WHEN I SHOUTED 'JAI HIND' WITH THE CROWD, LAST NIGHT





Pic.: Chetna Shetty


Like millions all over the globe, my wife and I, too, watched the live relay of P.M. Modi’s speech at Madison Square, last night.

What I was more interested in was this: How was my own mind filtering in what it was watching and hearing!

When my mind saw Mr. Modi as a BJP or RSS leader, it heard him differently... When the Gujarat riots and Godra images started coming before me, I saw him differently... On the other hand, when I dropped those thoughts, when I chose to see the fact that Mr. Modi had risen above all the petty politics and kept unfolding before us, with all his honesty, ‘the grand plan’ to make our nation great, vibrant and proud... when I felt he igniting in each one of us that self-belief – that, you and I need not be in politics, need not be some leaders, but we all can make difference in our own respective fields, by doing our respective works with the best of the best dedication and passion...

When, I chose to take in ‘hope’ and ‘self-belief’ from Mr. Modi’s sincere address, I really did not care as to which party and cadre he came from; I really did not care for what had happened in the past in the form of riots or whatever... I was only interested in hope, self-belief... I wanted to be the part of the grand plan he was unveiling before the world... I wanted to be a contributor and not a blamer... I wanted to do it from the sphere of my own operation, from what I was blessed to do best in life... Yes, I wanted to lend my hand to him... wanted to scream aloud with the crowd – ‘Jai Hind’...’Jai Hind’... ‘Jai Hind’.

I felt, immensely moved when he teased as he ended, “My friends, I have kept the fast, not you... Shout loudly... and I did with the crowd:

‘JAI HIND’... ‘JAI HIND’... ‘JAI HIND’!

For four days, the man had been only on water, travelling frantically in a foreign land... and, as he put it colorfully, he was there on a ‘mission’ and not on a ‘vacation’!

I, really, felt inspired...

It is the leadership that holds a nation together... It is hope and self-belief that each and every heart yearns to hang on to... It is the grand plan that we all want to be a part of; it is the great, inspiring saga that we all want to play a role in...

Nobody believes in sad and horror stories for long... What purpose do they serve?

Nobody buys lies after a certain point of time... What purpose do they serve?

I was a school-boy when JFK was the American President. We had a lesson about him in our school textbook... I remember feeling excited about JFK even from my remote village, not knowing which party he belonged to, even which country he headed... All that I cared for was he was a dreamer, someone who made the entire world dream... And, I remember that very, very well...

That, dreams are good; that dreams inspire us to live life with passion, hope and self-belief!

So, last night, it was, probably, the American school-boys, who must have been getting to see, hear and read about the Indian dreamer – P.M. Mr. Narendra Modi...

Hope, passion and self-belief know no boundaries of nations...

Power of dreams helps mankind to keep its head high and walk...

“What a man!” that’s how my wife concluded last night...

And, that’s how I did, too!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Anonymous said…
True, it is hope and self-belief that inspires a whole nation. .. Rahul
September 29, 2014 at 3:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...