'This is the history of our country as witnessed by me alone': August 17 by S Hareesh

People like me are destined to have our mistakes discovered, even if it is at a later date, while the services we render go unrecognised and unvalued. And yet, there he was, the most important person of the land, gazing at me, telling me silently, 'You too have contributed to this moment.' My joy was so great that I could not even shed happy tears! I suppose we humans empty out and become hollow beings in moments of great doings.

I have tried reading the odd history book. And I have been amazed at how different people interpret the same things in completely different ways. Is there anything that we human beings agree on? Ten people write twenty different stories about what is in front of their own eyes. So, consider this the history of our country as witnessed by me alone. You will find here things that happened before and after our country became independent.

...do not expect that everything in here will be substantiated with evidence. People usually don't want that. Who knows what they want!


Translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil