So
I was puffing away on one of my Cohiba Cuban Cigars when the very
personification of this Great Country MOTHER
INDIA appeared. I bowed to her in Great Reverence, Admiration and my
patented Humbleness that those on twitter know me for. Then this
conversation happened:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Me:
WOW! Mother India!!! What a delightful surprise! I’m so happy to see you!!
Oh! And by the way,
a Very Happy Birthday to you! Happy Independence
Day!!
Mother
India: Thank you Rakesh but I am in no mood to
celebrate
Me: But Why? You are after all the most awesome 65 Year Old of all
time?!!!! You should be partying, instead you are moping around! Why O Mother India?
Why doth thou mope?
Mother
India:
Well, where do we begin?
65 years ago I was happy, it was a glorious
time. I was birthed to a time and a people who were filled with hopes, dreams, aspirations
and were willing to work hard, honestly and sincerely. A people who treated
each other with generosity and respect. A people who were determined to build a
country....
Sure, they weren't perfect, they had faults
but they were the inheritors of FREEDOM.
A Freedom obtained after a struggle. What
others were born into, the Indians were made to work for.
It is the desecration of that sacred freedom
which has left me so gloomy at the age of 65. Down the line my children have
learnt to take it for granted instead of striving and working towards enriching
it…
Me: But! But! Things aren’t that bad Mother India. I mean surely you can’t
be that sad about your children!!
Mother India: Rakesh my son, I am certainly
not implying that. What distresses me is that the bad about India, far, far
outweighs the good...
Imagine
the whole of India as my body. From Kashmir
begins my head and at Kanyakumari
end my feet.
Gujarat is like a right hand and the Northeast
is like a left hand. The states in between make up my shoulders and neck.
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh make up my stomach.
What I’m trying to say is that each state is
an integral part of me and even if a single state or part is hurt then my
entire body is off balance. Even if a cell is damaged my entire body is in
pain.
More importantly, the body is like a
machine. The sum of the parts is what makes the whole. It’s what keeps the
system running. Even if one part is injured, it’s not just that part but the
whole entire body which bears the burden of the pain and discomfort.
BUT WHAT MAKES A GOOD BODY IS A DECENT MIND
AND A DECENT ENOUGH SOUL AND THOSE ARE MY CHILDREN.
MOTHER INDIA'S SOUL IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE
PEOPLE OF
INDIA and frankly I don't expect my
children to be extraordinary. I just want them to be decent people who treat
each other well...
Me: I think I understand, you have expectations from your children like
any Mother does...
Mother
India:
I never expected all my children to be like him –
I
just don’t want one son to harm another, like this fellow does:
Or
this fellow:
What
a Mother has belongs to all of her children but some of my children have become too greedy. They take from others what does not belong to them,
Me: Hmmm
Mother India: Scam
after scam has clotted my blood
Vidarbha is barren. When the rains fail
families starve and farmers kill themselves
There’s a never ending terror problem in
pretty much every part of the country. They’ve bombed Mumbai a million times
and don’t even get me started on 26/11....
Gujarat Riots, Fanatics, Naxalites,
Extremists, Terrorists, pretty much The Works...
Fake Encounters, Mafia Hits,
Media Pimps,
A Government that can’t seem to do anything
about anything and an Opposition that won't allow even that which can be done
to get done,
Then there's the usual crime problem, water problem,
electricity problem, extra special inflation problem, food grains rotting in
godowns etc, etc, etc,etc and more etc,etc
Baba Problem
Sex Baba Problem
A Lokpal Bill which is a Jokepal and pretty
soon Anna Hazare is promising an Independence Day Special with yet another
hunger strike because for the government to do something one must starve and
for a government to also not do anything one must starve!
Super No! I could go on and on, the list is
pretty much endless.
Now you tell me should I really be
celebrating my birthday in such an environment? Should I be happy? Must I
rejoice in the know that what I am supposed to represent means something
totally different these days? Or even worse means nothing at all? Is Apathy a
way of life to my children?
Me: At least we have Independence!
Mother India: That’s
true Rakesh, Independence is special and it’s beyond explaining in words alone.
But
it’s not Independence that we should be hailing. It’s not a case of INDEPENDENCE; it’s a case of IN DEPENDENCE
We
are IN DEPENDENCE on Money
IN DEPENDENCE on Growth
IN DEPENDENCE on Petrol
IN DEPENDENCE on the Monsoons
IN DEPENDENCE on Healthcare
IN DEPENDENCE on Roads
IN DEPENDENCE on Infrastructure
IN DEPENDENCE on Education
IN DEPENDENCE on Security
Once
again I could go on and on, the list is yet again endless.
BUT THAT WHICH INDIA IS MOST IN DEPENDENCE
OF IS THE 1.2 BILLION CITIZENS WHO MAKE MOTHER INDIA A MOTHER.
And if those who Mother India is IN
DEPENDENCE on don't try to be decent citizens then I will never be truly
independent.....
Me: But I know one thing that India has which will make you extremely
happy! Euphoric even, a cascading fountain of joy you will be drenched under!!!
Mother
India:
WHOA! OK I’m excited, what is it? Tell me my son Rakesh, what is that will make
me so happy?!
Me: Telebrands Mother India!
Telebrands!!!!!
TELEBRANDS!
SAARE JAHAN SE ACHCHA
TELEBRANDS HUMARA
