Patriotism in the time of the swine flu

A funny thing happened to me on the way to work today, as I was waiting for the light to change a 10 year old street kid walked up to my car and offered me a flag and a surgical mask. Unfortunately I wasn't carrying a camera and couldn't record that image for posterity. Nevertheless on this 14th of August as I drove to work I thought of what it means to be an Indian.

Being Indian means learning to accept disparity. Disparity in wealth, education and opportunity. The car I drove would have fed a hundred of those street kids for a year and yet I don't feel the least bit guilty in driving an expensive German car on these potholed Indian streets.

By the grace of god my children can go to decent schools and enjoy a lifestyle free of wants - that street kid on the other hand is busy figuring out how to hustle his next meal, school and classes are way beyond his field of vision. Like most people in my demographic I just shrug and accept this as an accident of fate. This belief in the karmic cycle and the pithy explanation that life's hardships are a by-product of destiny is what makes me an Indian.

While the current pandemic is global and India isn't alone in its spread - I do remember in 1994 we had the dubious honour of being the epicentre of the first plague outbreak since the Middle Ages! And yet communal hygiene is hardly a priority, most of India's Tier II and some Tier I cities still suffer from open drains and insect infested stagnant water. We Indians take pride in the cleanliness of our homes but do not hesitate to litter the open space just beyond our doors!

Perhaps this rant is coloured by the temporary darkness in my mood - inspite of these warts in my country and the deficiencies in the psyche of my countrymen, India is where my heart is and this is where I live. I am an Indian not out of an accident of birth, but because I choose to be.

Its difficult to rationally explain why I love my country but maybe I'm like the wife who forgives the straying husband, not because she feels compelled to stay in the marriage, but because she knows he is a better man.