Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Sacred Abode

Though I don't know what it was when partition happened or what the people felt at that point of time, but I am sure it would have been a painful struggle for them.Our home is not only a place where we reside, its a place where we are rooted, right up to our core. It forms an essential part of our identity, our memories, our existence. When a bride leaves her home in order to blossom in a new abode, its a painful decision for her, since she is taken away like a baby plant is taken out from its roots to be replanted in someones elses garden. It has to leave the mother plant, leaving behind the fragrance of its memories, just like a girl does. But there is always a possibility of a visit, of coming back and meeting the people with whom you've spent the initial leg of your life. But What would happen if you are dislocated and planted in an alien land, bounded by a border made of blood and gore, unable to reach out to the land to which you belong? Thats what partition was all about, a permanent journey towards an alien land, with nothing to look back for.
During partition many homes were left empty, which were then reinhabited by people. I have friends whose grandparents still talk about Lahore in Pakistan, and the home that they had left, their language, way of living everything has a fragrance of the long lost past. I still remember what nana had told me once. Okhla which is located in south Delhi and is called Okhla village, though its not a village, it used to have beautiful green fields all around, but now is quite a modernised part of south Delhi, with Jamia University, to enhace its beauty. So the incident goes like this, once okhla was being attacked by some people. Pandit Nehru, President Zakir Hussain and many others including nana,were there to take care of the area. Women and children were asked to gather in a big house so that they are safe there. Something happened that made a prominent personality laugh, on which Dr. Zakir Hussain responded with the following words,"its not a matter of laughter, its a matter of tears". Such was the love and respect for ones land, such was the dedication of the great leaders like Pandit Nehru and Dr. Zakir Hussain, who stood there to take the bullets on themselves, in order to save the people of their nation, such was the love for their country, their homeland. Nana never allowed his children or his grandchildren to settle in distint lands,"live in your country and let your progress be the progress of your land",These were the dutiful words of my beloved nana, full of love and respect for his motherland. Till date I remember what he said and wonder how love travels through generations.


I wandered in distant lands,
right from shore to shore.
Nothing gave me such immense peace,
as my beloved sacred abode.
And now as I lie in its arms today,
smeared with its love and care,
It makes me happy to realise,
that for my country , I was always there.


This post is with due respect to the people living in distant lands, its just what my grandfather felt and strongly believed in that I have narrated in my post. I do not intend to hurt anyones feelings.

11 comments:

  1. i share the same feelings as that of Nana...maybe a while back, couple of years before..the patriotism was there...but what lay seven seas across always seemed a wonderland. Today having traveled through, having gone beyond my motherland, the love for my place, the respect for my homeland has grown manifold. Having stayed away, the pain..the yearning to go back and live in your own country has grown.
    But i guess for a person like me, who was very criical of her surrondings right from birth, it was necessary to go out...to travel to the outside world to really realise and experience the warmth a child feels while returning "home"

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  2. And sometimes, by the time the yearning to return happens, the new ties in the new land are too many to break away. Then you are caught in an ever smouldering turmoil of the mind. This situation is faced by too many Indians abroad. Iam with you nana's wisdom but there is something in Chanakya's definition of a good nation that has to be mentioned here.
    Chanakya says that a nation that does not allow you to pursue education or stand against development is not a nation fit to live in. Now the choice is ours whether we leave such a nation for good or remain and make little changes.

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  3. We know what we are missing only when we lose it. It applies to everything. Even to our nation, right?
    Thanks for sharing yet another thought of your Nana's, with us. :)

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  4. Very True Rush, its when we're away, we understand the true value of things that have always been around us:)

    Yes KK,we never know where we go tomorrow, many times its just not in our hands. Nana was never against pursuing edu in distant lands, he was against brain drain. By the end of the day whats imp is to be a part of your country's progress. But then who knows what destiny has in store for us:)

    Yup veena, it applies to everything thats close to us:)

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  5. Dear Sana,
    Good Evening!
    Holding our head high,let us say,MERA BHARAT MAHAN!
    I respect the great soul,your NANA and I can relate very well.
    I often feel like going back to my Amma to live my life.:)Thanks for the great thought of patriotism.
    wishing you a great weekend,
    sasneham,
    Anu
    wishing you a wonderful weekend

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  6. Heartwarming. *applause*

    Just what is home? Isn't it when we play the piano and we hear the warm notes being brought to life, we feel happy? and comfortable? and very much sentimental?

    Home is not just the place. Home is the people we love, the things we love doing. It isn't something that other people can steal to us. It isn't the deprivation of our mother country that hurts us the most, but the very idea that we are separated from our families, our friends, our countrymen. It's the best example of experiencing hell while one is still alive.

    I hope for a bright tomorrow to each and every one of us, may we find our way home.

    -H.

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  7. Amen to that H:)
    Thanks for your visit!! Do come again!

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  8. H,I visited your blog, really liked it, but could not leave a comment. I think theres an error:)

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  9. Good and Bad times will pass along. Just wait for your day.. All the very best...


    Cheers!!!!!

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  10. could feel the spirit of patriotism.. :)

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