Friday, January 29, 2010

Indian..?? A proud Indian..??

Do you guys feel patriotic..??

Its just a question. I mean, yeah, I feel patriotic. And this time it was Ramit who made me feel so. Well actually the credit goes to Kacie who, in her post, talked about a Burmese couple in The US earning merely earning $1000 a month and supporting a family of 9 people.

A lot of Indians share the same story as this couple. If I have to give an appropriate example for you to visualise such a scenario then 3 idiots's Raju Rastogi (played by Sharman Joshi) is apt to imagine. Since I was born I have lived in Delhi and trust me, it is a boon to live in one of the metropolitan cities. Every year I go to this temple somewhere in Rajasthan and it a sight to watch. It saddens me when I see people living in such misery. We have to walk through the village to reach the temple and what I see there is too heartbreaking. And I am sure that not one of these people complain. Not like we do in Delhi.

Do you remember even a single day when you did not crib. A single day when you did not curse anybody.

Did you not curse the maid for not cleaning the house properly.
Did you not curse the beggars for dirtying your shiny car when the fellow was just trying to wipe it and earn Rs. 2 from it.
Did you not curse the MCD for digging the roads thereby increasing the traffic and the chaos.
Did you not curse your wife, your mother, your cook for putting extra salt in your food.
Did you not curse your boss for he kept you waiting and still shouted at you for not finishing the work.
Did you not curse DMRC because they failed to accomodate the regular commuters but not once you appreciated that they finally brought a metro line in areas which were not connected with the rest of Delhi.
Did you not curse the BRT corridor for not making a separate road for autorikshaws because they keep coming in your way. I know your cursed the rikshaw walas and auto wala for that too.
Did you not curse your slow internet speed of 1 Mbps because you couldnt complete the transaction over the net.
Did you not curse the vegetable wala, the dhobi, the dhoodh wala, the postman the electrician, the plumber because they were not available at your disposal.

I too do the same. We have learned to curse every soul around us. But what about those who have not even heard about an internet let alone crib for its slow speed.

But lets look at those who get nothing. They do not have a car like you do, nor do they have a surround sound music system or even an LCD TV. They do not huge houses like we have. And they have no servants. Not even an iphone. No they have nothing out of these. But yes they have something which we do not have. A huge family to support with a meagre income. And please don't talk about family planning. population control and birth control pills and condoms. I really feel that these concepts are alien to these low income families not because they cannot understand these but because they really need people in their family and they give birth hoping that one person out of all of them would earn and support them. Alas, it doesnt happen that way either.

But it doesnt matter. We have learned to talk about things like these, grieve their existence, curse Indian system for the condition of the underprivileged and then move on with our life and do nothing about it. I dont blame you for this. I too do that. I too get sad when I think about the people but who have to work day and night to make both ends meet. I too shove this thought and move on in my life.

Frankly this is not how I wanted this post to be like. I wanted to talk about my love for India and how patriotic I get at times. I wanted to talk about the Republic day, the Independence day and the like. I wanted to tell you how the patriotic songs like AR Rehman's Vande Matram stirs emotions in me. I wanted to tell you that I like the original "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" more than I like the newly launched version because it takes me back to the times I have grown up in. 2 days back, I pointed these things out to Ramit. But, today, a different set of emotions took the better of my patriotism.

I love India. Instead of being bothered about the over crowded roads, metros, internet connection, MCD's complaints, we should look beyond our own cities and towns. Peek into those far flung villages and see what life exists there.

18 comments:

Punia said...

Chandni ready 2 join politics or may be Indian Army..... :-P

Chanz said...

Hahaha... u never know.. :P

supriya said...

True..the condition which prevails in these areas is really poor...!
but that won't justify their being baby-making machines anyhow. I mean...the kids wont start earning right away as they are born...
And when they can't fill their stomachs...why do they increase the number then.
Half of the problems can be solved just by population control....and we all know it very well. No excuse can cover it up.

The Bald Guy said...

Very well said Chanz. The disparity between the have's and the have not's is slowly increasing it seems. And no one does anything about it except curse.

Kacie has indeed done a very sweet thing by helping them out and teaching them about life in a new country. Kudos to her.

Sorcerer said...

well said..
we Indians have found rhythm in chaos.
I think thats the one that keep us moving ahead as a NATION

annum said...

Mother Teresa, Shobhaa de, Lata Mangeshkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Dr. Kalam, Kiran bedi, Dr. Manmohan Singh and many others not listed here also bring a sense of pide in us for India. Kudos to them.

Kacie said...

Thanks for linking to me, Chanz! I haven't been to India but I've been on the border (I was in Pakistan), and I just love so much about your culture. I do appreciate much about America and I am American, but I didn't grow up here and now it doesn't feel like home. I can't wait to leave when my husband gets his graduate degree.

I do love how your post changed into a post about the many people around you who don't have a lot. I think that's one way that countries keep growing - you need to have good and growing business, but you also have to reach out and help to educate the poor and give them chances, otherwise only a few people will grow wealthy and the rest of the country will never change.

And then of course there are my religious beliefs - I believe all people are made my God and are precious to Him, so I must love them too! :)

Nipun said...

Thats the true spirit of our nation.
Hats off to u this time chanz...:)
Some real cool work..

Cheers

Nuts

Renu said...

Its always so heartening to read such posts..I always believe in....I thanked god for my shoes when i saw a man with no foot...we must always be thankful to God who as given us plenty..its we for who glass is half empty or half full, as we want tose eit.

Chanz said...

@ Supriya : there is something called "benefit of doubt'... they get it too.. true, that they cannot just keep increasing the population.. but they get the benefit of doubt only because they cannot make a trade off between the two... 1) to produce kids so that atleast one would support them.. 2) understanding that they cannot support him till the child attains that age that he can support them..

Chanz said...

@ The Bald Guy : Kudos to Kacie... And to a lot many people who actually do something for the underprivileged.. Wish I too could (would) do something...

Chanz said...

@ annum : yeah sweety... There are so many people who have done something remarkable and they do need appreciation...

Chanz said...

@ Sorcy : Lol... As long as we keep moving, there is no harm in living in chaos...

Chanz said...

@ Nipun : Geeez, Thanks... :)

Chanz said...

@ kacie : i really respect your belief honey... Yes. we are all his children and hence we must all love each other.

You are a nice woman Kacie.. Keep up the good work.. :)

Chanz said...

@ Renu : ofcourse we must thank God for all that we have for some people do not have even that.. We ae among the lucky ones so lets not exploit what we have in abundance...

Saurabh Panshikar said...

Hey nice post. Now I do live in a village (tho I have a broadband connection here)

But having lived in a metro (for my education) and now a village, its really tough to cope when you get used to the urban life.

Frankly speaking I prefer the village living with the sweet innocent and lovable people rather than the practical and matlabi crowd of the city.

only when we get the experience of both the world, we realise that we are a lucky lot! nice post for the people who are constantly cribbing

Chandni (Chanz) said...

@ Suarabh : True. We just need to live both the lives inorder to understand which one is better. I have never lived ina village but yes, I have visited villages and stayed there for a day. It just makes me feel that life can become simple and yes, there are very simple things which mke it beautiful..