Feature - Honour thy Anthem
Srinath Girish
The movie was coming to an end. The hero gazed deep into the heroine's eyes and their faces moved closer. Suddenly their countenances were replaced by two swaying roses in black and white. The audience began stirring in their seats. After the words "The End" flashed on the screen, there was no mad scramble for the exits. Everyone just stood up and waited. Soon enough, the waving National Flag flashed on the screen and the strains of "Jana Gana Mana.." began to fill the hall. The crowd snapped to attention, many singing the works out loud. Only after the song ended did anyone move…
This is a scene from when I was still in school, in the 1970s. Playing the National Anthem was the norm in all theatres after the show. I don't know whether it was compulsory or not . Nor do I know why it was discontinued. All I know is that it was done and that I never heard anyone complain about it.
I wonder, if it hadn't been discontinued, would it have worked the same way today? Doubtful. At the very least, some moron's mobile phone would ring while the Anthem was playing and he would answer it right then and there , rather than switch it off.
Have we, as a nation, lost our respect for the National Anthem? Doesn't it mean anything to us any more? Why do I keep seeing people actually remain sitting when it is being played? Why do they slouch, put their hands in their pockets and look around the hall as its noble words echo in the air? What has happened to us? Has the Anthem, like many traditions and icons in this hectic day and age, lost its significance for the common man? Or is the common man too caught up in the rat race to give it the honour it deserves?
Most of you who read this, I know (think? hope!) will react in righteous indignation. This guy is exaggerating, you will say to yourselves. I wish I were. But look around you. What I say is true. Over time, we have learnt to denigrate the leaders who fought and gave us our freedom. Once deemed sacrilege, the things said and written nowadays about these stalwarts, albeit true in the light of new facts hitherto unknown, have had another unintended effect. They have caused us to tone down our adulation for things representing the Nation in all its glory.
Democracy has many blessings. Unfortunately it has many curses too. Among the many freedoms it grants, it also grants the freedom to ignore those aspects of National Pride that do not immediately affect us in our everyday lives. Respect for the National Flag and the National Anthem is a duty which many of us tend to ignore, like many of the Fundemental Duties that are enshrined in the Constitution.
The laws are there, of course. Once in a while, the media pounces on a poor public man who has the audacity to hand the Flag upside down during Republic Day or is seen sleeping when the Anthem is being played after a tedious, lengthy seminar. For the next few days, there is a hue and cry in the papers and television over the general denigration of values. It ends there. Once its shelf value expires, the story is canned till the next faux pas occurs.
We lose sight of the real problem. Laws can only provide the modus operandi to punish perpetrators after the event. What we need is to prevent such things from happening at all. The citizen has to be aware, all the time, of what his position vis-à-vis the Nation is. Pride in the country and its icons has to come from within.
In this period of our history when terrorism threatens from all corners, what better way to preserve the nation?
It is not enough if your child can sing the Anthem beautifully at the age of three. That is just the result of the natural absorption capacity of a child's brain combined with the diligence of its teachers in play school. What the parent has to do is to instill the significance of its new knowledge in its mind. Positive thoughts regarding the Nation and pride in it must be reinforced. The child must understand what it is to be a part of this great country. The responsibility of a parent is tremendous in this respect. It is a question of eternal vigil, much like the lonely soldier guarding the nation's ice-bound borders.
In later years, if your son or daughter is faced with a choice to work against the Nation's interests for great personal gain (not a far-fetched possibility, the way things are going) or to tread the straight and narrow path, this sense of values imbibed at home will be his or her greatest weapon. A weapon much, much more powerful than all the AK-47s and plastic gelignite amassed by all the terrorists in the world.
It is not going to be guns that win the war on terrorism, it is the battle for the minds of the people.
It is high time we stopped paying lip service. Stop merely extolling patriotic films. Play your character role in one, right at home. Not everyone can be a battle hero. Play your part for the country, in whatever way you can.
So respect the symbols. Teach your children to stand to attention and sing along at the top of their voices when the Anthem is played. Tell them to salute the Tricolor with pride.
HONOUR THY ANTHEM!
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