The Indian Thali

Amitabh Bachchan, lay gravely ill, after an accident on the set of his film "Coolie." The nation came to a standstill; public prayers were offered at every intersection for the actor's survival; anxious crowds thronged the hospital; the prime minister came to sit at the patient's bedside. One fan walked backward for 300 miles, his bizarre penance an offering to the gods for his hero's survival. Two disconsolate youth committed suicide, hoping the heavens would agree to trade their lives for Bachchan's. Big B survived.

When Tulsi returned to Shanti Niketan after two decades and touched its walls, half of the nation wept. So did I.

Inhabited by nearly 940 million individuals of every ethnic extraction, we speak 17 major languages and 22,000 district "dialects". We blog in English.

51% of the country is illiterate. Mother India has educated the world's second-largest pool of trained scientists and engineers.

I stay in a place where Islamic prayer blends with the chant of the mantras at the Hindu temple and the voices of the Sikh faithful at the Gurudwara reciting verses from their sacred book. Anu Mallik cribs tunes from these prayers.

Peasant organizations and suspicious officials attempt to close down Kentucky Fried Chicken as a ‘threat’ to the nation. We invent more sophisticated software for US computer manufacturers than any other country in the world.

We elevate non violence to an effective moral principal. Our freedom was born in blood and our independence still soaks in it.

Nothing can be taken for granted here. Not even its name, not even its national song.

Everybody is a part of the minority. I am a Brahmin, 90% of my fellow Indians are not.

The country's national motto, emblazoned on its governmental crest, is "Satyameva Jayate": Truth Always Triumphs. We look at it, say “Abba Chaaaaaa” and laugh. Just.

We are comfortable with multiple identities and multiple loyalties. period.

We have; maximum films by an actor in an year [Mithun Da, you have done us proud-39 films *dazed*] , largest sky-bag, longest nails etc as entries in the Guinness book.

We cook Potato in 500 different ways natively. We eat Teriyaki burger with stuffed potato for Rs.82/-

I love Riti Gowla. Only ripe people come to our concerts.
I love the Arabic part of Kaho na Kaho. When the Pakistani “Jal” performed here, there was a hullabaloo…

“If on Earth there be paradise or bliss, it is this, it is this, it is this..."

P.S: Amma is calling me for reciting Vishnu Sahasranaamam. I'll have to shush Bade Ghulam Ali and go..