Last year on Independence Day Mira and I traipsed out toMantraleya, the Government of Maharashtra’s Secretariat at 09.00 in the morning, were kept at a distance by a bunch of overweight and edgy policemen and watched someone, presumably the Governor, unfurl the Indian flag and zip off again. Honestly speaking, the experience didn’t do very much for us.
A year on and the day starts very similarly, whether you like it or not, as Kumud pointed out. Forty years ago, with the nation smarting from the defeat at the hands of the Chinese, Lata Mangeshkar sang Mere Watan Ke Logon, and brought tears to Pandit Nehru’s eyes. But that was forty years ago, do we need to relive those tears year after year after year? Apparently, we do, at least that’s what the Government seems to think. Thankfully, after surviving Mere Watan Ke Logon at 08.00 a.m., you notice that Independence Day really does mean something to the common man. You notice it in the celebrations, the wishes, the poems and songs people compose, the tri - coloured kites flown in Old Delhi, etc. So in the spirit of lists, here’s what is most likable about living in India right now:
Happy Independence Day...
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October 2022
Btw, the banner photo was taken from our holiday home outside of San Gimignano at 6.20 am. What light! It lasted all of five minutes.
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