WHAT IS INDIA?

By:WILLIAM DAVID RABINDRAN

It is not Tagore, Tulsidas, or Tilak that make India India for me…

It is not the Stock Exchange, or Infotech or Reliance that make India India for me…

It is the little girl who sells me a rainspattered daily with her smile

It is the Gulmohar tree aflame in audacious bloom outside my window

It is a melodic old Hindi film song blaring unsteadily on a mike

It is these that make India India for me…


It is not the morning Times of India that makes India India for me…

It is not a heaving cricket match that makes India India for me…

It is being the world's largest democracy

It is the Republic day parade

The soldier who is ready to lay his life down at a moment's notice for his country

It is these that make India India for me…



It is not the charismatic Khans of Bollywood that make India India for me…

It is not Kathak, Bharatanatyam or Odissi that make India India for me…

It is not the tiger or the peacock or the elephant that make India India for me…

It is the burst of sweetness of a golden mango on my tongue

It is a Kanjeevaram sari draped like a song

It is a crimson bindi, the intricate henna, and the shadowed night-like kohl

It is these that make India India for me…



It is not the resplendent Taj, the regal Red Fort, the evocative Khajuraho

That make India India for me…

It is not the glitz and the sway of the metros that make India India for me…

It is the ready harvest beckoning in the field

It is the expressways, the tractors and the factories

It is the gentle passage of the seasons that make up the year

It is these that make India India for me…



It is not Ashoka, or Akbar that make India India for me…

It is not Lagaan or AR Rahman that make India India for me…

It is not the churches of the Goa, or the Golden Temple

The Dargha of Ajmer Sharif, the Stupas of Sanchi or

the Kashi Vishwanath Temple that make India India for me…

It is the towering Himalayas, the accepting Ganges

It is the lamps of Diwali and the happy colours of Holi

It is the heat and the dust

It is the tradition and the dynamism, the diversity and the similarity

It is these that make India India for me…



Yes…

It is the thousands of dialects we speak, but only one language.

the many Gods we worship, but only one religion.

The trains that might derail, the buses that might stall, the roads that might clog

Yet we reach our destination.

And despite the daily grind of living we keep our dreams,

And our humour.



Yes…

It is the acceptance of the uncountable multitudes

The strength in the unity that always surfaces

The spirit that overcomes every obstacle

The feeling that I completely belong.

It is the proud Tricolour flattering in the breeze…

It is these that make India India for me…

Life's lesson

A professor stood before his Philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly,

he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill
it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf
balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided,

"I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life."

"The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your
health, your friends, and

your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

"The sand is everything else--the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,"

he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

"The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness."

"Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner."

"There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."

"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter."

"Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."


One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.

"I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your
life may seem,there's always room for a cup of coffee with a friend."