After 57 years of suffering and struggle, the people of
Telangana are finally close to independence.
On July 30th, 2013, the CWC has declared Telangana as the 29th
Indian state with Hyderabad as the joint capital for Seemandhra and Telangana
for 10 years. I do not like the proposition of sharing Hyderabad but this
decision will be a starting point for a bright and glorious future.
My first experience of the
Telangana Udyamam was in December of 2009. I was in Warangal for my vacation.
On New Year’s Eve, I was comfortably sitting on the bottled green colored sofa
and flipping through the channels in search of a program to while away until midnight.
The news channels showed New Year celebrations across Andhra Pradhesh. They
showed some location/club in Vijaywada in which the stage was bathed in dimly
lit blue and pink colored party lights. The anchor wore a white colored salwar and she was entertaining the crowd. Her
beautiful tresses waved to and fro as she spoke. Renowned singers were singing
the latest tunes in Tollywood and people, both young and middle-aged couples
were dancing, with no care in the world. This is the ideal way to celebrate 31st
December. People welcome the New Year with vigor, happiness and hope that all
the troubles will magically vanish on 1st January.
When I changed the channel to
news coverage in Hyderabad, I saw people gathered at Art’s College grounds in
Osmania University. They were all students, most of them men and they were standing in front of a stage draped with plain white cloth. They had
an intense expression on their face, not of joy but of interest and awe. The stage
was made with almost no bells and whistles, yellow incandescent lights just
gave off enough glow so that the stage was visible. Gaddar was performing on the stage. He sang and danced. When he danced, his white hair glistened and his black shawl with red and
white border competed with night’s darkness and the darkness that covered the
land. As he sang songs in support of Telangana in his harsh and authoritative voice, a
group of men and women dressed in traditional clothes, sarees and dhotis danced
around in circles. The songs were mostly vocal with just the sound of anklets in the background adding a slight music to his otherwise serious songs. The youth were
listening to Gaddar’s songs and welcoming the New Year. They were reconnecting
with the Telangana culture and heritage.
In my opinion, listening to
Gaddar on New Year’s Eve is a boring way to welcome 2010. It is similar
to asking Gen Z youth to listen to the hit songs of Gen X. Osmania University student’s could have as well
hit the pub and shake their leg to the mast dance numbers, drink and party all
night. They had different options for entertainment, but they opted to listen
to Gaddar in a sober way. They chose to learn more about the culture which was downtrodden,
ridiculed and put aside for several decades. I could easily reconnect with the students because I graduated from the same University three years ago. The
desire and passion for Telangana which was flowing in their veins was
vicariously transfused into mine as well, as I watched them, listening intently to Gaddar. At that point of time, I understood that
this Telangana Udyamam will be a tough road and it is there to stay until a new
state is carved out.
Telangaana struggle is successful as it was carried in a democratic way without any violence or vandalism. Actually the state wanted to crush it with violent ways. But patience paid.
ReplyDeleteIn a country where “Unity in Diversity” is the principal motto, I feel very bad when people are finding it very difficult to stay in unity. I can’t actually fathom why people are paying so much interest to this agitation when everyone knows it is a game of dirty politics. Being from Telangana I can name my teachers from Andhra with pride for their immense knowledge, dedication towards their duties, and hard-work & endeavour in carrying out their responsibilities. And only because of these qualities (which I think) the people are grabbing so better opportunities than us & one should actually bear in mind that those people (Andhra region) have contributed a lot towards the development of certain places in Telangana. My institution right now, serves as a perfect example for this. I have never seen a single professor in my institution from Telangana put so much effort for our (students) future as much their counter parts. Even during this macabre of agitation, they (teachers from Andhra) helped us gain so much knowledge, though they knew that we were the people against them. I think people should think and behave like an individual rather than behaving like a flock of Sheep. It is my personal opinion and is not to hurt anyone’s sentiments. Just a hope that people might actually realize what I feel true might be the truth and people should give importance to something called a Human race rather than a piece of land. And I still hope India is a democratic country, where we can express our views with liberty.
ReplyDeleteVery well-written. Yes, India is a democratic country, we can express our views with liberty. Opinions our formed based on our experiences. Opinions are neither right or wrong but they have a personal flavor and everybody's experiences are different.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I could not bear my alma mater, Osmania University being stripped off it's values and being maligned in so many ways. The students were branded as anti-social elements. It hurt to see the presence of police, with guns and barricades as though it were a Kashmir border, as though the students of the University were insurgents who have to be weeded out. Before the telangana struggle came into limelight, I roamed in the campus as a free person, when I was doing my Bachelors. It was kind of personal for me in that regard.