A young man from a southern village of Tamil Nadu travels to Australia planning to join as a cook there. Not knowing a word of English he meets the Australian customs officials. The officials understanding his problem invites a Punjabi to translate for them. The Punjabi not understanding what this man is talking, points him to a Sri Lankan. The Sri Lankan could understand our guy. The bemused Australian officials ask the Punjabi, How come you are from the same country but not able to understand him, but though the Sri lankan is from a different country he is able to understand him........The smiling Punjabi replies “ Mere Bharat Mahan”. On seeing this my friend made a fascinating comment which made me write this article.........He said “ India's diversity is so diverse”..........
After some discussions we agreed on the fact that “diversity” is one thing and “diversity being diverse” is some other thing. I have traveled to most parts of the country and I really acknowledge my friends statement. When we were discussing this topic, four of us were sitting around and all four of us had different mother tongues. All four of us had different cultures, different traditions and different backgrounds. All of them talked about their surroundings, their festivals and their brought ups and I know I am very different from the other three........ Yes!!!! I am from the same country...........We stand up for the same National anthem but I eat entirely different food from them. I dress up differently, I have different festivals and almost live my entire life differently.
I have worked with people who are technically brilliant, speaking in impeccable English and having everything they want and the very next year I saw people who wash your feet when you enter their homes, living in places where not even a cycle could enter. I lived in places where air conditioners work 24*7 and then I saw people who have not seen electric current yet. I have gone with people in Mercedes and then lived with people who walk twenty kilo metres to save 2 rs. I lived with groups who don't touch meat and then lived with people who does not leave a single living organism alive. Some times the differences are so big that, you might even start to wonder whether we live in the same planet.......
India has so many gods that sometimes the number of people worshiping them seem small, so many languages that can even confuse Gods, So many functions that 365 days of a calender is not enough if we have one a day, So many cultures that the whole world put together cannot count the same number. I have heard people saying, had Adam been a Chinese he would have eaten the snake rather than the fruit........I thought of the same joke with Adam as an Indian............But!!!! Which Indian???? One would have eaten the snake and the other would have built a temple for that..........One would have run at the sight of a snake and another would have made the snake dance.........We have so much variety that even a snake will get confused if there are four different Indians at the same time, I thought.
I feel nostalgic when I think of this diversity, but!!!!!for me India's greatness does not lie in its differences alone,but also in the strikingly similar emotions of people....YES!!!! as a country we have a whole lot of differences, but when India beats the Pakistanis in cricket or when A.R Rahman plays a mind blowing rendition or when tragedy stuck those posh Mumbai hotels or when an Indian is abused in Australia the emotions are so strikingly similar in the whole country. The people of this country have been looted right from the time of the muslim invasions to the British rule, but the resilience they have shown through it all have been strikingly similar. …........and even politicians across the country show a lot of similarities.........
But!!! Are our “supremely diverse diversity” and the “strikingly similar emotions”leading us to where it should be??? Are our worldly differences and our in built passions stimulating our growth??? True!!!! Our diversity can make the world look stunned, can confuse the snakes and give us a lot of pride..............Very true!!!! that our strikingly similar emotions can be a great asset........But!!!! Unless we know to celebrate our differences and control our emotions, the much talked about “ diverse diversity” and our “raw emotions” can make the world out there use this, to divide us. Are there some people inside the country who does that too????
We are one country!!!! One India!!!! We can speak 500 different languages and worship 1000 different gods, but our differences are there for us to celebrate and our similar emotions are there to fuel our celebrations.............Listen World!!!! We are ONE Country. One beautiful Country........ and none can separate us..........Are the insiders listening?????
“MERE BHARATH MAHAN”
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