सफहा :)

तेरा नाम लिख कर जो कागज़ पे मैंने,
कुछ अल्फाजों से जब ये गुस्ताखी की थी,
यूँ लिपटी थी श्याही से कागज़ की सिलवट,
सफ्हे में मीठी इक ग़ज़ल बन गयी थी |
                              

देस मेरा रंगरेज ये बाबू !!

This is a song from the movie 'Peepli Live'. Such an amazing description of what we are as a country ! :) I couldn't resist writing it down and sharing with you all ! Appreciate the truth behind each of these words :) Wonderfully sung by the Indian Ocean band too.

देस मेरा रंगरेज ये बाबू,
घाट घाट यहाँ घटता जादू..

राई पहाड़ है, कंकड़ शंकर,
बात है छोटी बड़ा पतंगड़ |
इंडिया सर ये चीज़ धुरंधर !
रंग रंगीला परजा तंतर |

सात रंग सतरंगा मेला,
बदरंगा सा बड़ा झमेला |
गिरा गगन से खजूर में झेला,
सुख दुःख पकडम पकड़ी खेला|
एक रंग दुनिओ का निराला, एक रंग अज्ञानी,
रंग रंग में होड़ लगी है, रंग रंगे मनमानी|

सूखे नैना रुखी रतियाँ,
धुंधला धुंधला सपना |
आंसू भी नमकीन है प्यारे,
जो टपके सो चखना|

धुल गुबार में जंतर मंतर
बहार से भोला गहरा अन्दर|
इंडिया सर ये चीज़ धुरंधर !

जेब दलिद्दर, दिल है समुन्दर|

कोई न जाने कहाँ ठिकाना,
घूमे चक्कर, चलते जाना|
न है पानी, न है दाना,
ढूंढें इन्हें जीने का बहाना |

धड़कन जो परदेसी जाना,
इस मिटटी का हुआ दीवाना|
हर समुन्दर, गोपी चंदर,
डूब के जान तू कितना पानी|

'What on earth are we celebrating?'

I just finished reading this article on Yahoo! page on the eve of our Independence Day.

http://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/13/what-on-earth-are-we-celebrating

The author is searching for the reasons to celebrate but alas! She couldn’t find any. In fact, she says she would rather hang her head in shame tomorrow morning than celebrating the occasion.


I feel sorry that this learned journalist doesn’t understand the essence of national celebration. Agreed, that as a nation we are not where we should be after 64 years of independence. But this is no reason to feel ashamed. It should rather be a reason to motivate people to do more than what the previous generations have done. No country in the world is perfect! Even the USA after being the most developed nations faces the crisis of unemployment, financial instability, unrest among the people and what not! Does it make them feel ashamed?? No! It has rather spurted a new sense of national pride and unity among them. The post-crisis America is far more eager to take on the world.

National celebration instills the sense of hope and pride in people. It’s a mark of unity and is homage to people who sacrificed their lives to fight for our freedom. Had they hung their heads in shame citing the situations in pre-independent India, would this author be even here to feel shameful? 

If a crippled child was born to a couple, would they hesitate in celebrating his/her birthday? They surely will not be ashamed of their child, but would love to bring smile to life. Instead of ruing about this state, they would rather try to better things for him/her. Why not do the same to our country?

It’s demeaning to ignore the reasons to celebrate and surrender to the temptation of lambasting the status-quo of our country. Let us not lose the sight of forest for its trees! The reasons to celebrate far outweigh the number of worries.

The sheer joy of standing under the national flag with fellow beings and sing the national anthem fills me with unmatched pride. I will, for sure, hold my head high and will proudly celebrate our Independence Day! Vande Matram !