By Ramita Taneja
Bhag Milkha Bhag… a scene in the movie when Milkha Singh wins over a Pakistani athlete, got me something running down my spine. I visualised myself standing in the crowd cheering for my country. Everyone in the movie hall stood up and clapped, we applauded the moment of the past.
A feeling of national pride could be seen on every face.
A visit to Wagah border and my son wanted to join the army the very next day – the stomping feet, the cheering of crowd, the calls of soldiers and we become Indians in true sense.
The trip to the border or the three hour movie has ended long back and so does the feeling of patriotism… I remember rushing home abusing the roads; the coke-can which I threw because there was anyway enough filth; while jumping the traffic signal I had abused the unorganised, uncivilised, uncultured India.
How short is our memory – Should someone be constantly reminding us of our roots, our duties!!
Actually, why not??
What would happen if every morning at a particular time the National Anthem is played/sung all over the country. Everything coming to a temporary hold for less than a minute – precisely 52 seconds – the commuters, the buses, the housewives, the panwala, the board members, the ministers, the vendors, the school children. Every citizen would stop in Bihar, in Varanasi, in Odisha, in Maharastra, in Kashmir, in Andaman just everywhere.
All FM Stations, all TV channels, Doordarshan playing only one tune Jan Gun Mun. The person behind me may not know Hindi but for these 52 seconds we would communicate in the language we both know, the ‘language of love and brotherhood’.
What a beautiful morning it would be when visitors from the foreign land would call India Charming, than calling it a land of Snake Charmers.
I pray for those 52 seconds when everyone would sing ‘Jan Gan Man Adhinayak…’ Maybe the melodious music will wake our dead feelings for our motherland – Our country, Hamara Hindustan!!
