-Neil John-
Theses scientists when you look at them and their persona,
You say to yourself will this simpleton be able to deliver what the world fails at,
Spectacle wearing, with his shirt worn outside his trousers, cheques being his favourite design pattern,
He still chooses to eat his meals with his hands in a steel plate or a banana leaf,
Not stereotyping all of them, but most of them live within the portals of their research,
Taking pride in little innovations that mark their ways to larger success,
Languages they chose to converse in is what suits their working environment,
English is essential cause they also need to understand what the environment already has delivered,
Sapatiya … is one of the most common words I have heard them conversing on,
I guess it means to ask whether you have had your meals,
These geniuses might not have been top in their classes and many would have ignored their presence in a crowd,
But each one has a story that is worth listening to, a struggle that is incomprehensible to those who don’t share that work place,
Successes and failures haven’t deterred them from seeking the larger organisational goal,
Nationalism is what they wear on their sleeves, proud of the flag,
CHANDRAYAAN was magic on the moon, half the cost of international missions,
We had even the greatest critic the US and NASA cover it live,
The world watched as these crowd of experience and brains sat huddled in a command centre,
The landing impeccable, the emotion uncontrollable and the effort surmountable,
India on the moon, all the Bollywood songs we sang found a new meaning and the gods on the moon we worship smiled,
Aakhir yahi woh desh hai … jiska har nagarik … Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai … saath mil kar safalta ki Prarthana mein magan the, glued … the crowd larger than the IPL finals,
What binds this great democracy is indescribable, it’s not caste, creed, religion or faith,
It’s BHARAT and the concept of it, the nationalism buries differences and successes enriches the emotion,
We are an emotional nation, we cry during tragic movies, come out in multitudes to celebrate a martyr at his cremation,
We might fight on our ways and beliefs, but that’s only a few misled, together we are strong, we will survive, sustain and prevail.
Hats off to ISRO, hats off to the government of India, salutes to all those that worked in the by-lanes and will remain in the back ground,
We have etched a mark in history, the celebration therefore has to be resounding.
Bharat Mata ki Jai … JAI BHARAT.
-Neil John-