It was when I tried to sing along with the national anthem that was played before the movie Parineeta that I realised I'd forgotten the words.
I beg to differ, however, with those of you who think that this is something I should be ashamed of. Because most (I reckon 8 out of 10) of the other people in the cinema hall didn't seem too interested either. In fact the girl next to me continued sipping her cola.
And quite frankly, I don't see what the issue is. If singing the anthem will help rid this country of even 0.1% of all its problems - hell, I'll sing it till my face (and everything else) turned blue!
I've said it before: I am proud to be Indian, but I am not the least bit proud of India.
And if others (like Meghna Naidu) are that eager to exhibit their patriotism, I'm sure there are better, more productive (and less convenient) ways than singing the national anthem before the next movie they watch.
***
PM Manmohan Singh's recent comments on how the British Raj benefitted our country were frowned upon by many. But after reading the editorial column in last Sunday's Times of India, I think he is absolutely right. Sure, they took their pound of flesh, but if it wasn't for what they left behind, we'd have been nothing but a bunch of savages (can you imagine the plight of women and the so-called lower castes?), and this nation would have been divided into God knows how many little lawless states .... countries like Rwanda and Angola would have had a higher GDP than ours.
And in spite of everything the British left us, we've still done a very fine job of pushing this country into a no-win situation.
How many of you are aware of the levels of corruption in our nation's Armed Forces? I've seen it first-hand and it filled me with revulsion. I tell you, those urchin kids who sell paper flags at traffic junctions on our national holidays are probably a hundred times more patriotic than many of our men in uniform.
Truth is, the country means nothing - to most people. If it did, you wouldn't find our brightest brains working at Redmond and Silicon Valley.
There's been so much talk about brain-drain, and I don't understand why. We have just one life to live (reincarnation, to me, is all humbug) and nobody has the right to prevent another from living it good.
Do I love this country? Not really. (though I'd like to)
... and if you say you do, then PROVE IT, GODDAMIT!
Peace, love, and a little less hypocrisy.
I beg to differ, however, with those of you who think that this is something I should be ashamed of. Because most (I reckon 8 out of 10) of the other people in the cinema hall didn't seem too interested either. In fact the girl next to me continued sipping her cola.
And quite frankly, I don't see what the issue is. If singing the anthem will help rid this country of even 0.1% of all its problems - hell, I'll sing it till my face (and everything else) turned blue!
I've said it before: I am proud to be Indian, but I am not the least bit proud of India.
And if others (like Meghna Naidu) are that eager to exhibit their patriotism, I'm sure there are better, more productive (and less convenient) ways than singing the national anthem before the next movie they watch.
***
PM Manmohan Singh's recent comments on how the British Raj benefitted our country were frowned upon by many. But after reading the editorial column in last Sunday's Times of India, I think he is absolutely right. Sure, they took their pound of flesh, but if it wasn't for what they left behind, we'd have been nothing but a bunch of savages (can you imagine the plight of women and the so-called lower castes?), and this nation would have been divided into God knows how many little lawless states .... countries like Rwanda and Angola would have had a higher GDP than ours.
And in spite of everything the British left us, we've still done a very fine job of pushing this country into a no-win situation.
How many of you are aware of the levels of corruption in our nation's Armed Forces? I've seen it first-hand and it filled me with revulsion. I tell you, those urchin kids who sell paper flags at traffic junctions on our national holidays are probably a hundred times more patriotic than many of our men in uniform.
Truth is, the country means nothing - to most people. If it did, you wouldn't find our brightest brains working at Redmond and Silicon Valley.
There's been so much talk about brain-drain, and I don't understand why. We have just one life to live (reincarnation, to me, is all humbug) and nobody has the right to prevent another from living it good.
Do I love this country? Not really. (though I'd like to)
... and if you say you do, then PROVE IT, GODDAMIT!
Peace, love, and a little less hypocrisy.
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