āLong 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. At the stroke of
the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.
Aā¦ā
āWake up! You idiot.ā
āHow dare you interrupt free Indiaās first Prime Ministerās
speech?ā
My sister is in a hurry to leave the house. Parents out of
station. Before she leaves the house, I must be awakened to do the morning
chores. The house maid must be buzzed in. Plants in our garden must be watered.
And of course, I have to go to the office.
A Prime Minister of a new born country being woken up
cruelly when he is in the middle of waking up the whole country! The world has lost
its sense of priorities and important issues.
āI will be home late. No dinner for me. Donāt you dare waste a second getting off that fart smelling bed.ā She is quite nice, my sister, otherwise. Thud. The car moves hastily out on the street and I wonāt see her untilā¦ an hour?
āI will be home late. No dinner for me. Donāt you dare waste a second getting off that fart smelling bed.ā She is quite nice, my sister, otherwise. Thud. The car moves hastily out on the street and I wonāt see her untilā¦ an hour?
Okay, so as I was saying my fellow Indians,
āā¦ A moment comes, which comes but rarely in
history, when we step out from the old to the new ā when an age ends, andā¦ā
āBhaiyya (Brother)!
Open the door. Or I am moving on to the next house. Then donāt complain about
the floor being unclean till late in the day.ā
āSeriously, are you insane lady?ā āHave you got the slightest clue what platform I am on, the hugeness of this moment. Years from now, students will be revising this speech on their hand-held devices, yes without wires, to be delivered in their school functions. After which their beaming parents will buy them their favourite game stations.
āSeriously, are you insane lady?ā āHave you got the slightest clue what platform I am on, the hugeness of this moment. Years from now, students will be revising this speech on their hand-held devices, yes without wires, to be delivered in their school functions. After which their beaming parents will buy them their favourite game stations.
āI am leaving,ā a blank threat issued.
"Forget it. Why would you care in 1947?ā I open the door with heavy footsteps.
"Forget it. Why would you care in 1947?ā I open the door with heavy footsteps.
āI am sorry fellow parliamentarians. Back to work for
āso-called larger issuesā as my sister terms it."
ā ...an age ends, and
when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that
at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India,
and her people, and to the still larger cause of humanity.ā
I open one eye peeping over my blanket. āReally! No sound,
nothing to remove, close, open or do?ā Fine then.
āAunty, donāt forget to switch off the heater before you leave and please water the plants. Iāll make sure you get a raise this month. Please, please.ā
āAunty, donāt forget to switch off the heater before you leave and please water the plants. Iāll make sure you get a raise this month. Please, please.ā
10:22! I jump with both eyes and feet taut. Itās funny how I precisely read the digital time display on the bedside table while I scramble
out.
An hour late at the office, my peers look resigned and
hopeless.
The day passes uneventfully except a dressing down from boss. Everyone on the other side of the glass cabin, that separated me and my boss from the office floor, were all eyes towards our figures. He was animated for the first 20 minutes or so, but regretfully, next was my turn. The
soul suppressed found utterance and flung itself out for maybe larger cause of
humanity.
...At the dawn of history
India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries which are filled
with her striving and the grandeur of her successes and her failures...
As the newly elected president of the local residentsā
association, I get embroiled in a plethora of allegations of ill-will and
corruption. Me and the office-bearers come clean only to launch a fierce
attack on our staunchest opponent groups. Some of these include my predecessors
to the post. There is a history here and I cannot be an exception to the
partisan legacy.
Half of societyās humanity smiled and the other half gave me middle-finger expressions as I walked the steps of success and failure back to
my house.
...Through good and ill
fortunes alike, she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals
which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India
discovers herself again...
Contemplating future careers, I walk back from office. I forget to buy vegetables. So, no dinner today. This was certainly not my first time. At the very moment I make the nation
see the path of rejuvenation, my sister blasts me. So much for
forgetting ill-fortune and discovering yourself.
I look around for help. The nation is hearing me with
bated-breath, awaiting post British future. Much to my irritation, my
sister, society and the boss (who I gladly gave back) continue to engage me
trivially.
A parliament is not a place for all this? Arenāt there marshals or something to throw out people interrupting proceedings, that too, the Prime Minister?
Then a loud voice threatens. I realise I have no sister though I always had wanted one. An elder sister. I slipped. It wasnāt from a podiumā¦ a school
bench?
Wait a minute. Am I wearing a frock?
Wait a minute. Am I wearing a frock?
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