Hi, I’m an e-stain. You know me, right ? Yes, we’ve met before. What ? Oh, come on, don’t stare at me like that. Dekho, magar pyar se. All right, you may not remember me. But friend, I have seen you many times. Worry not, for in due course of time, we shall warm up and you’ll get to know more about me.

I was born in 1951 in Delhi. I had a dark complexion and my size was small, very small rather. I was made up of many components and like every other person, I also had a definite purpose in life. Initially, I enjoyed being around with people. I had many brothers and all of us loved staying with people. We had a small group after birth, but slowly we grew in number. People were interested in seeing us. They used to wait for our arrival. And when we came, they used to greet us happily. Children wanted to see us. They laughed at our complexion but when the elders explained our existence to them, they were proud of us. They would dream of having us with them. But their parents forbid them from doing so. Still, we enjoyed their company.

After we grew in number, we realized that we had a very significant purpose in life. We realized that it wasn’t possible to stay with people for long. More so, we couldn’t meet people earlier than our time. But when we met, we dictated some very important norms. We changed many scenarios. We brought about industrialization. We were responsible for the liberalization policy in the country. In some drastic conditions, we saved people from dire circumstances and held fort. We created joy for people and helped them grow in their life. Despite a long hiatus in our meetings, people grew fond of us and accepted us affectionately. As the story of our existence grew, people were drawn to us and the stage started changing rapidly. We became a symbol of opportunity for the people and their wish to meet us sooner also grew.

All of us were wonderstruck by these phenomena. We never imagined we would be treated so affectionately by the people. We thought that we would rather be refused or ostracized for our complexion and features. Instead, we had become dependable pillars for them. Whenever they wished for good, we would appear and help them. More importantly, as we met the rural people, we understood our existence more deeply. We felt that we could connect with a larger mass and almost make the impossible, possible. We secretly wished that we could get a chance to visit the rural population more often so that the place would grow into a beautiful haven of progress. As time passed, we began to see changes occurring all around us. People grew richer and had better facilities. There was greater peace in all the places.

But as they say, with the roses come the thorns, we could feel similar things beginning to happen in many places. Some people, who belonged to high places, were obsessed with our existence. They started instigating people to get hold of as many of us as they could. Our brothers started falling into wrong hands and our friends began to be captured by faulty people. Excuse me, I forgot to tell you about our friends. These friends were very special for us. While we were just a demonstrative group, they were the real churners of progress in various places. The real credit of the growth story goes to them. People used them when they needed help. Unfortunately, our friends were forced to stay with people whom they didn’t even want to see. We were totally flabbergasted by this situation. We had no idea of what was coming next.

Time has flown and things have changed. Still, the affection and obsession remain the same. While we’re back once again, we just wish that we meet the right people like you. It is because of people like you that we regain our significance and the people of this country get justice. We may be black, but you and we can turn many black things into white. We may be dark, but we can usher in brightness for the coming generations. We urge you to meet us soon so that this country may remain in the hands of sane people and people may once again lead a joyful life.

Pssst…kuch pata chala ? Nahi ? Ok, never mind. I’m coming to your place from 7th April onwards. See you in black on your cuticles. And do meet my friends dressed in green, sitting on the EVM. ?