Forgotten War, Forgotten Heroes

Exactly ten years ago India went through one of the most gruesome wars with Pakistan. The war was broadcasted on the television sets in every living room and people watched how our men fought with valor and died with dignity for Indians and India. We were able to watch the war in the comfort of our homes because we knew we were safe, because we had complete faith in our men in that they will thwart any deleterious aspirations of the enemy. We watched them beam with confidence as they captured bunker after bunker in one of the most inhospitable environments. Watching them our hearts swelled with pride and our convictions were made all the more stronger that they will return victorious. But now, 10 years later, some people seemed to have forgotten it or rather been ignoring it. Our politicians of course are in the limelight again. Only if somebody could remind them that the Indian men in uniform do not fight or work for one political party. They fought for the nation and died for the nation, and I think they deserve a lot of respect and honor from everyone. While one politician says, “Kargil isn't a thing to be celebrated. The war was fought within our territory. We didn't even come to know when the Pakistani army crossed over and built bunkers inside our territory. It's only the NDA which may celebrate,” the other one doesn’t even remember when the war was fought and won. Forget big national level celebrations, government isn’t even going to give a thank you speech for the services provided by our men. What a big boost of morale our men will receive.

Can’t they shun playing crass politics for once and pay homage to the Kargil war heroes which they so rightfully deserve? This just goes to show that we are represented by some of the most callous, hypocrite and undeserving people. A big disappointment comes from Prime Minister Singh who took out time to attend the Bastille Day Parade in France. Perhaps he too has forgotten Kargil and its heroes.

There is this Hindi poem "OOnchaai"(Heights)by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee which ends with this line:
"My Lord, Never let me climb so high that I can't bend down to embrace another human. Deliver me ever from such arrogance."

What If...?

Na tha kuch to khuda tha, kuch na hota to khuda hota,
duboyaa mujhko hone ne, na hota mein to kya hota

At some point life comes to a sudden halt along with the realization that it wasn’t being controlled by you even though you may think you were in charge. It’s not until a maelstrom sweeps you away or the sheer redundancy of everyday events envelop you that you realize you had been nurturing a delusion thus far and chasing will-o'-the-wisps in a make belief world. It is then that you “wake up” to an excruciatingly painful realization of utter desolation and a void that had been formed while you were away from yourself. That void, an enemy in disguise, befriends and provides solace for some time but slowly bedevils every passing thought every time you decide to retreat to it. It becomes an addiction of sorts and insecurities and fear take a hold of you. Rest of the world seems tepid and devoid of any concern. You become the only spectator in the theater of life, where you spend your life watching the rest of the world live theirs in an unremitting movie. You start wondering about the “What Ifs..?” About the possibilities that could have been. You wait and wonder that perhaps somehow you will wake up from a horrible incessant dream or go back into the make belief world where you are happy chasing will-o'-the-wisps.

Hui muddat ke Ghalib mar gaya par yaad aata hai,
wo har ek baat pe kehna ke yun hota to kya hota.

The camera can photograph thought. ~Dirk Bogarde

I've always loved looking at pictures, and I've always envied people who have managed to be in the right place at the right time to snap that jaw-dropping and awe inspiring vista.To me photographers are poets, storytellers, and artists. To be able to tell a story or give character to still life, they have to have a bit of a philosopher in them as well.
I've just been so in love with my camera lately that I must have clicked away over a thousand pictures in the last one month. It's been a lot of help in taking my mind off of certain issues. I also feel when I am with my camera I become more observant which helps bring out a poet, an artist, and somewhat of a philosopher in me. And also what's so wonderful about photography is that it is a language in itself which is understood by everyone regardless of their ethnicity, vernacular etc. It speaks a silent language of emotions which is inbuilt in each and everyone of us.
I will end it here and hope those who visit my blog will take some time to go through my pictures and spend a little time with me in my memories (see that's the closet philosopher I was telling you about.. ;) ).
http://picasaweb.google.com/rashveen.maini
http://rashveen.aminus3.com/
And thanks for visiting.

"Quote-Unquote"

"Facts do not vanish because they are ignored, and when they compel attention, there is a feeling of displeasure and resentment at the unexpected happening, as of some trick having been played (Nehru, The Discovery of India)."

"I love India, not because I cultivate the idolatry of geography, not because I have had the chance to be born in her soil, but because she has saved through tumultuous ages the living words that have issued from the illuminated consciousness of her great ones (Rabindranath Tagore)."

