A Child of Two Nations – a Child of the World

Yesterday, Singapore celebrated its 46th birthday. It was as usual a big hoopla and rightfully so – the nation has come a long way. In fact, it has moved in leaps and bounds and now stands as a shining testament to a lifetime of hard work and discipline enforced by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his contemporaries. The small island, invisible on the physical atlas, glaringly stands out in terms of law enforcement, wildlife conservation, human rights, economic growth and architectural grandeur, among other things.

I watched the National Day Parade and the grand celebrations and fireworks on television last night. I saw the majestic fireworks as millions of lit up Singaporean faces, proved the point: the average Singaporean is proud of his country and is proud to call himself Singaporean. And then the entire gathering stood up to sing the country’s national anthem. I was fascinated by the words and I was astonished that I never before took notice of the composition. The words go:

Mari kita rakyat Singapura

Sama-sama menuju bahagia


Cita-cita kita yang mulia


Berjaya Singapura


Marilah kita bersatu


Dengan semangat yang baru


Semua kita berseru


Majulah Singapura


Majulah Singapura


Marilah kita bersatu


Dengan semangat yang baru


Semua kita berseru


Majulah Singapura


Majulah Singapura

This is of course the anthem in Malay, the only official language in which it may be sung by law. However, translations do exist in the three other official languages – English, Mandarin and Tamil. Here is the English transliteration:

Come, fellow Singaporeans


Let us progress towards happiness together


May our noble aspiration bring


Singapore success


Come, let us unite


In a new spirit


Let our voices soar as one


Onward Singapore


Onward Singapore


Come, let us unite


In a new spirit


Let our voices soar as one

Onward Singapore

Onward Singapore

There it was – simple and sweet – Onward Singapore. To think that the leaders of this nation have taken these words so literally and lived by them, taking the country forward and forward, with each passing year, never looking back with anything but pride in its rich multicultural history and unity in diversity.

The Singapore National Pledge is an oath of allegiance to the nation and when the pledge moment arrived, it gave me goose bumps. Just the fact that one nation – a veritable melting pot of global cultures, could unite in one voice and say the words: “We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation,” was enough to bring a tear to my eye.

The sheer simplicity and intensity of the pledge made me feel the power of the human race once more.

I am as emotional as the average person and as an Indian by birth, I love my country passionately. Its diversity of cultures (not seen anywhere else in the world), the unity in this diversity, its brilliant flora and fauna, rich spiritual legacies, intelligent minds and kind hearts, have always made me love India with a passion that is often witnessed in conjunction with shared histories and memories and sense of belonging. I love India. And now I have come to love Singapore. India gave me life and Singapore gave me peace. India gave me family and Singapore gave me second chances. India taught me values and Singapore taught me to stand on my own two feet. India taught me tolerance and Singapore taught me to be proud of who I am. In my initial years in Singapore, I often lashed out at it, to give vent to separation anxieties born out of leaving the country of my birth and childhood. But Singapore only smiled at me and welcomed me with no grudge whatsoever. As India has been my mother, so is Singapore now. I am now a child of two nations and proud of it. With two mothers, I could not be luckier.

As nature has it, there is divinity to be found everywhere, if one but looks for it. Corruption and law-breaking is rife in India. Singapore is materialistic. Yet, I have loved God in both places, hence, they both are special to me. And sometimes, when I close my eyes and go inward, I see a world without borders, I hear one world anthem and one global pledge arising from the hearts of millions of God’s children who are striving day and night to preserve the beauty of this planet – God’s unique gift to us. At such times, I join in the pledge of allegiance to this world, where there are no races, no creeds, no castes, no religions, no languages – nothing but LOVE. At such times I melt into that ONE ocean and become a child of the world.

--------------Shreyasi Majumdar