Tuesday, September 01, 2009

So did you celebrate Independence day?

Yes, Celebrate. Did you? I don't quite think so. Maybe you went to a function . A flag hoisting ceremony. Or maybe you just watched it on TV .

But this year, we celebrated Independence Day. Celebrated our independence. Remembered the people who worked for it. Celebrated India. And I must say I felt ecstatic. Thanks to a wonderful party hosted at the Deshwal residence, I must say that it was the most wonderful Independence Day I celebrated.

A small glimpse of the decor is here . Maybe after seeing it, this read will be a bit more interesting.

So here's what the party was all about. The tricolor being the theme of the evening. Everything , from balloons to food, from drinks to dresses , symbolizing the tiranga. People coming in in traditional dresses, all decorations with an 'India' theme, participating in an 'India' quiz (which in itself was quite interesting and informative), having Indian food, drinks (again all in the tricolor theme) was something that made the independence day memorable.

And that's where I personally think, that something is not right. This independence day was much better than singing an anthem whose meaning I don't know, listening to a speech by someone which I find boring, honor the flag for exactly 5 minutes before distracting your attention to 'Samose kahaan hai?' . This gave me a proud feeling of being Indian, wearing my country's colors, listening to old and new patriotic songs (there are some very nice patriotic songs in the recent era) remembering the good people who have brought us independence and got us to this point, and above all, felt like, I was one amongst the one billion of us who were part of this celebration.

This is something I personally believe in, doing something with your full heart, and not because you are 'supposed' to do it. As they call it, 'Direct Dil Se'. This year's independence day party was indeed a memorable one.

< A small disclaimer: Before you think that this post was mistimed :), must say that I have been too busy and hence the delay in posting this one- I did start writing this one on Aug 16 >