"Man's dearest possession is life, and since it is given to him to live but once, he must so live as not to be seared with the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so live as not to be tortured for years without purpose, so live that dying he can say: 'All my life and my strength were given to the first cause in the world-the liberation of mankind (Lenin)' (Nehru, The Discovery of India)."

"Today she swings between a blind adherence to her old customs and her slavish imitation of foreign ways. In neither of these can she find relief or life or growth. It is obvious that she has to come out of her shell and take full part in the life and activities of the modern age. It should be equally obvious that there can be no real spiritual or cultural growth based on imitation. Such imitation can only be confined to a small number who cut themselves off from the masses and the springs of national life. True culture derives its inspiration from every corner of the world, but it is home-grown and has to be based on the wide mass of people. Art and literature remain lifeless if they are continually thinking of foreign models. The day of a narrow culture confined to a small fastidious group is past. We have to think in terms of the people generally and their culture must be a continuation and developments of past trends, and must also represent their new urges and creative tendencies (Nehru, The Discovery of India)."

"About her (India)there is the elusive quality of a legend of long ago; some enchantment seems to have held her mind. She is a myth and an idea, a dream and a vision, and yet very real and present and pervasive. There are terrifying glimpses of dark corridors which seem to lead back to primeval night, but also there is the fullness and warmth of the day about her. Shameful and repellent she is occasionally, perverse and obstinate, sometimes even a little hysteric, this lady with a past. But she is very lovable and none of her children can forget her wherever they go or whatever strange fate befalls them. For she is part of them in her greatness as well as her failings, and they are mirrored in those deep eyes of hers that have seen so much of life's passion and joy and folly and looked down into the wisdom's well. Each one of them is drawn to her, though perhaps each has a different reason for that attraction or can point to no reason at all, and each sees some different aspect of her many sided personality (Nehru, The Discovery of India)."

Enough of these Senas, Dals, and Jamaats...

Acts of vandalism, public harassment, assault-all in the name of what? morality? It seems almost everyday you wake up to fresh news of such acts committed by hooligans calling themselves moral police honchoed by those who themselves hold an extensive criminal record. The status quo has become a tit-for-tat game by a petty neighbor and exploitation of the word "secular" by hoodlums within the country. Secularism is becoming ostensible. The "secular India" that was born 60 years ago has become a mere cliché, or at least seems to be advancing towards becoming one. The masses are looking up to the government for immediate action to put an end to all this. The time for phrases like sochenge, dekhenge, vichar-vimarsh karenge has long passed. There is almost a desperate NEED (and I can't emphasize this word enough) for strict laws, swift trials and harsh punishment for those convicted. The government also needs to get strict with Pakistan or this will drag on for years to come. Why are we still running the samjhauta express service? Why haven't we put an end to imports from Pakistan? What the hell is going on in this country? Hello? Is anyone listening??

Unanswered questions...

I am repulsed by the thought of how the Brits treated us in our own country. How humiliating and exasperating that must have been. But at the same time I am stupefied as to why it took Indians such a long time to realize the atrocities and raise their voices against the self proclaimed landlords of this country? Is it because we try to adjust to anything and every situation- no matter how repulsive or unjustified? Why is it that we accept things the way they are and restrain ourselves from changing them? This ignorance is the "gap" that Nehru talks about in The Discovery of India. Referring to the Indian people he writes, "The people generally had grown apathetic and servile. There was thus a gap which had to be filled before any revolutionary change could take place. Perhaps this gap had been produced by the static nature of Indian society which refused to change in a changing world, for every civilization which resists change declines. That society, as constituted, had no more creative part to play. A change was overdue." We still seem to find bliss in the same ignorance. We might not be under the British rule anymore but are swayed by hard-boiled politics and apathetic politicians who threaten to consume us in their wild games. Why are we still not able to break out of the shell that binds us in many ways? What would it take to bring about a bigger and much needed change? Are we waiting for another revolution?

Some came, they saw and conquered. Others came, looted and went back. With them went away most of the wealth, and in a way the pride of our land. India has had a long history of tolerance, something which she still maintains. During the course of her 5000 years of history many invaders came to conquer her but became a part of her instead. Then there were those who were able to take advantage of this tolerance and took back a lot that did not belong to them. Unarguably, most of India was sucked dry of its wealth by the outsiders, and bled white until poverty and famine had enveloped what remained of her. Now that it's been 61 years since Independence, I wonder why the government isn't asking back for the "cultural property" of this land? There is a piece of India's legacy and pride still under the control of foreigners. Will we ever get it back?