“At the stroke of the midnight hour,
when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes,
which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new,
when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds
utterance.
To India, our much-loved motherland,
the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we
bind ourselves afresh to her service.”
-Pandit Nehru on eve of first
Independence Day.
The words of Pandit Nehru, though 65
year old now, seem to be so dynamic and relevant today. They also tell us the
timelessness of our nation and demand commitment to our motherland.
In this post, I, from my own brief
experience, will share the unique diversity that I witnessed across the nation.
Starting from the place of Sri
Aurobindo, a freedom fighter who turned into a seeker of Divine, and who also
shares his birthday with India. Pondicherry, once a French colony, is a place on
the coast of Bay of Bengal. As a child, I spent my early days here, and from
then on, I have been a regular visitor to this place. The place inherits French
culture that could easily be noticed once you are on the streets, from
buildings having typically large French windows and landmarks named as Rue Saint
Louis, Roman Roland Library, etc. These French threads got finely weaved within
the local fabric and present a unique texture. The people here have the choice
to decide to be governed either by French Constitution or Indian Constitution,
as per the treaty between France and India that resulted into its annexation by
India. Nearby is a yet another amazing place, Auroville- the Universal City.
This place is built on the idea of human unity, where men and women from all
countries can live in harmony above all creeds,
politics and nationality. The
place has Matrimandir, which is not a
temple, rather a shrine of Universe Mother and soul of Auroville. The place
symbolises living embodiment of the human unity.
From south, I take you to the central
India, where I have spent most of my life till date. Bhopal is the place and as
mentioned in the previous posts, is very special to me. The city built on the
terrain marked with hillocks and lakes, is a place that soothes life. Having
risen from one of the worst industrial tragedies, the place lives by its never
dying spirit. The people from almost every part of the country live here and
make it complete in every sense. This city works all day and importantly, sleeps
peacefully at night.
Moving up in the north is the historic
city of Gwalior. This place has held an important position in national affairs
ever since Agra became the stronghold of Mughals. This place has produced
legends like Maan Singh Tomar, the classical maestro Tansen and in modern
times, our former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Having climatic conditions where
mercury, in a year, traverses almost 45 degrees on the scale, the place
exhibits the implicit adaptability of human race. Under the influence of
adjoining areas and pulsated growth, the place is a mix of urban and rural ingredients.
And finally, its Bengaluru. Though I am
new to this place, I have learnt a little about it. Firstly, this place is a
climatic paradise. The fast pace of life has only added to the spirit with
which Bangalore lives. It has all the components that make it a dazzling place
on the face of Earth. In spite of being the capital city of Karnataka, this place
is quite different from rest of the state in terms of the growth that it has witnessed.
This Indian IT hub grows with every passing second and adds hues to its vibrant
canvas.
All these places that I mentioned here
have a common thread of unity that binds them together into this great nation
India. On the occasion of 66th Independence Day, through this post, I
shared the tiny glimpse of diversity that I witnessed about our motherland, that truly makes it Incredible
India.
Jai Hind !!
