It’s #Wordplay, It’s #IndependenceDay
‘A Soldier’, I had written this way back in 2015 as a video script for an Independence Day celebration function. This was published on this blog a couple of years later in 2017 but it continues to be current for what it means and conveys. May be even more so, given the developments in the recent years on China border.
This piece is my rant, which comes out of the guilt of indifference I have practiced all these years. As we celebrate our Independence Day in 2023, this guilt surfaces again. Unfortunately, I barely understand and appreciate the sacrifices of my fellow citizens, albeit superhumans, who give up way more for this country than they will ever get back!
My gratitude, ironically coming from the comfort of my couch but yet from the bottom of my heart, to each and every individual who is a part of Indian defense forces. Happy Independence Day, Vande Mataram!
A Soldier
I wake up and witness the early morning haze,
And I feel a cool breeze blowing across the window of my room,
As I wrap myself in the sheet to get comfortable,
I think about a soldier,
A soldier who stays awake all night,
In the coldest of the winds,
Winds that blow incessantly across the snow-capped mountains,
He is fighting the cold, sleep and his feelings,
Feelings that make him want to be closer to his family, his friends,
But he continuously drives them away, because he is serving a cause,
He is there for his nation, for us, for protecting the borders of ‘our’ motherland,
And in the safety net given by him to me and many others alike,
I witness a contrast, a contrast between indulgence and passion,
A passion which makes the soldier’s suffering sacred and worthy,
And a celebrated indulgence from us, in rhetoric and depravity,
As I walk through the silent streets of my city,
On the morning of our independence day,
I see indifference, utter disrespect, just another holiday,
Like the souls inside the sleeping bodies are silently smiling,
Asking me if this day really means something for us?
We belittle the sacrifices made by a soldier on our borders,
While we are all caught up in the web of our own meaningless lives,
A life that we live selfishly, only for ourselves, every day,
Flag hoisting, albeit a token of respect seems like a drag,
like our willingness to be a part of it, even once a year,
A soldier, he doesn’t need the splendor and celebrations,
His lives on the edge, every hour and every moment,
It takes courage to face the bullet for someone unknown,
For any amount of money and splendor, will ‘you’ ever change the role?
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