Arvind Kejriwal: Reviving the ‘patriotic connect’

They say that the most potent weapon in a woman's armory is tears. It thaws a man's heart faster than a hotplate melts an ice cube. But I am a tough nut to crack. Sunny, my husband, may trigger domestic World War-III, but stoic ol' me refuses to lachrymate. Of course, Sunny gleefully goes about exploiting this 'weakness' of mine.
However, there are two occasions when I become not just misty eyed, but display the potential to cry like a July cloud: First, upon witnessing exceptional talent, and second, upon listening to patriotic Hindi songs.
As a kid in the 60s-70s, I grew up in a small-town-big-family atmosphere charged with national fervor and dollops of patriotism. I vividly remember holding the national flag and marching with colony friends as our transistors belted out 'kar chale hum fida jaan o tan saathiyon, during the 1971 war. The 'patriotic connect' was so strong that by the time Rafi would sing 'zinda rehne ke mausam bahut hai magar, jaan dene ki rut roz aati nahin', my brothers and I would be ready to take on the entire Pak army, bare fisted.
As we grew up, the political scenario in the country went through a sea change. Politics gradually became a dirty word. The once vibrant patriotic connect now wobbled in an ocean of scams and ghotalas.
However, patriotic songs continued to tug at my cardiovascular strings. 'Mera rang de basanti chola…, ai mere vatan ke logon…for me, these weren't songs. They were tear gas shells. Before Lata Mangeshkar could say 'zara aankh mein bhar lo paani', I would have a bucketful sloshing in my eyes, threatening to break all barriers and puddle the carpet.
My teenaged daughter never understood my patriotic proclivity, and wondered why ‘the Iron Lady’ (a sobriquet bestowed upon me by her) became a picture of mush on August 15 or on January 26. As for me, loving my native land was as much a part of my psyche, as caring for my daughter was.
Still, I didn't exactly know what to tell her when she asked why she should love her country. "Because I say so" didn't work. "Because it's your motherland" didn't ring. "Because your parents do"... fell flat. I tried telling her about the sacrifices our forefathers had made… but I knew I was barking up the wrong tree. As they say: “when the eyes don't see, the heart doesn't ache”. The crucial ‘patriotic connect’ was missing.
This was till 2011. Then the Lokpal stir happened. A seed of patriotism sprouted on an indifferent and barren adolescent mind. The Nirbhaya factor acted as a fertilizer. And on December 26, 2013, AAP's broom swept away the cobwebs of indifference that were threatening to strangle the psyche of the new generation.
The other day as Kejriwal took the oath as the chief minister of Delhi and sang 'Insaan ka insane se ho bhaichara' in a choked voice, I cried. I had to…! it's one of my favorite numbers. But as I composed myself and stole a look at my daughter who was watching the TV intently, I saw that she too had warm tears rolling down her cheeks. The 'patriotic connect’ had been established…finally!
That day, Arvind Kejriwal gave the new generation:
* A ‘patriotic connect’ that had long gone missing.
* A ‘patriotic connect’ that no parent can forcefully instill in a child.
* A ‘patriotic connect’ that happens when your head, your heart and your soul beat in sync for your country and its people. *
That's when your voice becomes theirs and their problems become yours.