Taare Zameen Par!

The Day has dawned, and the Year 2008 is before us!

It is winter here in Delhi, but as I look out of the window, the sun is bright, spreading warmth around. The parakeets are having fun, chattering away incessantly. The peepal tree stands majestically, its million leaves dancing sensuously in the gentle breeze. Flowers of many hues dot the garden below. The lone owl sits silently on its perch, probably oblivious of the unfolding day, and year.

A nice sunny day is what one looks forward to on a wintry morning – certainly on the very first day of the year.

Another year has bid adieu, and life moves on into the New Year. The year past has had its ups and downs and highs and lows, and the coming year cannot be any different either. It is often said that life is a roller coaster ride; life is also what we want it to be. Obviously, it cannot be roses all the way; it is a truism that even roses come with thorns. One has to be down to earth and realistic about what is in store – for oneself or for the nation.

Like the owl outside, one cannot be oblivious of one’s surroundings, individuals and events that impact on one’s day to day life. A thousand things influence our thoughts and deeds, whether we want it that way or not. Joys and sorrows will come our way, so will turbulence and tranquility. How well one can cope with all these will depend upon many factors, especially mental equanimity.

As a nation too, we will have to confront many issues – internal and external, both. Like individuals, a nation also cannot afford to swing between extremes. Equanimity and poise are equally important for a nation as much as they are for its citizens. Over and above all these, we will need leaders with sagacity and statesmanship, leaders with a vision and farsightedness.

I read with keen interest dear friend PK Madhavan’s post in iLand on `Indianness’ http://pkmadhu.rediffiland.com. In his characteristically erudite style, PKM has made an informed analysis of what is `Indianness’. When we have such forceful posts, it is but natural that there will be informed comments also. While reading the post and the many comments thereon, I was greatly impressed by the different dimensions of `Indianness’ that emerged on iLand.

On the very first day of the New Year, it is this `Indianness’ which PKM and other friends in iLand delineated that gives me hope for India and its billion plus people. I see India as a continuum, a civilization which, through the millennia, has given birth to several major religions and which has assimilated the best of several other religious philosophies too in a substantive way. The passage of thousands of years has not diminished in any manner the idea and the ideal that is India.

It is not to suggest that India is a nation without spots and stains; yet, warts and all, we have survived as one people. We also have overcome many challenges and withstood many upheavals in the course of our long and chequered history. Time and again, we have proved Doubting Thomases and prophets of doom wrong. What stands out in India as a nation is its innate and inherent resilience: every day, through the centuries, we have faced the gravest of crises and every time, we have come out, a little scarred may be, but stronger than before. It is this resilience that sets India apart from other nations and peoples.

Today, India’s is one of the fastest growing economies of the world, and we are acknowledged as a force to be reckoned with, albeit grudgingly by some. On the other hand, poverty and penury continue to visit millions of households in the country. Many children – the nation’s future – go without food, shelter and clothing. For them, school is only a distant dream, and hard labour and drudgery, a reality. Inadequate healthcare, rampant unemployment, unbridled corruption, mafia politics and the cancer of communalism are certainly not aberrations; they are very much a threat to the largest working democracy in the world. If left unchecked, they will undermine the very edifice of a nation built on the blood, toil and tears of millions.

But hope springs from many quarters, including from the much-maligned political class. One can discern a new set of young leaders emerging in every major political party who think and act differently and positively. The higher judiciary has been a beacon in troubled times. A vigilant media too has been an asset in bringing to light the travails of the people and the omissions and commissions of the establishment. A new generation of Indians is growing up, exuding confidence and conviction. All of these, undoubtedly, augur well for the nation.

More than anything else, the emergence of a vibrant civil society has been a redeeming feature of the recent decades. A good number of conscientious voluntary organizations are working in different fields – education, health care, women and child welfare, rural development, environmental cause, etc. The `functioning anarchy’ as it was once reviled, India today is looking ahead with a radiant optimism, thanks to such non-governmental organizations which are indubitably the sentinels of our democracy.

Hope also wells up from public domains like iLand which, in spite of myriad limitations, provide a forum for productive interactions and meaningful exchange of views on a host of issues that need urgent attention and action. We come to know of laudable initiatives like Saaksham Kids http://sakshamkids.org of literacy missions, of agencies working for environmental protection, organizations involved in women’s emancipation, healthcare schemes, forums against bonded labour and the like. A community portal like iLand offers ample scope, among other things, for purposive discussions and informed debates – something which should be consciously nurtured by its users.

Let us hope the year ahead will lots bring of joy and happiness to all – and more importantly peace.

Let us also hope that the twinkling stars will further brighten up this nation’s future…

Photo courtesy: Internet