Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A Spirited Pride

When I was 11 years old, Dada (that’s my elder brother) told me I was defensive. I disagreed, only to realize 10 years later (that’s 2 years back) that I was.
(Though, if he’s to be trusted I’m also irritating, repulsive, a pain in the a** and basically shouldn’t have been born in the first place ;) but let’s not go into that presently... :)

I recently realized that this defensiveness of mine is extendable(yeah wrong word but who cares?), and covers not only me but my family, friends, relatives, and (surprisingly?) my country.

I’ve found that when it comes to India, my defensiveness takes the shape of Aggressive Patriotism, owing to which I become almost antagonistic with whoever belittles my country, or talks badly of it.

I spent a lot of time in London arguing with people who insisted that

  • the Rick Guys in Mumbai leave their home in the morning pledging to fleece at least 435 NRIs/ tourists;
  • Snake Charmers and Elephants freely roam the streets while fakirs dance naked and fat Maharajas belch;
  • anyone who earns a fair bit only have to snap their fingers to conjure 100 odd servants to do their bidding;
  • Life in India is so much ‘Easier’ etc.

(yeah I’m exaggerating a bit, but what can you do about it? Hyuk. Hyuk.)

Well, whenever such charges came up, I responded immediately, with anything between intelligent, logical argument to unreasonable and irrational justifications, just to put my point across.

My point being; that I’m proud of my country, and not apologetic about it.

I’m not denying that there are things that are wrong about India, but so is the case with every other country, na? Let’s take a moment and reflect how India is decidedly Unique, and has reasons to be Proud; reasons even beyond Tajmahal and Democracy and Tradition and Beauty.

So here goes…

  • Most of the population speaks at least two languages. And pretty effortlessly.
  • Whether it’s Diwali, or Id, or Ganesh Chaturthi, people irrespective of their religions will celebrate the festival together, truly joined by spirit.
  • No matter who’s getting married, if there’s a band playing on the road, you can go start dancing and you’ll be more than welcome (try it, if you haven't already)
  • Whether it be Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi or Bangalore, each city has a different Spirit you can’t help but perceive... and enjoy.
  • When there’s an India Pakistan cricket match, there’s no one outside and total strangers gather at shops to watch the match together. And when India wins, people dance on the roads and make a ruckus (I Love this part so much!!)
  • People are emotional to the limit of being Dramatic; and that’s totally endearing.
  • If you’re a guest at somebody's place, they’ll let you take their room and sleep in the lounge themselves.
  • You can have 50 guests at your home no matter how small it is… people will manage in one bathroom, sleep on the floor, and yet enjoy themselves to the hilt.
  • People will do anything for the sake of Love, Loyalty and Friendship, and proudly at that, and believe in these values from the bottom of the heart.
  • Everyone has an opinion about everything, and everything is everyone’s business.. :)

The list, actually, is Endless... but this shall do for now. A lot of the points are generalised, but had i written 'Almost Everyone' instead of 'Everyone' it would have pretty much defeated the purpose, and my post's tone as well.... :)

No matter which country we belong to, it doesn't become any of us to talk badly of the place we come from. For me, defending my country is a part of respecting it (though this might not hold true for the next person) and I'll defend it tooth and tooth (i would have fought tooth and nail, but i ran out of nails while assembling the Do-It-Yourself furniture at Dido's).

Bad jokes apart (I know they aren't bad, but I'm modest) I'm Extremely Proud of India, and Everything Indian.
And if I'm overdoing the Patriotic bit, it's because I'm capable of overdoing just about anything. To the point when i become irritating, repulsive and a pain in the a**...
Hey, What do you know? Dada was right about that as well... :)