Proud to be an Indian!

Last few days have been rather disappointing for many of us country men. The dismal show by our cricket team in the on-going Cricket World Cup has shattered a lot of dreams and hopes. Die-hard fans, including me, feel cheated for the faith that we had reposed in our highly-celebrated cricketers. After all, cricket has become a religion in our country. And to see our representatives fall like a pack of cards against the Bangladesh and Sri Lankan teams dealt a severe blow to our pride...

You must be wondering how come the above paragraph about our ouster from the World Cup makes me feel proud. It doesn't. But some incident related to it does!

On Sunday, I was visiting a nearby service center on account of some work. One of the attendants, while helping out, asked, "Aapko kya lagta hai sahab, aaj Bermuda jeetegi naa?" (Do you believe that Bermuda will win today?). For those who don't have the context, Bermuda's possible win over Bangladesh was our last chance for moving on to the next stage of the World Cup. Most of us had no hopes of that outcome. Hence, I was surprised with the optimism being shown by this person. I decided to ask him, "Ab tak ki itni ghatiya performance ke baad bhi tumhein lagta hai ki yeh team kuch kar sakti hai?" (After such a dismal performance so far, do you still believe that the current team can do anything?). His reply left me speechless. He said, "Kya kare sahab, aakhir apna desh hai!" (After all, it is our country!).

After thinking about this for a few minutes, I felt extremely glad. To see a guy, who hardly earns anything, whose life is full of hardships, and who has just recently had his hopes crushed by his team, show such pride and optimism was remarkable! To contrast this, there are many of us who are privileged, who have had a world-class education, but who still like to see the glass half-empty. In the quest for immediate greener pastures, we forget that we too have a great responsibility to contribute towards taking our country forward. A responsibility to show faith. A responsibility to rub that faith on to others. Mere criticism is not going to solve the problems. After all, the countries which are prominent on the world map didn't reach there from day one. They have reached there based on the vision, the faith, and the commitment of their denizens...

The pride and faith that was shown by my friend in the service center on Sunday makes me believe that we too will be there soon. Not just in cricket, but in all spheres of life. The love and the pride for the country is deep-rooted, and the prayers, along with the resolve to perform, will definitely yield results. It is just a matter of time, and for all of us to put our heads together. So this post is dedicated to my friend at the service center, "Raj". Thanks Raj for showing the faith. Hopefully, we all, along with our cricketers, will soon realize the responsibility that is entrusted with us, and do our country proud.

Vande Mataram!