It was kind of very unusual for me. I never did this before in the past 2 year’s stint of my corporate life. It was inexplicable. I did(of course unwillingly) during my college days not to see flunks in my mark sheet or salute the flag on Independence and Republic day celebrations in the final year (coz I have to be there.. patriotismla onnum illa ) . I wanted to go back. I tried to coax my mind so much but all futile efforts. Finally I gave up and decided to brush my teeth. I am a late night guy who goes to bed around 2 and open my eyes at 8 to off my alarm and again sleep. But today the clock ticked 6 and jeopardized my sleep. I criticized my soul for being so callous. I always remember my friends snigger and question if I have ever seen dawn. So I quickly peeped out of the window. (Guys now you dare question me;) ) .
Quickly boiled the milk and I was ready to have my breakfast (probably in the past 2 months. It’s always a brunch for me). I flipped through my previous days memories of lunch in Nandhini Palace around 3 pm, washing my bloody clothes for 2 hours and reading ‘2 States’ by Chetan Bhagat the rest of the day. I found this book to be very interesting because it was of the KISS genre, my favourite (I believe for most). My rest of the blog will talk about the central theme of the book which I really liked. For guys who haven’t read the book below is the gist.
2 MBA graduates (IIMA) love each other. Both are from different states (guy from Punjab, girl from Tamil Nadu). They want to be life partners. Both of their parents are obnoxious. They don’t want to elope as they want to see their parents smile on their wedding day. Both win the hearts of each other’s parents and end up having a twin ;) (I am a twin too…)
Alarm ringing… Its 8 am… I miss my sleep so badly.. Nevertheless……..
The central theme of the book is that every young people should marry outside the community(state) as it is good for the country. It is the greater purpose as it makes us feel as one.
Guys now let’s get back to some serious thoughts. How many of us think India as our nation but when we see cricket matches or read political drama or when we are abroad? We brag too much of our regionalism. South Indians sulk about north eating chappatis/rotis with dal and curd whereas North sulk about south eating rice/dosas. People in one state do not care about the happenings in the other state. A classic example is the Telangana issue. How many states have insisted the central government to resolve the issue? I feel our country is literally divided into 2 geographies North and South. Needless to say, Love has become a feeling within borders. Many North Indians like south Indian girls because they are more homely, South Indians like North Indian girls because they are fairer. But what stops from crossing the borders is the new culture/language. Many fear of losing relationships defending their love. Love becomes more meaningful when one fights for it hard and earn happiness through new relationships. And when did Loving more people become a bad thing?
And here is my favourite quote from the book. Girl’s father emotional speech during the wedding ceremony “Actually the choice is simple. When your child decides to love a new person, you can either see it as a chance to hate some people – the person they choose and their families. Which is what we did for a while. However you can also see it as a chance to love some more people. And since when did loving more people become a bad thing? Yes, the tamilian in me is a little disappointed. But the Indian in me is quite happy. And more than anything the human being in me is very happy. After all we have decided this opportunity to create loved ones for ourselves”.
I am sure we are all human beings. Let’s make our humanness in us happier than anything else. Let’s not make 2 States 2 India but 28 states “ONE INDIA”. I feel sleeeeeeepyyyyyyyyyy..
PS: KISS means Keep It Simple and Stupid.