Two years back, at the freshly minted Museum of Prime Ministers at Teen Murti, the co-architect, Dr A Surya Prakash, posed an interesting dilemma. At a digital simulation of “walk with the PM” he told me to choose the PM i would like to “walk” with
75 years of history flashed before me. The contributions of our first PM, pulling together a battered country the British left him with, his legacy marred by the debacle of 1962; the blink-and-you miss-him GL Nanda; the heroic Shastri ji, architect of 1965, cut short by a mysterious end in a foreign land; the “goongi” girl child who transformed into Durga in 1971, & her own unravelling during the Emergency; the puritanical Morarji with a non-so-puritanical son Kanti; then Chaudhary Charan Singh who never faced Parliament; then Mrs G returning but her legacy overshadowed by Bluestar at Harminder Sahib; the succession that thrust a bewildered Indian Airlines pilot to the job of CEO of India; the marred-by-Mandal VP Singh; the interregnum of Chandrasekhar; the silent assassin PVN; the forgettable phases of IK Gujral & HD Deve Gowda; the poet democrat Atal ji; the dwarfed-by-loyalty Manmohan Singh; &, of course, the indefatigable PM we had had for the 8 years then, flashed before my eyes
I (still) chose Nehru
Sharing on 27 May, his 60th death anniversary
Sahir says it for us:
jism kī maut koī maut nahīñ hotī hai
jism mit jāne se insān nahīñ mar jāte
dhaDkaneñ rukne se armān nahīñ mar jāte
sāñs tham jāne se elān nahiñ mar jāte
hont jam jāne se farmān nahiñ mar jāte
jism kī maut koī maut nahī hotī hai
wo jo har dīn se munkir thā har ik dharm se dūr
phir bhi har dīn har ik dharm ka ģhamĶhwār rahā
sāri qaumoñ ke gunāhoñ kā kaRā bojh liye
umr bhar sūrat-i-īsā jo sar-i-dār rahā
jisne insānoñ ki taqsīm ke sadme jhele
phir bhi insāñ ki aĶhuwwat kā parastār rahā
jiski nazroñ meiñ thā ek a’ālamī tehzīb ka Ķhwāb
jiska har sāñs nae ‘ahd kā me’mār rahā
jisne zardār-i-maīshat ko gawārā na kiyā
jis ko āīn-e-masāwāt pe asrār rahā
uske farmānoñ kī, ae’lānoñ ki ta’zīm karo
rākh taqsīm kī, armān bhi taqsīm karo
maut aur zīst ke sangam pe pareshāñ kyoñ ho
us kā baĶhshā huā seh rang ‘alam le ke chalo
jo tumhe jādah-e-manzil ka patā detā hai
apni peshāni pe wo naqsh-i-qadam le ke chalo
dāman-e-waqt pea b khūn ke chhīñTe na paReñ
ek markaz ki taraf dairo haram le ke chalo
ham miTā Dālenge sarmāya-o-mehnat ka tazād
ye aqīdah, ye irādah, ye qasam le ke chalo
wo jo humrāz rahā, hāzir-o-mustaqbil kā,
uske Ķhwāboñ ki Ķhushi, rūh ka ġham le ke chalo
jism kī maut koī maut nahīñ hotī hai
jism mit jāne se insān nahīñ mar jāte
dhaDkaneñ rukne se armān nahīñ mar jāte
sāñs tham jāne se elān nahiñ mar jāte
hont jam jāne se farmān nahiñ mar jāte
—
A question to this house: Did I choose well? If not, who would you have walked with? (It’s ok if you want to say that this isn’t even a question 😊)
Crime/Fiction author // Trial Lawyer//
1wExcellent stand Sir. On that I am with you. My head reels when I hear 98% politicians talk. They speak as if the voting age is 4 and we, all eligible voters are 5....yeh lo lollypop, eh button dabav....berry gud...yeh saal tu ho jayega. ..vote daala na ...abh phutja jagah khali kar, jaldi .... Sometimes they bring strange lyrical songs- vote dalo fatafat, paise lelo khatakhat.. And at times the PM is selling LIC, Hindustan Aeronautics, land at China Border....to whomsoever they fancy..... Deshseva . Yeh kahan ka Mewa hai? arre oh Samba, jara pata lagyyo ..ye Deshseva kon chidiya ka naam hai re .??