India celebrated its 68th republic day on 26th January this year. As usual the social media was overflowing with pictures of people with Indian flags. More importantly a flame of patriotism was lit up in every Indian heart.
Like all other social media, WordPress had a lot of interesting articles. From talking about people’s attitude of being only occassional patriots to the unknown facts about India. Every one of them was different and thought provoking. I thought that I should write about something that’s not mentioned by anyone yet(as per my knowledge).
There are a lot of known and unknown facts about India among people around the world. The achievements are no secrets. But, not many know about the people, their way of living, the magic and love that still prevails in this society.
Google seems to have an answer to all our questions but to know the heart and soul of India we just need eyes to see and an honest heart to understand.
India is home to the world’a second largest population and the most number of cultures and traditions. A walk in a busy market is what it takes to see the heart beat of India. You’ll see so many different things by just standing and observing the common man.
You’ll see children requesting their parents to buy them a toy which they fell in love with on first sight. The parents will be quick to turn down the request and also put on an angry face saying,”Behave yourself!” These loud and innocent cries symbolise the warmth and purity of the child parent relationship. In some other places children don’t request, they just order. You’ll see a bunch of girls around ladies shops, talking to each other about something new they bought and comparing which one’s better. Boys walking around and if they happen to see a beautiful girl, they’ll try to see her till she’s out of their sight and maybe carry on looking to admire another beauty. They better not try it in another country. You’ll see a mother carrying her child in the hot or cold weather and always making sure that the child is not even in the least discomfort. Father’s taking their children to schools. People running to work. Crazy fans outside theatres anxiously waiting to see their superstars. You’ll hear prayers being recited in temples, mosques and churches. So much happening in just one place. It’s that just amazing?
Another suggestion would be a journey on a train. The train is by far the best mode of transport of you want to sense the essence of a country. In India look out of the window, you’ll see deserts and within hours it’ll be agricultural lands. There will be mountains and another moment you’ll be riding across a river. If that doesn’t interest you, just let your senses focus inside the train. The elder passengers will be discussing political issues and also debating on the Prime Minister’s policies. These people are sometimes total strangers, still they’ll be talking as if they have known each other for ages. As the train changes states, the snacks brought by the caterers keeps changing. With the progressing journey even the language spoken in your compartment keeps changing. The attire of the co-passengers will transform. Pants initially might end up in Dhotis and Lungis(these are Indian attires).
For all foreigners India is indeed a land of unbelievable diversity. The diversity is so vast that even we born Indians don’t know everything about our country.
I flew out of my country for the first time 3 years ago. Till that moment I considered my India to be ordinary but now I know how extraordinary this country is with so many extraordinary and talented human beings in it.
Every country in the world is special in its own way but it’s human tendency to not love what is our own. No matter who we are and where we are from there is one thing we should remember,”We are all humans, complexion might vary but blood flows in all our bodies and humanity should be our priority.