On being an Indian
They say you’ll find India — in its freedom, in its diversity, in its harmony, in its spirituality — when you actually miss it. When you see the world, around you, yearning to find religion in football, rock and roll, that’s when you realize what you’ve been ignoring and for so long.
The thing is, the more you try and adapt to your influences, in order to make you look cool, be accepted amongst peers, the more you realize how superficial and how hollow their beliefs are.
People do all sorts of things to find their inner peace; and you’ve had this rich heritage and culture, in the back of your mind, carrying it with you all around, and you’ve never even tried to look into it. When you really begin to, that’s when you miss India.
I was watching this documentary called Post Military Trip, which traces how Israelis in a war-torn country are trying to find sanity in an Indian way of living, trying to come to terms with all the everyday mayhem around. It was interesting to know that they find peace in the Indian way of living.
There is no denial that India is a land of the troubled — in caste, religion, superstition, corruption, you name it. But somehow, they do not seem to matter in the big picture. Because deep within, you believe that some day, in future, will be a better day than today. India, somehow, means a long lasting peace with your own self. Just as the Israelis are finding it right now.