“Have you dumped the flag yet?”

As we are done with the celebrations, everything is back in the storage room.

India celebrated its 75th Independence Day on 15.08.2020. With social distancing and utmost hygiene habits, India came together to remember the importance of Independence and the fight to win it.

Looking out to the small park in my building, I saw people decorating it with a podium, stage, our national flag, tricoloured balloons & dupattas. Everything boldly pointed to the patriotism & the spirit each Indian shared.

As a society member, I participated in the celebration. Captured attires that were either traditional or in tricolour. I enjoyed patriotic singing, a multi-lingual skit, a fashion parade, speeches and everything that reeked of our tradition & culture. The event was simply splendid.

Unfortunately, today it seemed like nothing. Waking up, I saw an empty park. No stage. No podium. No decorations. Not even the Indian flag. Just an empty park.

What happened to the spirit of Independence? And the patriotism?

Was it just one day?

Haven’t we often seen this? While we gear up to celebrate any national holiday, we do our best to make the day memorable & fulfilling. With the day coming to an end, we let go of those emotions and move on with our life.

The stage & podium are disassembled. The balloons are given off to the kids. The leftover snacks are given away to the cleaning ladies. The arena is empty. The National flag is dumped away to some corner of the storage area. And the spirit of nationality & independence is off to sleep.

As Indians, who fought the colonizers to win their rights & Independence, are we doing something wrong? We know the names of our freedom fighters, the movements they lead, the imprisonment and the sacrifices. But does your kid know it? Are we even passing on that spirit to our younger ones?

With the education system that focuses majorly on the British rulers and their reign, are our Indian kids learning of their lineage? Can we boldly claim that we have our pledge memorized? Or even our Rashtragaan? And is it okay to get that national flag out for just a day?

Would having the national flag flying 365 days of the year, mean any bad? Would saluting it every single day cost you quality sleep? Would revisiting the bravery of our kings & fighters make you embarrassed?

Would celebrating Independence for the whole year make you less Indian?