What are you doing with your freedom?

I’m sorry, guys, for the disappearing act. You tend to forget things at times when you are right here in the middle of the action. There are speeches to be made, presentations to be prepared and people to be pleased…you know how it goes.

Anyway, we just celebrated Republic Day last Tuesday. Like we do every year. So what’s the big deal huh? It’s just a day. We became economically free on the day but so what?.

What you are effing doing with that freedom? Doing the drills? Screaming, “forward march” and tearing through others’ tympanum? There’s more, gentlemen.

Your blood is boiling? You want to set the damn country straight? Raise your voice. You don’t have to do something drastic as pull off a coup d'état or shoot the defense minister down. Start small. Just raise your voice. Exercise your freedom of speech.

Like today, the guy at the mess handed me a really worn and dingy twenty rupee note. I knew, by the time it was my turn to hand it over to someone else, it wouldn’t be alive. So I just asked him, “Do you have a better note?” You don’t have to take crap. Getting new notes is your birthright. Don’t suffer in silence.

Another incident where I raised my voice. A visiting faculty member here in MIC has not been turning up for classes lately. I called him up and said “Hi. You’ve got a class today.” He was shocked out of his wits, of course. Nobody from MIC had probably ever done that before. He made some excuse and promised to come for the next class, which was supposed to be today. I called him again. He didn’t come again, but has promised to, next week. He better turn up.

Start taking up people’s case if you think they’re screwing things up. If you can do it with a bit of humour, good enough, but it’s not necessary. You can be just plain straightforward as well. “Dude, this is not done, okay?”

So sit up, you folks. Raise your voice. Exercise freedom. Don’t take crap.