The Proudest Moment of My Life Yet

The most touching video I have ever seen relating to the elections is about the first voter of independent India – Mr. Shyam Saran Negi, who has cast his vote in every election since 1951. The video reinforced my faith in the saying that every vote counts. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuXU989B2p8

           I found another inspiration to vote – my cousin brother, who went to cast his vote even though he had a pretty injured leg. Here’s the link to his blog: http://nixieslife.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/the-day-i-stood-on-my-legs-again/

The Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) elections started from 7^th April 2014 and were done in multiple phases. This was the lengthiest election in the history of India as the elections lasted till 12^th May. A notable feature about these elections was the tremendous rise in the number of contesting candidates (most of them were independent). Popular faces in the entertainment industry and many sports personalities contested from various constituencies. The main reason that made the election special to me was the fact that I was a part of the 10 crore first-time voters.

Almost every other billboard in the city were adorned with posters relating to elections – while some of them were urging people to exercise their most basic fundamental right: the right to vote; the others belonged to the political parties trying to sway people in their favour. The political jokes, advertisements and campaigns became increasingly in-your-face as the day of elections, 24^th April, grew closer. The theme of almost every advertisement had something to do with elections and this monotonicity became irritating after a while.

 The morning sun showed no mercy and the humidity coupled with heavily-crammed dusty and smelly surroundings didn’t help either. We had to walk some distance as cars were not allowed due to the narrow roads. A lone broom stood near the polling station (My parents joked that it was strategically placed by the Aam Aadmi Party!) Boredom and impatience slowly set in as my queue moved hardly a few inches in about half an hour. Another slow half-hour later I made it to the polling booth. After checking my name in the list of voters my finger was inked and I was directed to the polling booth, where I finally saw what an EVM looked like for the first time (you don’t get to see this appliance anywhere else :P)

Though the process was long and tiring (the wait in the queue was really boring), I felt that it was totally worth it. An inexplicable sense of happiness filled me as I saw my freshly-inked finger. Maybe it was because I care about my country…or maybe because my vote made a difference. Either way, the patriot in me was beaming with pride.

Celebrating India

Here is the article I wrote which recently got published in the college magazine

“Being humans we hold little regard for the things we are gifted with and aspire for those we don’t have access to. This phenomenon applies to our culture as well. Undoubtedly the richest in cultural heritage, India seems to be fast losing its identity to numerous acquired traits and even brands.

Always on the go to chase our dreams, we treat the vital elements of our life, like family and culture, that bind us together, as insignificant. We bypass the greater picture of love, care and sharing while remaining engrossed in painting our own small one. Years down the line, we realize our follies and feel heavy at heart with regret.

Ours is one of the oldest civilizations on earth with a rich cultural history. A predominantly Hindu country, India has embraced all faiths – Islam, Christianity and Hinduism to name a few – with open arms. The countless sects within Hinduism alone are replete with their own cultural practices and folklore. About 1652 recognized languages in our country divide us but we still stand as one unit and represent ‘Unity in diversity’.

India has been a major contributor to global development. The first ever surgery in the world history was performed on this soil by Sushruta in the Vedic Age. The concepts of zero, pi and Pythagoras Theorem were all conceived here. In fact the Pythagoras theorem was pioneered in India long before even Pythagoras was born. The birthplace of Yoga and Ayurveda, this land was also an important center for trade and learning many thousands of years ago.

There is so much to celebrate about Indian culture – folklore, music, dance, theatrical forms, languages and literature, art and architecture, festivals and cuisines. The pride in being a part of our Punyabhoomi is most elating.

All said and done, it disheartens me to see that our culture, which has withstood the test of time for ages, is gradually withering.

The influence of western culture in the past few decades is a major driving factor for this. Stimulated by the exponential growth of media and accessibility to the Internet, its impact is greater than that of any past invasions. What really baffles me is whether our culture will withstand this onslaught or not. Without concrete efforts to revive it, the chances that we can preserve our age old culture are slim. However, I am sure that gradually, with each of us doing our bit, we can accomplish this challenging task.”

Your comments are most welcome.

The Backbone of Mumbai

“हम तेरे बिन अब रह नहीं सकते, तेरे बिना क्या वजूद मेरा?”

The above line may be the opening line of a recent popular song, but surely is the best compliment any Mumbaikar can give to the local train. Roughly translating, it says “I cannot live without you…I can’t imagine my existence without you”. Wikipedia stats say that the daily ridership is about 2.64 million. The mere figure shows the central role it plays in so many lives. The railway line is the oldest in Asia
“Mumbai Local”, as it is fondly known, is the backbone of my city. It is that one of the things that makes us Mumbaikars fall in love with the place. People rightly say that if one can manage to adjust to the rough rush hours in Mumbai Local, he can adjust to any place in the world. Keeping in mind the chaos caused by delaying of one Ladies’ Special Train, a day without the Local is almost impossible to imagine. To me though, Mumbai Local has been a teacher, teaching me valuable lessons of patience and adjustment.

The most valuable lesson I have learnt is compassion. The helpfulness of the fellow commuters always brings a smile to my face. Whether it’s helping the confused first-timers who catch the fast Local by mistake or helping someone alight by pushing them out, people don’t hesitate.  The best of human nature is usually seen in a crisis. Be it the floods of 2005 or the bombings of 2006, Mumbai Local bounces back to normal in hardly any time.     

I have had some of my experiences in the train. The best part is that there is never a dull moment. In my case, most of my travelling time is spent observing the landscape and the people. I see new faces in every journey, and each face has its own story to tell. People in first and second class coaches react differently to same stimuli, and observing those reactions is the reason to why my journey never feels monotonous or boring. The most recent experience which left me smiling was today morning. The women in the second class ladies coach were playing “antakshari” to pass their time… there was another group cracking jokes. Little things like this brighten the otherwise dull mornings.

Mumbai local is not just a railway service. It is the pride and the heart of Mumbai. Uniting the rich and the poor, it is one of the things that bind us all in one giant family. I am proud to be a part of this legacy. I am proud to be a Mumbaikar.