The golden bird has come a long way
Since she was put to slay
By greedy, self-appointed custodians
With the motto to make their own little world utopian

As the mother was subdued
Her children were imbued
They were knighted
But if only they were not divided

Emancipators vouched for unity
As the righteous path of gaining serenity
Peeling into the unconscious
Making eminence meet with colossus

But the whole world is a family
So we have heard
Yet being left confined between imaginary lines of tradition
Is the range of unity yet partition

Where casteism, racism and sexism are not prevalent 
And only humanity is relevant

Where there is no communal violence 
And people are happy and silent

Where there is no poverty
And everyone is brotherly

 

Where equality lends a hand for diversity to brace

But our vices withstand like venom in our veins

Where tolerance is preached in the name of dharma

Just as bigotry is sold in the name of worship

Where children are born to a land of opportunities

A land which hands them tools to ply not books to read 

Where the white of our tricolour stands for unity and peace

Some are pariahs like their touch carries a disease

Where our thresholds are marked by Her crimson footprints

Even as our streets are sheathed in her crimson blood

India, my native land

Where our virtues lend a hand for society to brace

But our vices withstand like venom in our veins.

But humanity couldn’t be further apart

These narrow domestic walls are knocked down

And built back up 

Sometimes higher than they were before

The world is like a magnet

Half of it accepting, welcoming

But the other half breaks it apart

And try to light up the stage, 

They try, try, try but each and every time they fail to succeed.

 

This is because they pretend but not attempt,

They are united but not free from prejudices, stereotypes

 

To say we are so called united

and physically close to each other

But the emotional distance is unlimited

There are too many artificial walls

Social ladder is what ends up making all of us together fall

The nation is divided into

Hindu-Muslim, rich-poor, privileged- not so privileged 

To establish unity there is a need 

To bring about a change,

Change in mindset

Change in thinking 

Change in yourself

 

So that the stage can light up with evolved players

With evolved mindset and evolved thoughts

Unity can be established,

Narrow mindedness can be abolished, 

And mankind can flourish…

 

I eagerly look forward to that day;

to make India’s prejudices go away.

My home India

An endless prospect of diversity

An ocean of culture and civilization

Is the nation which welcomes all with open arms

My home India

A land which finds beauty in incongruity

A land which brings unity to assortment

Is the heart of god's universe which beats for each of its individuals

My home India

A land where the tricolour is a  reminder of our amity

A land where a bustling crowd is always on the go

Is yet the land which preaches a life lead by the virtues of harmony and hospitality

My home India

A land where valleys subside and mountains peak

A land where boundaries diminish and terrains collide

Is a nation we proudly regard as our mother

-Anoushka

Regardless of cast, color or creed

 

Where each citizen has their own tongue

And acceptance is taught to the young

 

A land of scenic beauty

That is sure to leave you in awe

 -Riya

covered with thatched roofs

lives our country India

In their drums and riveting music of the bamboo flutes

is reflected the eternal practices of our country

On their very core 

attacks the faceless and poisonous monster of urban greed

On the grieving fate

of this lively, unsuspecting culture 

laughs the mighty monster of urban slump