"HAPPY", "INDEPENDENCE", "DAY"

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

It's India's 67th Independence Day today, and millions around the world will be greeting each other with the phrase above. Although they'll all be aware of the context this applies to, how many of them would have given a thought to each word, and its individual significance in forming the phrase to what it conveys?

HAPPY. Happiness is as much an emotive description, as it is a level of satisfaction. Going by this definition, how many residents of India are actually content with their day-to-day lives? At each step in the day's routine, people face challenges. Whether its countering crowds to get onto the local train, or ensuring that your hand bag is safely tucked under your arms to prevent being pick-pocketed, satisfaction in most cases hasn't yet reached levels that can be called "happy".

INDEPENDENCE. True independence is obtained from the clutches of all aspects intangible. While corruption is at its peak, the presence of age old caste issues and dowry problems have an adverse effect on people even today. And I haven't even mentioned what's clearly become a national issue over the past few years, women safety. During my recent travels in India, I sensed a genuine fear in everyone's minds for the safety of their female loved ones. Everyone takes that extra effort to ensure their mothers, sisters, and daughters are kept out of harm's way at all times. Wherefore rests our "independence" from fear thus?

DAY. Metaphorically speaking, the above reflects more the gloom of night, than the bright of day. Not only is corruption a rampant macro issue, its becoming even more prevalent on the ground level. And the law and order of the country ranges across states from bad to sheer pathetic. A person tends to be most vulnerable when asleep, which is why he works all his life towards having his own roof over his head, one which he can trust to protect him as mush as possible during that vulnerable state. When even that fails to provide protection and security, it highlights the graveness of the law and order situation. So is this what we call "Day"? Is there daylight of hope peeping across the horizon? Not just yet.

Don't get me wrong here, I am a patriot who is extremely proud of our achievements in the past, and hail all those who have dedicated themselves completely to the nation's progress. Perhaps it's the patriot in me which reminds me that that was in the past. Time has come for us youngsters to be inspired by the yesteryear heroes and set our own standards on where we want to see our beloved land progress to. If we blame the system, then time has come to be a part of it and change it from within, such that we mean each word on the 15th of August every year when we say, "Happy Independence Day!"

Royally Rajasthan

Indian Diary: Entry No. 2

05.08.2013: Day 4- From Pushkar en route to Jaipur

The lush green fields outside playfully tease me, mocking at my ignorance. When the trip of Rajasthan was finalised, the first images formed in my mind were of sand dunes, akin the iconic scenes from Sarfarosh and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Little did I imagine that I'd be seeing more greenery than I've ever seen in the more familiar northern parts of India.

This green adds another dynamism to the rather colourful state that Rajasthan already is. It is a state rich in tradition, but that isn't saying much given traditionality is hardly ever lacking at most places in India. Where it is significantly different is in the royal essence it boasts of. Right from the bright turbans sported on male heads complementing the dazzling traditional sarees of the women, to the awe-striking forts, royalty seems embedded in the very blood of the state. Now it may just be my attraction to royalty, but this aspect drew me closer to Rajasthan than it has to any other state in India.

Completing this package of the sites and sounds of Rajasthan is the typical classical music originating from the state. In more places than one, this music was heard being played by men clad in traditional Rajasthani attire, appealing to the senses of those around them, most of which were tourists. Tourists are as essential, if not more, than what the place has to offer. It works like an audience to a stage production, spectators to a match. Without tourists, there isn't anyone to appreciate the uniqueness of a place, without tourists there isn't anyone to soak in the atmosphere typifying that place. The mutual relationship of a destination and a tourist, is one that is often taken for granted. This is where Rajasthan scores a definitive point over some of the other destinations in India. It caters to people who come to appreciate it, it keeps them in the centre of what it offers. From transport to cleanliness, a lot of what I saw made me want to return. The tourist in me is amused, interested, and most importantly, impressed and eagerly anticipating the next few days.

Long-lost Friends & Timeless Beauty

Indian Diary: Entry No. 1

03.08.2013: Day 2- en route Agra

As I sit back munching on the McDonald's Happy Meal, peeping out the window of what will be our second home over the next few hundreds of kilometres, the previous day blends with the green fields outside, flying by as we move ahead in our excursion. Road trips outdo any other form of journey for me, and when these involve big groups comprising of family and friends, the charm is enhanced. The fact that this particular trip involves my beloved India, manouevering through roads to whom I am a stranger, takes the excitement to previously unheralded levels.

Having stayed abroad for a majority of my life thus far, making a few sporadic appearances in the past years, these roads now greet me like a long-lost friend. There's a tinge of recognition, mixed with a semblance of hesitation while both decide who makes the first move towards the other, whether they should lean in for their once trademark embrace, or settle with a formal handshake for the moment. With time that hesitation slowly fades away, only for me to leave my friend again for a few months, at times over a year.

This probably explains why I've been to one of the greatest wonders of the would only once in my entire life thus far, despite hailing from a city less than 500 kms from Taj Mahal. Now as I head towards the Taj for a second time, my excitement stems from the anticipation of admiring the known beauty. Beauty dazzles easily when first set sight upon, but true appreciation of beauty is reflected when a known marvel leaves you awestruck. Here's hoping to be dazzled once again by the timeless temple of love that has managed to do just that to millions of people over hundreds of years. Wah Taj!