"What is red? Is a planet and is the focus of my current orbit?" - @Marsorbiter

Mars Orbiter Mission

Its a historic day! India placed its satellite Mars Orbiter on a Mars orbit, in a mission that has been only replicated by three other countries. Such is the significance of this day, that I willed myself  to awaken this blog again. Making this occasion far sweeter, is the fact that India got it right on its first attempt. Never mind the critics who point to the contradictions of a poor country standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of U.S.A, Europe and Japan and actually pulling off one better than any of them. Also never mind the admirers of India from the west who never tire of pointing out that we've accomplished the mission at the cheapest cost. For this story is neither about the hypocrisy of trying nor about trying with limited resources. This story is about everything falling in place for India as it slowly and inexorably rises to its natural place. The prophesies of the ancient gurus and saints that talked about the awakening of India are startlingly close to the happenings in the 21st century. 

Just think about it... The industrial revolution and the printing press which started the current age of technology were pioneered by the Europeans. And one teeny weeny Island among the many competing nations, accidentally came to be the holder of Indian destiny for three centuries. The legacy of such an occupation left India to be the largest English speaking country in the world. English, may I remind you is the lingua-franca of the modern world. After the British left, just when India lost her way into a socialist nightmare that was the 80s and 90s, came another sparkling story. This is the rise of Information Technology and Computer Science, seeds for which were again, sowed in the Britain and USA. Then came the telecom revolution and the recent advancements in mobile phones which was years of hard work by the western world, the fruits of which were appropriated in India. And now, the space race where the early starters broke their back trying to reach Mars, which was achieved so smartly and yet with none of the pain. It appears as if India is like a smart student who just sleeps away during lectures, only to ace the exams both due to a sharp mind and due to the lady luck who smiles upon her favorite student! If I venture a little into exaggeration and say that the centuries of human advancement and evolution were merely props which set the stage for India to arrive, it might sound boastful but certainly not far from the truth. For it is our destiny to rise and take our rightful place among the nations. The twitter account of @marsorbiter greeted @curiosity in a typically American "Howdy". While the unknown author who wrote the tweet might not have realized it, it is ironical that we have just appropriated for ourselves that American self-righteousness and belief in destiny that shaped the 20th Century. Who knows? May be this could be an Indian century after all..

Signing off..