Ali Fazal gets 'goosebumps' as Martin Sheen recites Rabindranath Tagore poem before arrest

Rabindranath Tagore’s poems played a major role in raising the morale of the citizens when they fought against the Britishers. Decades later, the legendary artiste’s poem was again used in a movement, not in India, but in the United States of America. Martin Sheen reciting Tagore’s Where the Mind is Without Fear moments before his arrest for joining Jane Fonda’s protest against climate change made headlines. 

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Martin Sheen delivered a fiery speech at the Fire Drill Fridays event held at Capitol Hill, Washington DC. Praising Jane Fonda, Sheen said, “This woman has been one of my heroes, nearly in all of my adult life. And clearly the world will be saved by women." 

"Thank God that they outnumber us men," he added.

He then narrated a story: 

"The Irish tell this story of the man who arrived at the gates of heaven and asked to be let in. 'Of course. Show us your scars.' The man says, 'I have no scars.' 

St Peter says, “What a pity. Was there nothing worth fighting for?” 

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Sheen then continued, "We are called to find something in our life worth fighting for, something that unites the will of the spirit with the work of the flesh, something that can help lift up this nation and all its people to that place." 

He then recites Tagore's poem that goes like this:

 “Where the mind is without fear 
and the head is held high, 
where knowledge is free. 
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls. 
Where words come out from the depth of truth, 
where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection. 
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way 
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit. 
Where the mind is led forward by thee 
into ever widening thought and action. 
In to that heaven of freedom, my father, 
Let my country awake!"

READ:Joaquin Phoenix Arrested At Jane Fonda's Protest Against Climate Change At Washington DC

Ali Fazal and other many stars were among the netizens who reacted with delight to the speech. He shared the video in his Twitter account and urged his fans to watch till the last line. He was awed by the combination of the ‘famous words’ and Martin Sheen, something he felt guaranteed ‘goosebumps’.

Meanwhile, Martin Sheen and Joker star Joaquin Phoenix were among those arrested for participating in the protest. They climbed the Capitol Hill steps and were held for not following the police orders to disperse. 

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