The Ides of August

“…At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom…” who can forget these famous speech! These lines resounded literally in my ears last night as I could not sleep since the power supply was disrupted and not restored till morning. But I am not losing hope, I am hopeful that at least by today evening before the independence day celebrations are over, we shall again have electricity. And, we should be thankful that we do not have to burn paraffin wax more than one or two nights in a row for light. We have a power connection!!! And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

Anyways, my day started and since I had to go for celebrations somewhere, I decided to have a quick bath. The tap in the bathroom started spewing muddy water as soon as I turned it on. The water seemed unfit even for irrigation. Hence I paused my bath and thought of enquiring the reason for the brownish black water in the bathroom. Our building association secretary told me that the rain gods have to be blamed for the same. I was puzzled, but she quickly explained that since this year it has rained less, hence the borewell is spewing mud with water. She was helpless and asked me to wait for the rains. I did not know that while living in this IT city, I was sharing destiny with the farmers in Vidharbha who wait for the rain clouds to be pleased for the farms to be irrigated. I never got this great feeling of brotherhood. And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

After somehow managing to make myself presentable, I caught-up with the morning newspaper to glance through the headlines. A shocker awaited me as the day’s headlines screamed about a ghastly incident about a couple who had become victims of honour killing in the hands of their own blood relatives. The couple’s intercaste marriage against the will of their familes was their only fault. They leave behind an 8 month old daughter. Caste is above human feelings and human life and even above an orphan infant’s helpless wails? 65 years have not changed certain things it seems – perhaps this is what is called rooted to tradition. And they say…we must feel proud!!! And indeed they are all honourable men.

Time to go! So without wasting any more time, I took-out my car on the road. Like every day, the road felt a little bumpier. The little rain that we had this year has been enough to leave its marks on the road in form of potholes. The ones formed yesterday have grown bigger today and the one forming today shall definitely grow deadlier tomorrow. I recalled that the road had been laid only last year. Wow! The road has lasted full one year! And think of it after these rain (or no rains) we have hopes for an all-new road once again! That’s too good…besides the new tarred surface that we shall get, it shall provide economic advantage to few. What if it that advantage is skewed in the favour of some? One of the PWD minister of a northern state has been reportedly quoted telling to the PWD employees that ‘if you work hard, you can steal a little’. New road…the thought of it sends me in a frenzy… And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

Still in my thoughts, I was driving my car and was yet to hit the main road. Just then I saw a group 5-6 kids playing on the road, enjoying their freedom. Since the kids were encroaching the road, I had to stop my car. What surprised me though was that adults accompanying the kids were standing on the roadside and happily chatting. When I asked the kids to move, the adults on the roadside glanced at me and again went back to their chat. I could overhear them talking about a biker who must have passed that place a while ago and they were cursing him – ‘what can’t he see the kids play, he should have not sped in that way…’Hmm! So it is the biker’s fault, after all kids would play on roads and he should have been more careful, right? Everyone here treats the road in front of his house or apartment as his own playing ground. What a great feeling of one community… And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

After negotiating the community lanes, I hit the main road and within seconds I found myself drowned in the sea of maddening traffic. But you know what, on our roads you can just overtake from any side you like, change lanes at you will, honk as much as you want, stop whenever and wherever you like to, turn your vehicle wherever the thought hit you of doing so, not get surprised if a cow or buffalo is in your company and so on. In truest sense, if you want to experience freedom, come and drive on our roads. Where else would you find a road that lets you do whatever you want… And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

The route that I took was to pass by a railway station. As my car reached near the station, there was a huge traffic jam. A multitude of people were scrambling to enter the premises of the railway station with their belongings. I was amazed at the huge unusual rush. I asked one person that had railways started some special train or given some independence day special offer that they were all mobbing the place. Instead, I was told that that there had been some threats of attacks that have been given to people from a particular north-eastern state, in light of the recent riots in that state and violence in another city. Fearing the attacks thousands of innocent civilians were forced to flee the city that they had chosen for their livelihood. I wondered whether it is the great migration post-independence that we were witnessing! Those who had issued the threat are among those people who never fail to ensure that we get to witness history even if we have missed creation of the same before, time and again. And they say…we must feel proud!!! And they are all honourable men.

I thought it best to turn my car back and return to the safe environs of my home. I was so happy to see my family again. Rest of the day I spent just enjoying the celebration on display in the ‘idiot box’. As I write these lines, I do not know who is preparing to take the capital on seize for their political gains as millions struggle to go to work or return back to homes, how many more girls are being killed in womb or how many brides are being burnt alive for money, how many girls are being harassed by the moral police brigade for teaching them a lesson… Surprisingly when I share this with people many of them tell me to be more positive and feel proud of our country’s rich heritage and history. And if they say…we must feel proud!!! After all they are all honourable men.