This afternoon, as I was surfing our local intranet for some music, I chanced upon a rendition of the National Anthem by Kavita Krishnamurthy. I downloaded it and put in in my Winamp playlist.
When it was about to begin, I realized that I was flopped casually in my chair, with my legs propped carelessly on the bed nearby. "Can I listen to the anthem in this position?", I thought!
Why not? After all, it is just a song! Don’t I claim to be free of all symbolic influences? I decided to test myself.
The anthem started, and I soon got drawn into its mellow notes. As the tempo started picking up, I started getting immersed in the moment. By the time it reached the crescendo, I was totally engrossed in it and had forgotten about my little test. To my amazement, I found that I was no longer in a reclining position, but I was sitting up straight in my chair! In that moment, I realized the power that symbolism has!
I was reminded of a similar instance from my past. As a kid, I used to study in a wonderful little school called Bal Shikshan Mandir. We were in the morning shift, and we used to fool around on the ground after the end of our classes. It used to be a fun filled atmosphere, with a diverse set of groups carrying on with their own entertainment activities. Some played cricket, some played volleyball while some just hung around and chatted. There used to be scuffles galore, as is to be expected in a competitive environment.
Now the afternoon batch used to have their national anthem around that time. As the anthem started to pick up, it could be heard down on the ground. The scene used to alter completely after that. It was as if someone had pressed a pause button. All forms of activities were dropped midway, quarrels and rivalries forgotten, as everyone stood in rapt attention right in their place. Only the sound of the anthem used to fill the air. There was nothing but pride for the nation in every little heart on that ground. We were all unified in that one short moment, and it was all because of one song!
It still gives me goose pimples everytime I think of those moments.