This is an email I wrote to my friends last year on Independence Day. I just looked at the list again and found that I still love each and every single item on it, just as much. Even the sad ones. Even the dispicable one. I love them all.________________________________
I couldn't fit everything in. I couldn't even fit the most important things in. I tried. I couldn't fit in all the sad things, certainly not the all the happy things. I tried.
Kashmir. Kashmir ki kalli. Kyo ki saas bhi babhi bahu this. Amitabh. Jai Shree Krishna. Ekta Kapoor. (Hai Ram). Bhajans. Tulsi. Aagar batti. Bhenchod. Trucks. Truck Drivers. Bullock Carts. Honda Civic. Honda. Bajaj. TVS Scooty. Idea Cellular. Goa. Aguada. Farmers. EVERY SINGLE INDIAN FARMER. Ghats. Ghatis. 6-seater rickshaws with chaarso-bees drivers. Manjulabai having an affair with the watchman and staring down her nose at your boyfriend. Marathi. Hindi. Telugu. Wannakam. Elephants. (No, not to go to school on.) Brass handis. Pink Sarees. Taj Mahal. Thar. Konark. Kanyakumari. Mumbai models and Kashmiri beauties. The word 'kamar'. Burkhas, saris and skirts all going out to lunch. Seedy hotels with great food. Karigars. Upset Stomaches. No water in villages for months on end. No villagers left in villages. Harsud. Naya Harsud. Mangoes. Tablas. Limbu Pani. Lassi. Mango Lassi. Air India to London. Kids playing football in the rain. Kolhapuri chappals. River-Linking. (Not whilst I'm alive.) Silver Kohlapuri Chappals. Indradhanush. Wada-pav. Pomfret. Prawn curry. (OH DAMN IT - ALL THE FOOD. ALL THE FOOD.) Monsoon. Hindi. Hindi teachers. Tuition teachers. Mumbai. Cycles. Dabba-wallahs. Shahrukh Khan. Flutes. The Bold and the Beautiful. Om Puri. Manoj Bajpai. Rajkumaris. Faux Rajkumaris. Faux Rajkumaris in Central London clubs. India-Gate. Rajkumars. (There are no faux Rajkumars). Baniyan-Brief for Rs. 25/-. Torn Baniyan. Cricket. Chai-tapri. Tapri-chai. The Right to Information.
Kashmir. Kashmir ki kalli. Kyo ki saas bhi babhi bahu this. Amitabh. Jai Shree Krishna. Ekta Kapoor. (Hai Ram). Bhajans. Tulsi. Aagar batti. Bhenchod. Trucks. Truck Drivers. Bullock Carts. Honda Civic. Honda. Bajaj. TVS Scooty. Idea Cellular. Goa. Aguada. Farmers. EVERY SINGLE INDIAN FARMER. Ghats. Ghatis. 6-seater rickshaws with chaarso-bees drivers. Manjulabai having an affair with the watchman and staring down her nose at your boyfriend. Marathi. Hindi. Telugu. Wannakam. Elephants. (No, not to go to school on.) Brass handis. Pink Sarees. Taj Mahal. Thar. Konark. Kanyakumari. Mumbai models and Kashmiri beauties. The word 'kamar'. Burkhas, saris and skirts all going out to lunch. Seedy hotels with great food. Karigars. Upset Stomaches. No water in villages for months on end. No villagers left in villages. Harsud. Naya Harsud. Mangoes. Tablas. Limbu Pani. Lassi. Mango Lassi. Air India to London. Kids playing football in the rain. Kolhapuri chappals. River-Linking. (Not whilst I'm alive.) Silver Kohlapuri Chappals. Indradhanush. Wada-pav. Pomfret. Prawn curry. (OH DAMN IT - ALL THE FOOD. ALL THE FOOD.) Monsoon. Hindi. Hindi teachers. Tuition teachers. Mumbai. Cycles. Dabba-wallahs. Shahrukh Khan. Flutes. The Bold and the Beautiful. Om Puri. Manoj Bajpai. Rajkumaris. Faux Rajkumaris. Faux Rajkumaris in Central London clubs. India-Gate. Rajkumars. (There are no faux Rajkumars). Baniyan-Brief for Rs. 25/-. Torn Baniyan. Cricket. Chai-tapri. Tapri-chai. The Right to Information.
Himalayas. Uttaranchal. Uttaranchal. Yeh to patta nahin, ji. Bumpy roads. Expressway. Illicit driving license. Driving school teachers picking you up from your house. Kerala. Lift-man. Red earth. Nine West. Bail-gaddi.Bombay Bomb Blasts. Baga beach. Tibetan joints. Watchmen with whistles. (Watchmen with whistles blowing them full-on in the middle of the night, right outside your window.) Lathi-charge. Lathi. Kodaikanal. Lonavala. Bijli. Karate. Shikar - STILL. Bijli band. Taj Mahal. Delhi Station. Nuclear Scientists and Poets. Red Fort. Dhobis. Maalis. The Armed Forces ('Come Be a Jawan Today'). Agni. AK-47s. Kargil. Siachin. Marigolds. Valley of flowers. Hockey. Tantra. Mynahs.
Mussourie. Manali. Jodhpur. Sandstone. Black Cotton Soil. Fields. Brown Fields. Anna Hazare. Green Fields. Paddy Fields. Parrots. Tigers. Tiger kings. Reliance. Reliance. Reliance. Delhi Parliament Attacks. Tippu Sultan. Jataka. Palki. Palaak. Doordarshan. Mahabharat on Doordarshan. The Olympics on Doordarshan. Baazar. Bhendi. Mynahs. Sardar Sarovar. 40 million dam-displaced. Farmer suicides. Project Tiger. Sariska. Shikari. Beggars on platforms. Beggars on streets. Beggars smiling at you and giving you a blessing. Beggars shouting at you in incomprehensible-curse-dialect. Soft Porn sold on the road. Moghras sold on the road. Shivaji. Tongas. (Where do you still find tongas?) Dehradun. Lapwing calls. German bakery. Chappals. Chai. Filter Coffee. Dosa. Halwa. Full moon shining on banyan trees. Kamasutra. Gulmohar (I know, Mr. Gole, its' not indigenous.)
Not because of,
Not inspite of.
Just.
Jai Hind.
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