A few days ago, I saw the new movie “Wake Up Sid”. Apart from it being a good movie, it struck a chord for me, and I think it would for a lot of people of our age.
A few weeks ago, my servant brought his son to our house so that he could check his I.S.C. marks on the Internet. I obliged and after a few minutes spent trying to connect to the faulty website, I told him that he had passed but just barely. As I began to read his individual marks out to him, he said, “Nahin nahin. Mein pass hua na? phir aur kuch nahin chahiye.”
This is characteristic of the Indian mentality. All any one cares about is whether they were up to scratch. No one is bothered about how well they did or how close they came to failing, they passed and they’re happy with it. This is why we are one of the most corrupt countries in the world and we’re fine with it, as long as we’re not the most corrupt!
Politicians keep talking about how they would like to make Mumbai like Shanghai or Singapore. They make the most elaborate plans and talk about it all over the place. But those plans have been in place for many years now. But that is where the problem lies. They are still PLANS. Nothing has been done about them. When asked about it, the standard reply of politicians would be that they’re still getting approved, or it has to be signed off on or some other gobbledygook. The fact of the matter is that the bush has been placed in such a way that you spend years beating around it!
By that logic, I could plan a trip to Japan. It doesn’t matter whether I go or not, but I PLAN to. What is the point of that? What our government is doing is procrastinating and perendinating.
If I had to name one song that would sum up our governments attitude, it would probably be ‘Tomorrow’. “The sun’ll come up! Tomorrow! Tomorrow!” However, I bet my bottom dollar it won’t, because as the saying goes, tomorrow never comes.
What I think “Wake Up Sid” is about is realizing one’s own potential. And I think that is what India, as a country needs. We need people who are not content with just ‘having potential’; we need people who will not rest until that potential has been realized. That Indian mentality of “hum pass ho gaye” is the reason why India is still a backward country. It is up to us, as the future of India, not to pass, but to excel! As Tagore famously said, “Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection; Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
In my opinion, it is time to wake up. Not tomorrow. Today.
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