And so we reach the final day of our
campaign! Surreal!!
We all assemble at Rajghat for an
inter-religious prayer service. A prayer for peace and harmony among the people
of our nation, in front of the memorial for the Father of our nation, who
struggled so hard for this same purpose in his lifetime. Watching the sacred
fire burn in the center, it brought to the surface memories of the entire
journey, seeing the same flame burning in so many eyes, so many hearts, so many
minds.. The flame that translates into the roaring change these young spirits
want to see.. And accompanied with prayer. What a full circle moment..
After the service, we have a cycle rally
to St. Columba’s School where we have our last program of the campaign. The
number of people there outnumbered the cycles, so the rest of us clambered into
the buses and followed. It was funny! Even a couple of priests and a bishop
cycled all the way! And the best part was the way people were noticing us as we
passed. Wondering what we were and then the expression brightened and they
broke into a smile when we made eye contact. Hehe.. So cool to just connect
like that with random people.
We reach St. Columba’s and the welcome
is so grand, it’s as if they’re welcoming home a troop of heroes who had just
fought a war and come home! There’s excitement and jubilation in the air, and
smiles are passed around as extra helpings.
One of the first items on the program is
a street play by the Asmita Theatre group. They had actually written this
particular play for our campaign and performed it here at the concluding
function. They included themes like crimes against women and being responsible
citizens. And by jove! They totally ROCKED the performance! Their voices were
loud and clear, and normally you know how voices dont carry so well over open
spaces? It’s like that just magically wasn’t there. No matter where you stood
to watch, you got the whole experience.
But their expressions! Such deep feelings and emotions articulated so well on
their faces! They created such an impact! Their message came across so
powerfully it was like someone giving you those two-finger punches (which Bruce
Lee was famous for) and you go flying backwards with the force. Really quite
something..
I remember how we used to do street
plays in college.. They were nothing
like this! It makes our attempts look soooo half-energied! Lame! And silly
even.. Haha..
After it was over, all the participants
scattered into the audience and asked them what they thought of the play and everything..
It was cool to be able to interact with them like that. Brilliant actors and
such down to earth people. Their director, Mr. Arvind Gaur, also was there and
spoke to the audience about their theatre group and how showing all these issues
so graphically was so important. Truly, it was a performance which shook you
and inspired you on a very deep level.
Our girls also performed their dance
drama here. I dont know if it was coz today was the last day or what, but felt
that their performance was more full of emotion than it had been before. Or it
could have just been in the air.. Whatever it was, was filling everyone up
slowly.
To bring the program home was a long
list of bands performing – The Messengers, Ignite, Zephyr Station, Shalom and
Tantra. Each played their set to enthral the audience and lead them away into
the night.
It couldn’t be a more fitting finale to
the Jago Yuva Bharat Campaign. Getting the youth to “Arise, awake and stop not
till the goal is reached” through music was just another way to do it. (Hey
whatever works right?)
It’s been a long journey to reach this
point, but completely worth it. Each kilometre travelled, each experience, each
piece of learning, each interaction, each place, each person, each smile, each embrace,
each new friend, each heart touched, each tree planted, each light switched
off, each moment of realization, each moment..You
cant measure it or put any price on it.
The true journey begins now. Following
through will be the new challenge.
You gonna help us do it?
Watch highlights of the journey here:
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