Lighthouse Day
A moment of enlightenment. A moment of inspiration. A moment of pride.
This is what my final induction day was like. Lighthouse Day she said to call it. This woman, the epitome of women's empowerment, not through acts that scream feminism, but through acts that have made a difference. And truly she made a difference on this fateful day.
I have heard many orators, and a great proportion of these have had the ability to move me. But none, to this day, have moved me to tears. And this astounding woman hit two birds with one stone, when she evoked the greatest sense of national pride I have ever experienced.
This woman, whom I have insufficiently praised, is the one and only Dr. Kiran Bedi.
Her speech consisted not just the most awe inspiring words, but were delievered with the utmost passion and poignancy. Look at yourself and believe that you are the world. And that moment, I believed it more than anything else in the world.
So great an orator, she was able to elicit two very different emotions from this audience of fledging university students. She not only managed to raise our self confidence, but simultaneously humbled us. Living in a country where a great proportion of the population live under the poverty line, she advised us to remain sensitive to pain. She never asked us to donote monetary funds or materials, but told us to go and live amongst the poor - to clean the floors and care for the sick. Only the realization of the pains of those less fortunate than yourself will humble you.
She described the people as the heart of India, and introduced me to a stream of thought that I had never encountered before. In this period where I adjust to this change of environment, I awaited the moment where I would fall in love with this country. Yet never had I once fathomed that perhaps I should allow this country to fall in love with me. Never had I once strived to earn the love of my country. Never had I once believed that it was up to me to work for that love. I had always been the first to critcize the shortcomings of the land of my ancestors, yet refused to acknowledge those of my own. And I lay disppointed at my lack of sensitivity.
I will always remember these words as I reminisce upon this day. And I will remember the way I felt. Proud to be part of this Symbiosis family. Proud to be an Indian.
This is what my final induction day was like. Lighthouse Day she said to call it. This woman, the epitome of women's empowerment, not through acts that scream feminism, but through acts that have made a difference. And truly she made a difference on this fateful day.
I have heard many orators, and a great proportion of these have had the ability to move me. But none, to this day, have moved me to tears. And this astounding woman hit two birds with one stone, when she evoked the greatest sense of national pride I have ever experienced.
This woman, whom I have insufficiently praised, is the one and only Dr. Kiran Bedi.
Her speech consisted not just the most awe inspiring words, but were delievered with the utmost passion and poignancy. Look at yourself and believe that you are the world. And that moment, I believed it more than anything else in the world.
So great an orator, she was able to elicit two very different emotions from this audience of fledging university students. She not only managed to raise our self confidence, but simultaneously humbled us. Living in a country where a great proportion of the population live under the poverty line, she advised us to remain sensitive to pain. She never asked us to donote monetary funds or materials, but told us to go and live amongst the poor - to clean the floors and care for the sick. Only the realization of the pains of those less fortunate than yourself will humble you.
She described the people as the heart of India, and introduced me to a stream of thought that I had never encountered before. In this period where I adjust to this change of environment, I awaited the moment where I would fall in love with this country. Yet never had I once fathomed that perhaps I should allow this country to fall in love with me. Never had I once strived to earn the love of my country. Never had I once believed that it was up to me to work for that love. I had always been the first to critcize the shortcomings of the land of my ancestors, yet refused to acknowledge those of my own. And I lay disppointed at my lack of sensitivity.
I will always remember these words as I reminisce upon this day. And I will remember the way I felt. Proud to be part of this Symbiosis family. Proud to be an Indian.
posted by Melanie at 9:48 PM
2 Comments:
'Proud to be an Indian' - I know that feeling.
I was born in India but that is not the reason that makes me so Indian in heart. It's a sense of belonging, that sense where one realises this is home.
Like most young people who dream of going to a foreign place and seek their fortune, I too at one point in my life harboured such dreams. I spent sometime in the States. Keep going off and on to Dubai to visit my sis. But not once have I been tempted to settle abroad.
India is like that. It grows on you. Before you know it, you feel a part of this place. No matter where I am I invariably come back home.
Well, well, you seem to have made me real sentimental :)
well as far as proud goes
i'm proud to be me
and no matter where i go
i'm proud to be me
and also that i am goan
not indian but goan
i'll never be proud of indian because of what it has let it self to become
and because of what ppl are doin to it
hmmm
makes u wonder
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