I have a dream - Martin Luther King

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3

The Lumbering Elephant

The elephant has been synonymous with India from time immemorial, through history, mythology and belief. For decades, the Indian economy, too, came to be likened to an elephant, but in a pejorative, lumbering sense. Today, as the balance of global power shifts to the East, and India is regarded with awe for weathering the financial storm better than most, the elephant analogy is back – but with the positive attributes of size, stability, solidity and strength. With our economy projected to become the second largest in the world, after China and ahead of even the US, there’s a growing sense that we’re riding a quiet but powerful giant, one that needs to be taken care of if we want it to travel far and carry over a billion people on its back. Just as the elephant-god is worshipped by millions as remover of obstacles and bearer of good fortune, our Budgets are awaited with a prayer that they will lead us to a better tomorrow. Will this Budget make a difference to our lives, will it help the elephant dance?

I AM SHE - Sushmita Sen

I was a curious child, always in pursuit of what lies inside me... what I want to be, what is my dream. I am only one. But still... I am one. I cannot do everything. But still... I can do something. I will not refuse to do that something that I can do. I am more than I know myself to be. I am. I am the power of my ambition, the attitude that expresses my life, the soul of my victory... and boy, is winning an attitude. What I'm looking for is not out there--it can't be. It is within. It is in me.

She is unbound by her stage. She is unbound by any stage. She is the face of the universe. She is the 'I' in India. I am she. Mai hoon sach. Mai hoon raasta. Mai hoon roshni. Mai hoon... I am.

What I give away tonight is only my crown, but I carry with me, for the rest of my life, beautiful memories and a heart full of love that I experienced during my reign. I must thank for this moment of glory my motherland India and her proud people, my parents and brother, my friends, my teachers, for these are the people who made me who I am today and helped me realize my greatest potential. Tonight as I leave, I shall not say goodbye because every ending has a new beginning. What the world calls the end of a caterpillar, God calls a butterfly... so watch out world, here I come. God bless and peace, Jai Hind!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugdChOqdaaE

India Poised

There are two India’s in this country.

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us.
The other India is the leash.

One India says, give me a chance and I’ll prove myself.

The other India says, prove yourself and maybe then you’ll have a chance.

One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of your minds

One India wants. The other India hopes.
One India leads. The other India follows.

But conversions are on the rise. With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic, new India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear in failure. An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that makes them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it is making a turn.

This is that rarely-ever moment. History is turning a page.

For more than half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run. Fallen, rolled over, got up, dusted herself and cantered, sometimes lurched on. But today, as we begin out 61st year as a Republic India, the ride has brought us to the edge of time’s great precipice.

And one India- a tiny little voice at the back of the head- is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating. The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, it’s time to fly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP-TwHwLc98

Self Realization

Lying in my bed,
I watch the conflict raging in my soul,
As a mute observer
WHO AM I?
Am I a comforting daughter?
Or a sympathetic friend?
The affectionate beloved?
Or a caring sister?
Or am I an indifferent child
A selfish sibling?
The grumbling sweet-heart?
A false sympathiser?


Contradictory thoughts rattle in my mind;
Lingering between my sleeping and working dreams,
Reality dawns -
I AM A WOMAN
A conscious soul,
On my way to perfection...