I am a sixteen year old girl and whenever I go to family get-togethers people keep asking you me- “What are your plans for the future? Do you wish to study and settle abroad?” Then I’d think that I could live an amazing life if I settle in the West with better facilities, bigger homes, lesser pollution and more modern people. But, is that what I really need? Even if I do get all the above, will I ever get a warm smile from people who really care about me, when I get enter a spacious two-storied bungalow? I was so used some small things that happen around me that I never understood their value. Like the other day- when my father couldn’t find a parking place at a mall, a middle-aged man came forward and showed us a shady spot while he could have walked away perfectly happy that his car was already parked and he didn’t have to care about anything. Just recently when India won the 2011 ICC World Cup traffic on the roads wouldn’t move, people must have violated many laws of the Noise Pollution Control Act but amidst all this I saw something even more beautiful than the fireworks in the sky. Complete strangers celebrated with each other and some even gave lifts to those who stayed far away, a shopkeeper around my house distributed sweets for free and even those who hated the other, clicked photographs with them. Do I see this every day? And more importantly, do I get to see this everywhere? That dreadful July day in 2005 when the streets got flooded- the water had reached a height of 5 feet and I was 5 ft 3 inches then. A stranger, who could have stayed at home happy that he didn’t have to get down that day and waddle through the murky water, seemed as though he didn’t want his happiness. He helped me and a few of my friends to get to our building. If I ever wondered why there was no air-lifting of equipment or boats provided by the government for our locality… did I really need a boat that day? And, if strangers in India are this way, need I say anything about families? We might not have the best, corruption-free government or the best facilities to detect and control natural disasters, but we survived. Mumbai was back again in less than a week after those floods. Who brought the city back? It was the people. Did we need help from big, worldwide associations and organizations? People might call our facilities inadequate and while that is true to some extent, the very fact that we survive without the help of these facilities puts us one step ahead of those who fight and win the battle. We have something even greater than important authorities and leaders who can help the poor and the struggling- we have the love of the people, something that many powerful leaders don’t have. People at the other end of the world might be planning to build the most powerful and destructible weapons that can smash anything into a thousand pieces. But I bet they can’t do something that my country taught me- put those thousand pieces back together. Now tell me something- will I ever wish to settle abroad?
i totally agree with this. though we are not a corruption free country nor are we that developed, we do have a very strong cultural and traditional values blended with umpteen ethical values which makes us distinct, stupendous and one of the best societies to live in. truly this makes me proud to be an indian!
