Independence Day

On the morning of India's 66th Independence Day, I was possibly the only one who woke up late and with a jolt. The world came back into some perspective into my sleepy head with "Ye desh hain veer jawano ka..." blaring somewhere outside. I tried to go back to sleep but after a couple of failed attempts, realized that it was best to get out of bed. So I finally did, thinking to myself what was the need of all the loud speakers and patriotic songs?

No matter how unpatriotic this may sound, but patriotism to me is not about singing a few film songs, hoisting the national flag, ending the ceremony with the national anthem and then, finally, running around the place looking for free food.

Patriotism came to me not by the virtue of being an Indian by birth or a few Independence Day celebrations in school. It came to me as a legacy. Being the grand-daughter of an Air Force officer, patriotism to me came as naturally as breathing. It was a part of my upbringing and the discipline instilled in me during my childhood days.

Republic Day and Independence Day were never about hoisting a flag and eating sweets. It was about singing the national anthem with full faith and knowledge of the words. It was about my grandfather explaining the meaning and importance of the national flag, the reason that we should stand-up during the national anthem, and what it means to be an Indian.

Being an Indian is not about one day in the year. It is about waking up every day with the pride of being an Indian. It is not about remembering our soldiers and their sacrifices for a few hours. It is about remembering all Indian contributors, big and small, famous and obscure, who shaped the present-day India where we are at par with the rest of the globe. Being an Indian is not an obligation or a forced duty of standing up for the national anthem before every movie screening. Being an Indian is the instinctive standing in attention on the strike of the first chord.

Independence Day is nothing more than another national holiday where you can plan a day with friends but, unfortunately, without booze. I have some similar plans for the day. But it makes me no less patriotic than those hoisting the national flags and eying the food boxes. I would rather spend the day at a mall than look for the date on the calendar to figure out if its a weekday or a long weekend.

Happy Independence Day (hopefully from some of that hippocratic behaviour!)