Our Tryst with Destiny: Our Anna Hazare

In the midnight speech, Dr. Jawaharlal Nehru said something that became immortal in time. “Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.”-. It is time that India asks how substantial is substantial enough and why we cannot redeem our pledges wholly or in full measure. At the age of 73 one man’s spirit keeps getting stronger than the entire nations will that has been subdued.

                                

He has been called the modern Mahatma Gandhi, the next ray of hope and is supposed to be leading our second fight for independence. Which leads me to implicate are we really free, are we really independent. Do we really want this one man to succeed or are we really scared to see a change at this scale. Many a times in the past we have been conditioned to oppression and we seem to have adapted to it.

                               In the past couple of days, google the largest and most powerful search engine, measured how keen we were on finding out more about Anna Hazare, and the searches increased almost about 15 times the normal search volume index. It seemed as though we all wanted to know, who this one man is, and why his dreams, his ideals fascinated and challenged so many.

For the lucky few who did find out more about the person know Anna Hazare as someone who is probably the living example of what the largest democracy in the world, has to go through, to prove our Democracy can function if we let it. Our democracy can make a difference if we become a part of the change.  Our democracy listens if we are loud enough sometimes to be heard.

We won the cricket world cup this time one of the largest wins in our history, I think Anna’s victory was a larger one. One that cannot be comprehended, and merely put forward in gestures and words. It is a win for the human spirit, the passion we carry as an Indian. It is a victory for all those 1 billion people who love to sing their national anthem for about a minute and still fight battles with no weapons. For a country that has seen so much turmoil, this is more than resurrection of the Gandhian principle, it is rebirth of a free society we helped make independent over 50 years ago.

                             In the times to come, Anna Hazare will live beyond mere definitions and ideals and thoughts, but I hope he lives as a hope, as a faith that lets so many of us move with him. As the nation celebrates and our beloved Anna breaks fast I find that our tryst with destiny has finally begun and it is only a matter of time by which we shall redeem our pledge for an India we truly believe in.

Jai Hind

A RELIGION CALLED CRICKET: AND ITS GODS

People often say faith comes unconditionally when you want to believe in something. For me the idea that a single idea, a single god and a single religion could define so much of our lives seemed rebellious. In a country of over a billion people, where everybody is praying for something or the other, it is only a matter of time before you realize you are a part of the whole process.

       On the 2^nd of April, as on many other occasions, I saw a different kind of faith among people. A religion that seemed to have transgressed all boundaries and their gods seemed unbeatable. For a country that breathes, eats, sleeps and now even bleeds blue, cricket had become the largest followed religion in the free world today. We celebrated as though our prayers had been answered by these mortal gods and yet there was an essence of something supernatural that had happened.

                 We belong to a country where the right to experience the thrill of cricket belongs to everyone. You may be millions of miles apart and yet the heart seems to be beating in a rhythm. In the test of time and again this religion has grown far and wide and its followers have only become more ardent believers in it. There is nothing that this religion demands however, apart from a little faith and prayer to keep the god’s doing what they are good at. The best of cricket at the best of times and a little inspiration to keep people going a long way.

Many will argue what this game has done for the common man, and I often see the answer in inspired children, in young minds who want to achieve something and even the grownups that need to smile once in a while in this stressed out life. The forms of admiration are many and so are the rewards we derive on the receiving end.

          I dedicate this piece to these gods, our mortal heroes, our faith keepers. Though shall live in time for eternity. And we may remember 2011 for many things, but I know we will remember it most as the year we brought the world cup back home again.

We will not accept defeat in the test of time, we will not let go of our dreams tonight.

We may be just living for so many years to come, but we create history in everybody’s sight.

They will come home like champions, like gods of another day,

We find you living on in a billion hearts, and worshipped in the religion we call Cricket today.