Are we really Independent ?

I woke up today to a pretty sunny day and there it was my calendar read 15^th August 2007. Just the look of the date (as if without even reading it) was so synonymous with me that I knew it’s the Independence Day. It’s like I have seen the date written at so many places in so many different fonts that just the look of it was enough. (Its not as if I didn’t know day before yesterday that tomorrow is Independence Day it’s just that I m just trying to describe my usual morning scene.:D).

So here it was India completing its 60 years of Independence. On my way to College in the bus very obscure thoughts crossed my mind and really now that I am writing it down I don’t really think it was that obscure. So 60 years down the line. With British Raj gone do I really think my country is actually Independent?? Are we really? I mean seriously. Are we??

Aren’t we ruled by another set of rulers now? May be the definition of a ruler has changed isn’t the resonance is still the same?

We keep hearing that how British had a huge impact on our culture. How they plundered National Heritage et all. But what are we doing now. Is there anyone out there preserving Indian Heritage??. The culture??

And Yes they (British Raj) lived by Divide and Rule Policy. Aren’t the modern day politicians (They always have been so Modern day) lived by the same principles. What have we done to remove them ??.And for that matter who do we remove ?? Which party in India is truly secular . So who do we vote at the end of it all ?.

Yes we are independent if we talk about minimum criteria of the “definition” of Independence. But is that Independence?. Who deserves to be called Independent?? Is America really Independent?. They are dependent on Middle East for their Crude Oil which is causing huge problems in their lives. Same is the case with India. So when do we call India Independent??.

The good part is Today’s India is changing itself. We are one of the most formidable countries in the world. The reasons to celebrate are many from economic prosperity, accelerating growth to our moment in the sun on the world stage and, of course, the world's biggest youthful population determined to take success to new heights. We have proved to be the best in the world individually. Now is the time to show the same collectively as well. I sincerely believe that now is the time to be in India and leave the “Chalta hai” attitude at bay.

On a lighter note I started remembering my days back in school when I used to make a flag early morning not just because everyone was required to wear it in morning assembly but I kinda loved it. Those were the days, Sometimes forgetting to put a chakra(wheel) in the middle sometimes not counting the 24 spokes . And then sing the national anthem sometime forgetting the lyrics but still humming along and the n used to my favourite Song and still is…..

saare jahaan se achcha hindustan hamaraa

hum bulbulein hai is ke, ye gulsitan hamaraa

gurbat mein hon agar ham, rahta hai dil watan mein(I relate most to this one now.See the translation)
samjho vahin hame bhi, dil hain jahan hamara

parbat vo sabse unchaa hum saaya aasma kaa
vo santaree hamaraa(I used to love the High pitch here), vo paasbaan hamaraa

godee mein khel tee hain is kee hazaaron nadiya
gulshan hai jinke dum se, rashke janna hamaraa

aye aab, aye raud, aye ganga, wo din he yaad tujhko
utaraa tere kinaare, jab kaarvan hamaara

mazhab nahee sikhataa apas mein bayr rakhnaa
hindee hai hum, vatan hai hindostaan hamaraa

yunan misr romaa, sab mit gaye jahan se
ab tak magar he baaki, namo nishan hamaara

kuchh baat he ki hasti, mitati nahi hamaari
sadiyon raha he dushman, daure jahan hamaara

iqbal koi marhoom, apna nahi jahan main
maloom kya kisi ko, darde niha hamaara

Translation

Better than the entire world, is our India
We are its nightingales and this is our garden

Though in foreign lands we may reside, with our motherland our hearts abide
Our spirit remains with thee, where our hearts exist

That mountain most high; neighbor to the skies
It is our sentinel; it is our protector

A thousand rivers play in its lap,
Gardens they sustain, the envy of the heavens is ours

O water of the mighty flow of the Ganga, do you remember the day
When on your banks, our caravan had landed

Faith does not teach us to harbour grudges between us
We are all Indians and India is our homeland

Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome are lost, now only memories
But our civilization remains; it has stood the test of time

Something is in us, that preserves us, that keeps us ever-smiling
Though the fates and chances of the world have ever tried to break us

Iqbal! Is there no soul that could
Understand the pain in thy heart?

____________________________________________________

Phew….All this in a 10 minute bus ride. And then they ask which wanders faster mind or eyes ?. U tell …..

I finally find time to fill up my blog about my rafting trip. Its been 3 days since but I can still feel the adrenaline pumping in. I can still feel the pressure of water while I move the paddle in. I can still feel the sweet pain in my muscles. It's all sooooo good. But wellll..... it didn't start that way.....!!!

