On ‘Freedom’ and Peepli

I have no idea about what life was when the British ruled us. Neither do I relate very well to the concept of us as a ‘nation state’, and before you start to wonder what I mean …let me explain.

A nation is a ‘close-knit’ group of people which share a ‘common culture’. The emphasis hence is on ‘close-knit’ and ‘common culture’.

When the British left us, we started to knit together whatever they left and started to call it a nation. It is also evident that there are multiple cultures in India that are obviously not ‘close knit’. And whilst we continue to believe that we are a ‘nation state’, and sometimes use this term interchangeably for ‘county’, I think the truth is far from it. That’s one.

We went to watch ‘Peepli (Live)’ yesterday at Prabhat. It’s a short and hard hitting movie and I recommend each of you to spend on this ticket. After the show and dinner, I was much disturbed. Not because what we saw in the movie was new or surprising, but because I could relate to some of the characters and felt ashamed of our current state of affairs as a country (not a nation).

The Common wealth games haven’t even started and we are already wishing that they end soon, so we can save face as a county (not a nation).

I don’t think I have had too much to crib about in life. The right education and support available to us helped us grow in directions that made us feel privileged. The economy also opened up at the time when we could make the most of it and did. I remember a time when my Dad would compare his government salary after 35 years of work; to ours after 5, and that he got paid much less. We made our houses, bought cars, and filled our houses with stuff we needed, or thought we needed, traveled and took regular vacations. What more can we ask for?
And yet, I feel ashamed.

As a kid; I remember looking at my neighbors new car (the first Maruti model), and out of a sheer sense of envy at our family not being able to afford it…I went and made a huge scratch on it, with the sharpest stone I could find. On being questioned on my actions as a 9 year old, I couldn’t explain the behavior.

I can now. I did it because I believed; that our neighbors didn’t deserve it, or; that all of us should be able to deserve it, or, if they really did deserve it, why can’t they share it with us, or; at least they shouldn’t show it off in a way that makes everybody else feel small or worthless. I did scratch it nevertheless.

The situation in our country isn’t very different today. When we buy a liter of water for 15 bucks, we hardly realize that that is the money an average rural Indian makes a day, or; that drinking water is still a ‘pipe dream’ in most of India, or that even in an advancing state like ours, the nearest doctor is sometimes 50 Kms away, or; that most of what kids are taught at government schools will never get them a decent job.

When these people see a few of us ‘deserving’ lot living it up, not sharing, and showing off in ways that makes other people look small and worthless, would they make a huge scratch on us, with the sharpest stone they can find?

I would.

Vineet Panchhi owns and runs Audio Wagon, his lifelong passion and now a music company. He blogs at Unplanned Journeys , and can be reached at: vineet.panchhi@audiowagon.com