Missing role models - a lament

I have often looked back at the how miraculous our freedom fighters were. The passion with which unarmed prople took on the empire. I have often wondered what I would have done, if I was born then. How will have contributed to that or contributed at all. But I am sure I would have taken good part in the freedom fighting movement, though how is a figment of imagination. If I have have such ideal aspirations why is that I cannot or do not anything for the society now.

Whenever the thought of freedom fighter comes across, it also brings along the question who would I have followed? Mahatma Gandhi? Subash Chandra Bose? Vallabhai Patel? Bhagat Singh? Bal Gangadhar Tilak? Jawaharlal Nehru? Aruna Asaf Ali? Sarojini Naidu? or so many thousands of leaders who lead agitation big and small. Who would have ignited my mind to take up the chants for motherland? Under whose inspirational leadership would I have martyred for liberation of motherland?

Cut to present, whom do we have to follow? hmmm...... There is none I can deem good enough to be a role model. That is the bane of today. Despite all the wonderful technological improvements, we are worse off than we are 100 years ago. We do not have anybody of the stature of these glorious men and women who led our country to freedom. We are so overwhelmed with such frivolity in daily life that living for the principles is a thing of past. unfortunately our media bombards us with such ridiculous content we are mislead by the glitzy gloss like a pied-piper down the cliff. Truly we are worse off than ever.

Role models... where?

Every often I come across the 'polls' by some magazines that try to pick role models. The entire excercise is so unfortunate and pathetic that you can see the list repeated a zillion times across publications. List is populated by the super-tycoons, film actors & actresses and politicians. And Indians are supposed to choose their role model among these! Nonsense at its best.

What are we supposed to learn from these role models? Is it that making money and being among the rich-lists is the only way to live? Or is the glamour quotient will give all the happiness in life? Or is it that being a politician can improve the India? These role models do not answer our quest for role models nor do they help us lead a nation of youthful blood to greater heights among comity of nations.

So, does not the our great motherland produce any sons and daughters worthy of being our role models. I am sure there are many just as many as there were during freedom movement but they are all lost. Lost under the weight of foolish discourse of today's media. Take the instance of APJ Abdul Kalam, whose life is a shining beacon for those dreaming to achieve for our country. Even with such glorious accomplishments, Mr.. Kalam was not known becoming famous as our President and after relinquishing the Presidentship is totally forgotten by the media. I wonder how many of the present generations would even remember him few years from now. If this is the case of role model citizen ex-President, what is the way out for others.

Urban Mythology

It is said that Mahatma Gandhi made the sun-set on invincible British empire. And his weapon - non-violence. I guess, this must be a piece of mythology or legend. Or might even be an hoax. As Einstein said, it is hard to believe such a man walked on this earth. Would I have followed Mahatma, may be.

Subash Chandra Bose fashioned a patriotic army of freedom fighters who fought for the motherland and nothing else. Men and women from all sections of society joined together to fight for the nation in the swamps and forests. Side by side forgetting their class, caste, racism or gender, they fought together as children of the country. Is such an army possible at all today?? Unfortunately no, today all are busy taking a shot at Forbes rich-list, for that next Gucci, for that next hot status symbols. The men and women who hang-out at vanity fair and malls can rarely make good leaders. The fire than coursed through the veins of our countrymen which ignited every hair of the body and made the mighty British to Quit India is embers and dead.

Lost cause

In age of million ads and distractions, there is no rallying cry to salvage a big percentage of our countrymen from poverty. The task we undertook - to make India a land of milk and honey is lost forever. The fortunate few are coursing on highways even as poor farmer laments his loss of another crop. While millions are being spent on urban infrastructure, millions of rural folks still have to survive with health and education facilities which the urbanite would not even pass by.

Are there any role models who can channel the sagging spirit of youngsters into the noble task of nation-building? Every politician claims to be able to do that but none can. Every tycoon dreams of that but is helpless. Some noble-minded actors can only provide vicarious satisfaction. Sportsters are more active during ad-breaks than during sports.

Looking for role models seems like a lost cause. Or more precisely there is no point in looking at sensationalism-swept media to find one out. For the generation that has grown up with almost no role-model in sight, we just don't know what kind of breed it is.

Like legendary King Aurthur, the greatest of our role models are things of past and legends. A sad lament for ourselves. Until we open our eyes and discover...