...thunderous applauds break the silence in a huge hall in London…
The man clears his throat,
“That was a very inspiring piece of oratory from the Chief of World Bank. Now i take this occasion to welcome the Man of the evening, His Excellency, The President of India…”
…another round of thunderous applause. The man stood up waving his hands and moved to the podium…
“Those were very kind words. Good Evening respected guests, dear brothers & sisters of London and the rest of the world. It is indeed a very privileged feeling to be speaking in front of this grand audience on such a grand occasion.
I am honored to be the chief guest of this session of the world economic forum, which is celebrating the platinum jubilee anniversary, completing 75 victorious years. I am also very glad at the fact that my nation has given me reasons to be immensely proud standing in front of all of you. This march, Indian economy, along with Chinese has become the biggest economies in the world, and if the predictions are anything to go by, we will become the biggest economy in another 12 years.”
…the audience interrupts to present another round of applause…
It indeed is a very proud feeling to be the head of state, which has returned to the very zenith of it all. I am sure if the founding fathers of our nation lived now, they would’ve proudly felt jealous, for we live in an India, which they couldn’t have even seen in their dreams. India now has completed a full circle. For years, for centuries and millennia, we used to be the land of gold; the land of power; the land of prosperity; the land of cultures; the land of wealth and the land of ultimate intelligence. But then as a cycle don’t speed forward if the tires stay fixed and hence the darker periods of our history began. The might, wealth & intelligence attracted ambitious foreigners who along with time changed roles from anxious visitors to obnoxious rulers. Great selfless people fought them, not with guns and fire, but with words and principles and brought the light of freedom once again to our great nation. Those 90 years of selfless revolutionaries followed by a century of rebuilding takes us to where we are now, once again the biggest economy in the world.
Decades ago in a visit to India, an American President had pronounced that India had emerged, and was no longer an emerging nation. Back then, I had felt good, and proud. But everyone knew then that those words were just meant to sooth your emotions and that it was far from the truth. Then, it was far from the destiny of us being an emerged nation, which indeed was in all kinds of mess, the corruption, poverty and terrorism issues. But now, right now in 2045, a couple of years from hundredth year of our Independence, I can repeat those words and say, we have really evolved, emerged as a supreme power in the planet.
……”
The thing about dreams is that, we have no sense of belonging, no beginning and no end. The same dream might recur over a course of time, night after night, may be. Being in and under the spot-light in a dream every night is fun, but the real challenge begins when we try to find a way, our way to the beginning of the dream. That’s the challenge ahead for me, to find a way to the beginning of my dream, to find a way to that very podium.
(Recollections from a dream that’s been soothing me during my sleep, of me standing in front of the world as the President of India. Certain facts from Wikipedia added in the speech, & a thought from the movie Inception.)
