Lest We Forget Who We Are

Sand Art on India’s Independence Movement by Manas Kumar Sahoo

We are the offsprings of the brave-hearts
Who lost their all, only to bounce back
From their ashes over and over
To build it all over, time and again

We are the descendants of the die-hards who were
Incessantly bound by shackles of foreign rule
Bent and twisted by years and years of slavery,
Their pride crushed as they took the beating

We are inheritors of the DNA of the brave blood
That ran in the veins of our folks who never gave in
Gave their lives instead, never bowed their heads
Shook the imperial rule, got back their lost dignity

We are the lineage of the fighters of non-violent wars,
Of pacifists who freed our precious motherland, and kept
Our glorious nation and heritage alive, and we can
Never ever thank them enough, for giving us this life

We are the living testimony,  as we carry in our hearts
All the gory details of the grim tales, narrated to us
First hand, by all the scarred souls who had survived.
Now time to pass this heroic story…to our oncoming tribes

© 2017 Alka Girdhar
All Rights Reserved

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I wrote this poem on the 15th of August 2017, the 71st Independence day for India.

Seventy years have gone since the freedom struggle that resulted in self-rule.
This fact also means the generation that went through the harrowing as well as heroic times during years of freedom struggle, is now either very old or not there anymore. Quite like that of holocaust.

It has also been a similar story for early Australians who came from the UK and from other places – the gold diggers, the imperialists, the traders and the convicts. They went through identity crisis.  They were themselves a living history of all that they witnessed, till they breathed their last.

Hence, it’s very important that young Indians (and Australians) get as much information as possible from unknown family historians who are inevitably going to leave this world soon.

It is also equally important for us to chronicle this information, as these are family histories we need to pass on to our coming generations.

***

I wrote this poem in the eve of Indian Independence Day. The kind of feeling we have on the 15th of August or 26th January.

The essence of my poem is relevant throughout the year and we should have freedom to say out our heart esp. about things that matter.  That is all about independence.