And Quiet Flows the Sabarmati

The moon was shining bright and a calm breeze was blowing as the river quietly flowed. On the banks was a parapet on which sat an old man wearing his trademark jacket and beard that was finely trimmed. He took off his spectacles and cleaned them with a spotless white handkerchief he brought out from the pocket of his crisp white kurta.  Looking at him, you could not make out what was going through his mind, but the wrinkles on his forehead gave away the worries the man kept away from the world. A young boy caught his attention for a moment as he saw him throwing flat pieces of stones on the water. The more the number of flips the stone would do, the louder was the boy’s laughter. The old man was amused when the boy offered him a stone to try and beat his five flips. The man smilingly declined the offer but patted the boy encouraging him to beat his own record.

Suddenly from nowhere, two large shadows appeared. The old man wasn’t bothered as the two shadowy figures came and sat beside him. It seemed the old man had summoned for these people who looked old, but charming, with broad smiles on their faces. The newcomers started patting the old man’s back…Wonderful…You are the true son of Gujarat who has made the state so proud. Winning the elections once is in itself a big achievement and doing it twice in succession makes you among the greatest Gujjus of all times.

The embarrassed old man for once could not hide his joy but said with all humbleness, “ No matter what I do or anyone does, there will never ever be two taller Indians than the two of you. You transcend generations and times and yet your name and fame keep growing by the day. That is true greatness and I bow my head in respect to the two of you.” The old man went down on his knees, bent forward and touched the earth with his forehead as he paid reverence to the two elderly gentlemen.

“Get up Naren,” said the older of the two with a stick in one hand and just a loin cloth around the middle….half naked fakir, you would have mistaken him had you seen him at the street crossing. “You gave me such a gift that I cannot thank you enough. This Sabarmati embankment that you have done has brought so much joy to me after years of neglect. Today the river flows round the year cooling the place, the embankment is kept clean, the gardens are so well maintained and now with so many people coming, I am happy and thankful to you.”

“Yes Naren, you have made me so much taller today, was getting lost in sands of time and history of the nation as it is being taught,” said the taller of the two who wore a crisp white dhoti kurta with a wrap around his shoulders. “The statue you have built for me today is the tallest in the world. People come to see me in thousands every day. The lake and the landscaping around, makes the place even better than many historical places and more importantly happy to be back in history books for the right reason. Just add an umbrella on top because the birds throw their droppings on my head and I don’t like it.”

“We are proud of you. Tomorrow is your coronation at Delhi and yet today you are here and requesting for our audience! Why us, why today?”

“Dear Bapu and Sardar, I wanted to not only seek your blessings but wanted some advice on how to do better in the next term. In the first term I did a lot, I tried a lot, I achieved some major gains but maybe there were a few mistakes and could have done better. What would you want me to do this time? Tell me and I shall make it happen.”

The two elder statesmen looked at each other and nodded their heads as if they knew the question before it was even uttered. “We offer you just once piece of advice- follow the Rajadharma. The kings of history have given way to democratically elected people and you being the leader are the Raja, the Nayak of the Nation. The Dharma or the right way of ruling and is not much different from what the two of us did in our times, even though we never were anointed kings. So now give us your ears as we tell you our stories leading to the right way of ruling the people.”

Bapu spoke first. “Naren, the first and foremost duty of any king is to unite the people for a common cause which is what we did in our times. All our efforts were to unite every person in the country to see the exploitation and brutality of the colonial rulers. If only one or two sections of people of this country would have participated, do you think we would have achieved success in throwing out the British rulers? No, never. Every section of the populace was with us- the farmers, the workers, the weavers, the traders, the students, the teachers, the lawyers, the young, the old, the women…from Champaran to Noakhali, from Dandi March to Quit India, all my life was to make sure we Indians were all welcome into the freedom movement and fought together against the common enemy.  The satyagrahas, the fasts and the walks I undertook were to harness the support of all sections. If there were disputes and disagreements, we found solutions and never lost touch with the masses. There was never any discrimination about the colour, the religion, about what they ate and how they lived. Personal lives were left alone and not attempted to be tampered with. Get practical and real and grow beyond narrow definitions of nation, nationalism and religious bigotry. Unite the people, unite the nation and not do anything that breaks down the beautiful multiplicity mosaic culture called India. Make this a country of people with love and compassion for each other, where hatred and vindictiveness has no place in your heart, where every citizen is proud to call himself an Indian First, Indian to the End. Bharat Jodo, Naren, Bharat ko Jodo.

Sardar took over where Bapu left. “Why do people remember me even to this day? Simple, I worked for many causes but history will remember me for ensuring the princely states, which were pockets of prosperity in the ocean of poverty and many of them wanted to remain independent with their own flags and forces, were all forced to become part of the one nation called India. When the marauders from the north came to forcibly occupy our country, we made sure we beat them away and made sure Kashmir remained an integral part of the country. My actions of freedom struggle including Bardoli Movement and other agitations against the British rule were all aimed to bring all sections of society under one roof of opposition to the oppressive regime that ruled us for centuries. Today that you have immortalized me with this Statue of Unity, become the flame that carries the same message that heals cracks and fractures, treat the believer and the non-believer alike, love the eater and the non-eater without bias. Once again, even at the cost of repetition I will say, Bharat Jodo, Naren, Bharat ko Jodo.

By now the night was fading, the first rays of sun were yet to come from behind the clouds and early birds were beginning to make themselves heard. Out of a corner, a peacock appeared, opened up its plumes, danced a little and then walked away in all regality. Naren picked up a beautiful feather left behind by the peacock. As he stood admiring, Bapu asked Naren, “Tell me, who does this feather remind you of?”

“Lord Krishna for sure!”

“Yes, very true but do you know why Krishna is so popular? He meant something to everyone. For the mothers he was a naughty child yet loving and honest; for the women he was the immortal lover; for the cowherds he was one of them; for the farmers there was his brother Balaram with the plough; for the kshatriyas he was a brave warrior; for the ruling class he is a king of Yadavas…in short there is no one who cannot identify himself or herself with Krishna. Be like Krishna, who had guile and anger but the other qualities that made him a favourite of the masses. People could identify themselves with Krishna as a friend, a savior and a family member. He should be your role model- try to not act like God but act with Good-ness. Having won two times, no one can take away your place in history. Now is the time to leave behind a legacy which does good to the masses without fear. Deliver the achhe din you promised through sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas….that is your Rajadharma.”

God Bless My Country.

SS