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Day Of Freedom

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by satchitananda, Aug 17, 2018.

  1. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    We call it 'independence day'. We became free from the clutches of an exploitative empire. 72 years of freedom. Our country has come a long way from the way the 'rulers' left it.

    On that independence day and the day after that, two great personalities got their personal freedom from their personal prisons of pain and suffering. Two gems who contributed in their own different ways to our country.

    Ajit Wadekar. The first Indian captain of our cricket team that I became aware of. I was in Std. IV. I remember a photo of the captain alighting from a flight followed by his team members. They were returning victorious from a test match in England. The 8 year old in me was really impressed. I'd wait to get out of my school bus in the evening and would try to be the first to get out of that bus. In my juvenile mind, the bus was an aircraft and I was the captain alighting victorious onto Indian soil. :grimacing: Cricketers have come, gone and some continue in the game, but this was my first introduction to the world of cricket. It is a different matter that I am no great aficionado of the game or any sport whatsoever, but I certainly felt a twinge of loss when I heard of the passing on of this great cricketer.

    Atal Behari Vajpayee: I am at a loss to name another politician who was equally loved by all, whose tenure in the political arena was as clean and non-controversial. Vajpayeeji, as he was known to one and all, was a gentle giant, a stalwart, an erudite man, a politician with class and polish (almost an oxymoron in today's world) and something of an anachronism in today's world of politics ..... words are inadequate to describe this personality. The feeling of loss is tremendous. God has stopped making politicians like him - at least not in India. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
     
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  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Same here. Not much into cricket, but felt sad to read the news of the passing. Must have been something to be the captain of the first team to beat England in a series.

    Felt a pinch of "Arey!" to read it in rediff this morning. What a gentleman. I recall watching him so many times on TV. His PM tenure was about till when I followed Indian politics somewhat closely. Indeed, they don't make his likes any more. He once said, about his poetry, "My poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier's drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior's will to win." Nice.
     
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  3. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello:Splendid and apt.
    2. It is year of senior politicians departing to get into new avatars .
    3. @Spavitra has come out yester night with an ode in Tamil summing up BHARATA Rathna vajpayee's achievements including the golden quadrilateral.
    The highlight of her poem is that he wore the national flag on independence day and departed only the next day allowing thus Nation celebrated the important national holiday on a/c of I Day.
    THANKS AND REGARDS.
     
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  4. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    @satchitananda
    My dear Satchi
    I know nothing much about either the myth or reality of Vajpayee. So I'll leave it at that.
    But I can tell you a lot about Ajit Wadekar. We were batch mates in State Bank. He belonged to Bombay Head office and I was attached to Madras. The first time I met him was when we were together in a Training Pragramme in the Staff Training College at Hyderabad. He was a fun person to be with and we bonded very well. Thereafter I could meet him a few times at various conferences. He never flaunted his position as a cricketer in our meetings. He used his position as cricketer very well in mobilizing deposits for the Bank. Because of this and his cricketing career, he soon overtook us in hierarchy. We never grudged it though. I recall those days very vividly and fondly.
    Sri
     
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  5. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    I recall the Ajit Wadekar @satchitananda .
    I think there was a movie also about this historic win if my memory serves me right.
    A good ode.
     
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  6. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Even 71 yeas after Independence, how much free have we become? You can't judge it from an ac room in a metro city. You have to come to the rural India to judge the condition of poor people.

    Freedom from suffering and pain is very important. Our law allows euthanasia in only two conditions. I say take out any restrictions, and let any one apply for euthanasia.
     
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  7. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    I was a kid in school when India became free in 1947.All I remember is that some sweets were distributed and holiday was declared. Saw Gandhi alighting fro a train from a distance. Again a holiday was declared when he was shot dead on 30th Jan. 1948. We had no experience of foreign rule. All that mattered was holiday. Our elders used to talk of it but for us it was all Greek. We understood the true meaning of it as we grew.
     

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