooks... when nationalism became jingoism and socialism became ineffective intellectualism... i don't know... my memories of freedom struggle are lazy afternoons with my grand uncle telling me stories (for me) and lifetime experiences (for him)... am sure there is lots to celebrate about but am more sure that there is lots more to be worried about and ashamed of...
floods, farmer suicides, blasts, blasts investigations, judiciary, droughts, prejudices, hatred, RTI, corruption (do we have to accept it as a given???), reservations, female foeticide, treating rural india as if it was on north pole and not within us, scams, scandals, breaking news... don't we have a long long way to go?
and why do we have these plastic flags of all things!!! wasn't littering the city with paper flags bad enough???
how much of it is our responsibility? no, really.
anyway, holiday it is. will flip through border, roja, rang de basanti, lakshya, phir bhi dil hai hindustani, upkaar, mother india (what is the one 'kar chale hum fida' song??) on various channels at various times. i definitely will not wake up in time to hear PM speech or reflect on it. that was the passtime of the earlier generation.
i love being here. am sure it is not "the pure and the noble" love for motherland kind of feeling. but "only time will tell if it is sufficient to make a difference and a positive one at that. this is "what is in the name," in Mumbai, for BRRRRReaking news TV"...
ab naye saal kii mohalat nahii.n milane vaalii
ahmed faraz
ab naye saal kii mohalat nahii.n milane vaalii
aa chuke ab to shab-o-roz azaabo.n vaale
[mohalat=time; shab-o-roz=night and day; azaab=pain/misfortune]
ab to sab dashnaa-o-Khanjar kii zubaa.N bolate hai.n
ab kahaa.N log muhabbat ke nisaabo.n vaale
[dashnaa=dagger]
zindaa rahane kii tamannaa ho to ho jaate hai.n
faaKhtaao.n ke bhii kirdaar uqaabo.n vaale
na mere zaKhm khile hai.n na teraa rang-e-hinaa
mausam aaye hii nahii.n ab ke gulaabo.n vaale
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