My memory is quite vague. I think I was in the 10th or 11th grade. I
was attending this function to honor a freedom fighter. He actually looked like one. He was old. Probably into his late 70s.
He had his white dhothi and kurtha with a Gandhi cap - you know what
that is. He started his speech by telling how they sacrificed their lives to
fight for the freedom of the country and for their own. The way they
spent time in jails for years on, leaving their families behind. The
way they took the beatings by the British. Then he said: 'I dont think it was worth it. We dedicated our life
thinking that we would be better off after freedom. I never thought
that India would be like what it is now. Our freedom struggle has gone
waste' and he started crying on the stage. Nobody expected this drama on the stage and the organizers quickly
made him sit in his chair. They however honored him by putting a
garland and a shawl around him (I dont know why of all the things -
Shawl?? ) I still cant forget that day. The pain was evident. The pain of
wasting one's life. The pain of shattered dreams. The pain of lost
loved ones. The pain of living in independent India. The India was not the India that this freedom fighter expected. I
think Post-Independence era was a total disappointment to these
people. They had a dream of 'Independent' India, in vain.
was attending this function to honor a freedom fighter. He actually looked like one. He was old. Probably into his late 70s.
He had his white dhothi and kurtha with a Gandhi cap - you know what
that is. He started his speech by telling how they sacrificed their lives to
fight for the freedom of the country and for their own. The way they
spent time in jails for years on, leaving their families behind. The
way they took the beatings by the British. Then he said: 'I dont think it was worth it. We dedicated our life
thinking that we would be better off after freedom. I never thought
that India would be like what it is now. Our freedom struggle has gone
waste' and he started crying on the stage. Nobody expected this drama on the stage and the organizers quickly
made him sit in his chair. They however honored him by putting a
garland and a shawl around him (I dont know why of all the things -
Shawl?? ) I still cant forget that day. The pain was evident. The pain of
wasting one's life. The pain of shattered dreams. The pain of lost
loved ones. The pain of living in independent India. The India was not the India that this freedom fighter expected. I
think Post-Independence era was a total disappointment to these
people. They had a dream of 'Independent' India, in vain.
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