Better late than never ..........

I could not think of a very patriotic title for this post so this is kind of a working title ...... It will remain so if I cannot think of a better one by the time I finish writing this ..........

This post is for all thats happening in our country at present ...... We all wanted this ... we wanted to see a change or atleast the begining of it but none of us knew what to do or where to start ...... We just felt so small and insignificant in being instrumental in bringing about any change and kept justifying it by saying 'what can a few handful of people with good /right inetentions do'....At the same time we were also so pessimistic that we almost always said 'nothing will change ... this country and the systems here suck'..

And ONE MAN , who is 74 years old has taken the initiative and proved us all wrong and HOW! .... One tiny man, with high stature has done the 'so called impossible'..........Given the skepticism which is so ingrained and which is so much part of our conditioning due to all that we see around us, day in and day out , still makes me feel, "I hope I/WE am/are not speaking too soon"........

I had heard of things that happened as part of our freedom struggle and seen them in movies ..... But what it really feels like, is what we are all getting to see now ..... Maybe its too premature to talk like that or feel elated, but it certainly gives more than a ray of hope to all of us who have just cribbed and ventilated about the sorry state of affairs in this nation .........

But even if this is mometary ( and I hope its not) ,I want to soak in all its glory .....Its so heartening for a change, to see the police providing a security cover to Anna Hazare and his supporters , rather than to a bunch of moronic buffoons (politicians) who have most certainly not earned it nor are worth it .......

The humungous crowds, all chanting in one voice that we want to do away with corruption and providing whole hearted support in whatever capacity they can to this great man's greater vision .......This is so amazing to say the least .......

And again from a common person's perspective I think the media is doing a good job and getting across that voice to people all over the world ... It feels reassuring to hear callers from different parts of the world , like New Zealand, America etc calling in to support this noble cause and say that if this bill is passed and if it looks like something will really be done against corruption , they would want to come back to their own country as these are the very issues that made them think of relocating in the first place .........Or to see Indian people lead marches in other parts of the world where all Indians have come out in huge numbers ...... It just shows how U can take an Indian away from India but u cannot take India away from an Indian..... Indian always at heart and proud to be so!!!!!!!!

For once the government seems all quiet after doing ridiculous things like calling Anna Hazare corrupt and trying to malign him or saying that this facade will die down and no one will be able to do anything and the fuuniest or the most insane thing I have heard a minister saying is US is behind all this ......Till now they only tried our patience , now they are even trying our intelligence ...... The fact that this movement is happening right under their nose is a tight slap on face of the government and they should ideally bow their heads down in shame because the writing on the wall is very clear for once and it shouts out aloud and says, " We put our faith and trust in you, voted for you and see how terribly you failed us "........Any self respecting Party who is in power would give up their power and walk out if such a 'no trust' motion is being passed ... but we unfortunately are talking about power hungry, corrupt, hardened criminals so to speak who want to stick to their chairs and are so thick skinned that nothing affects them.......

Even at a time like this ... seeing our parliament in session is so amusing ..... the government in power and the opposition are busy slinging mud at each other and trying to pull each other down...... They all look like a bunch of uneducated and uncivilised people and they are actually the ones in power.. How very sad and disillusioning is that.........And what upsets me more is that we have given them that power ....... Is there no way to undo this damage ? Is there no way that someone like Anna and the likes of him form a political party and are voted into power however idealistic it may sound... Hopefully we can start afresh and on a clean slate .......

We have always had the option of only choosing between the frying pan/ fire or between the devil/deep sea....... Why dont we ever have a better option ........ When will we see a day where India is not seen as a corrupt country and the term politician will no longer be synonomous with hooligan, buffoon, bloodsucker, goonda, uneducated, uncivilised, corrupt, criminal, inadept and the list can be endless........

Today this movement signifies a "no confidence' vote BY the people .. Is that not enough to implement a change ????? What every Indian sees on any news channel on his t.v. set is PEOPLE POWER and I wish this does not die down.. I hope this gains more and more momentum by the day.......... And we all can continue to do our bits ..... visavis not buying tickets in black even if we are dying to see a particular film with our favourite movie stars in it, or not bribing a cop who was willing to cut out a receipt for a certain amount fr eg, Rs 200 but we paid him a 50 or a 100 to not do that just because we did not have the time to get into 'procedural' hassles, or we do not encourage donations which amount to ridiculous figures, just for getting our children into BIG schools which are more commercial organizations and have very little to do with academics ........ We are all guilty of what we are trying to do away with , though in smaller proportions, but we have contributed to the corruption in this country.........

If we want the CHANGE we have to be the part of it and instrumental in bringing it about and we have to be sure of our own principles visavis what we will /will not do just to make life either a little bit more easy for us or get away in the name of the typical 'sab chalta hai' attitude or console/ justify ourselves by sayin "mere ek ke na karne se kya fark padega" .... It may seem insignificant today but in the longer run it will certainly go a very long way when the singular translates into the plural!!! And we are all already witnessing a glimpse of what can happen if that comes about ........So never say never..... We have to change our own attitudes first ... We have to become law abiding , conscientious, civilised citizens of our own country and then we will ceratinly see the country of our dreams being turned into what we have always visualised it to be.......

Even as I end this piece ... the news channel is on and I see this frail looking ANNA seated in front of a huge picture of the MAHATMA....... One who was responsible for a revolutionary past and the other, hopefully a revolution in the near future ....... I still cannot believe the heart warming support in the form of thousands if not more, of Indians gathered on the ground to stand up as ONE against what we have already had enough of!!!!

I love my India !!!!!!!!!!!!