Freedom through 3 generations….VARINDER BHATIA
What Independence means to those who helped win it, to those who grew up with the legacy and to those born into it, as described by four freedom fighters, their children and grandchildren
What Independence means to those who helped win it, to those who grew up with the legacy and to those born into it, as described by four freedom fighters, their children and grandchildren
The son is disappointed, the grandsons vague yet intrigued…..Premankur Biswas
Sudhindra Mohan Maitra, 90, has spent the last 40 of those years in a modest two-storey house in Kolkata, a firm believer in the Gandhian principle of simple living.
The freedom fighters younger son Shivabrata, 50, and his siblings have always been proud of their familys heritage and get upset when they see corruption all around.
Shivabrata younger son, schoolboy Soumyaraj, 11, is fascinated by his grandfathers stories but elder son Debraj, 20, admits that for his generation Independence Day means little more than an occasion to update ones Facebook page.
Maitra was nine when he joined the Jugantar Party, established by Aurobindo Ghosh in 1906. I was too young to understand what the freedom movement was. I just passed messages. As he alternates between bouts of eloquence and silence, Soumyaraj prompts him: Tell him about the time you shook hands with Netaji, grandpa!
Son Shivabrata, a novelist, says, As children, my siblings and I were aware of the sacrifices my father had made for our country. When we saw corruption all around, we would come home and tell him what the nation is coming to.
Maitra is matter-of-fact: We did what we had to do. We were lucky to have leaders like Gandhiji, Netaji and Surendra Mohan Ghosh, a mentor to me. In the 1940s, Maitra was jailed three times, for a total of three years, and was underground for five years, saying he sometimes disguised himself as an Englishman.
Independence came with Maitra at dinner at a mess on College Street. I heard it on the radio. It was drizzling outside… College Square became a sea of umbrellas.
Debraj, a first-year engineering student, says, Our generation has no more battles to fight. That has made us complacent. His cynicism appears to displease his grandfather, so Debraj adds: We have a responsibility to our nation. Selfless people like my grandfather have shown us the way.
Soumyaraj has his own definition of Independence. Independence is personal freedom. It is about the power to do what we want to do.