It all started two weeks back with my friend telling me about Rafting trip by our University and me backing out immediately knowing my non-swimming skills. The Water phobia/hydrophobia whatever people call it, crept in me again and I was almost ready to say no when suddenly I said Yes !!!.It did take some amount convincing but a "Yes" it was. I like doing adventurous stuff but anything involving water usually doesn't go well with me and so even though water was the only thing involved here, there was this some part of me which always wanted to feel the water in its entirety(and it did !! Read on..). So there I was on the D-day, August 4 on the bus to Laurel Highlands for Ohiopyle White Water River-Rafting trip.

The bus after an hour and a half drive from Pittsburgh reached Ohiopyle Park spot where we signed the life risk forms and got our stuff going like getting the Head-gear and coast guard approved Life vest or Personal Flotation device(PFD). I like calling it PFD to Life-vest.:D

That was followed by getting into the bus again to go to the "put in" where we put our rafts into the river. At one point one of my friends in the bus commented that with all the head gear and PFD we looked like one of those Starship Troopers going to kill the aliens. A funny line at that point but so true. There once we reached the designated rendezvous our trip began with meeting the Trip leader. There he gave us a vital 10 minute safety talk about how to be safe on water and explained us what we should prepare for and do in the event we fall out of the raft. Later, we formed groups of 6 and chose a raft for us and jumped in.

After that it was the time to head to the river and have the time of our life.

I could see its all coming. We were on a Class IV Rafting. There was so much to explore in the 7 miles of Lower Youghioghney[yaw-ki-GAY-nee] river from quiet river passes to Class IV rapids and the beautiful scenery all along.

But the first thing playing in my mind was to get the first rapid off the course. Well there in as the bard would tell us lies the rub. [Inside Man]

The start was smooth and 10 minutes into the rafting I could see the first rapid and hear the gush of white water. We were somewhere in the middle of the whole crew of rafts with rescuers on the boundaries. As the first rapid came near I could see myself having goosebumps and there it was FIRST RAPID and I toppled over from my raft into the Water. Water had claimed its first vitim haha.

The water wasn't as cold as I had imagined because of the nice day we had chosen but I think because I had fallen backwards I was there "fully" inside the water for almost 5 seconds. I wasn't scared, you don't have time to be one. In spite of my trainer telling me not to fight it out in the water and let PFD do its job my first instinct was trying to fight. I saw my leg getting entangled in a rock and immediately I let myself free and PFD took care of the rest. One of the rescuers was there within some time as soon as traffic cleared to put me on another team's raft.

As soon as I gained my senses back in th new raft I started wondering what was it that made me fall. It wasn't the goosebumps as I realized later on . It was just that I gave up I suppose . My hydrophobia got the better of me. I had a good laugh at myself. The good part here was it kinda got the fear out of me. I got united with my team within next 15 mins when we were back on still water. At the end of it all I came to know that atleast 20 more people feel in at different points of the whole trip. Anyhow After the next 3-4 hrs were the ride of my life. I didn't fell once in the water but again the yearn was there now. The rest of the trip was a huge fun ride with superb scenery and eclectic kinds of Rocks and Rapids all along. I later found each and every rapid had a name of its own. Some were remarkable.-"Bastard Rapid"...ahan....."Cucumber","A bottle of wine"..I like this one, "Camel and Walrus", "Killer Falls"..Yeah Right !!!,"Lost and Found", "School house" and ours truly "Dimple Rock".

Rafting is thrilling, exciting, wet, wild and unbelievably fun. However, as with all adventure sports, there is inherent risk involved. That risk contributes to the excitement, and is one of the reasons people enjoy rafting so much. My advice to people is to enjoy rafting without feeling scared and yeah to tell you the truth the most amazing part was falling down. So if you don't fall down once you haven't enjoyed it really !!

Mother nature played its part to entirety. It made us get caught in rocks and toppled down our rafts. Huge rocks unnoticed earlier reached out as if to grab you in to the swirling water and lot of times these rocks which seems like a menace to us turned out be the island of safety as well for some. Guess that's the way Mother Nature plays.

I had this amazing sense of escape as if away from civilization absorbing amazing scenery as I floated through each rapid amidst gushing whitewater learning new paddle commands in a without worries environment and discovering how to paddle together as a team forming new bonds and completely relax to the soft sounds of the river lapping at the side of your raft. Truly Amazing !!!!. A must for everyone.