NASR WRITES

 MY INDIA

A cradle for tradition, a birthplace for origination, a home of
individuality and a place of diversity is what makes my country, India.
Greetings everyone, or must I tell, my fellow Indians. I, Aamirah Ahmed
of grade XI, will be expressing myself on the topic, ‘My India’. Having
been independent for 74 years, after immense struggle, has moulded
our country into what it is today. Even though it could be described as a
place of fast-paced economic development, a home to 1.3 billion
inhabitants, a powerful democracy, a land of beautiful landforms like
the Himalayas and the Thar, a country which as a whole forms
dissimilar harmonies, India will always be considered a feeling.

India has always been a country that I could call mine. Making me
a reflection of what it is, India has had a profound impact on not only
me but also the rest of the Indians. It has given me the roots which
have been instilled in such a way that, I have realized, we are nothing
but the characteristics of our country itself. India has been a harbor to
everyone, like a parent which is to its child. A place I can always call
mine irrespective of the circumstances and can always come back to.
The power to stand out, in its own ways, amongst all of the 195
countries in the world is what makes India unique. The diversity,
customary, spirituality, being a basket for several religions, yet a
country which is extremely present-day, pragmatic, freethinking and
accepting is what makes India, India. Even though it’s a country with
several distinctions such as the 29 states, 22 languages, 31 cuisines and
several other unending dissimilarities, it has had the power to bind us
together through unseen forces. India is that prism which converts the
seven very different colours into the pure white light when passed
through it. Even though to some people it may be a place of wide
diversity, unbreakable unity, a place which is the homeland to the most
renowned freedom fighters of the world, a place of the several known
and unknown scientists, mathematicians, authors, poets and poetesses,
philosophers, athletes, artists, prominent figures, the birthplace of
several iconic games like chess, a place of eye-opening monuments and
buildings, a place which has various landforms starting from the fast-
flowing rivers to the still mountain ranges, but to me, it will always be
an indescribable feeling.

In conclusion, India is my home. A feeling which brings warmth
even when I merely think of it. A place of uncountable distinctions, yet
unceasing unity and understanding. A place which in its own way tends
to bring a new surprise. A place which is young and mature at the same
time. A place developing in its own unique ways. A country
unapologetically itself. To sum up in Rajiv Gandhi’s words, India is an
old country but a new nation. Thank you. Jai Hind.

-Aamirah Ahmed 

XI-B