HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY

Our next door neighbours, a pesky couple in their late twenties, living together, turned out to be quite patriotic, given the fact that the male constituent is from the country from whose rule we got relieved in 1947.
They started their Republic Day celebrations when the clock stuck twelve and continued till five ‘o’ clock in the morning. Beers and whiskey flowed like water as if John Barleycorn was the guest of honour. Electronic music pumped from the music system and the only saving grace was the fact that the neighbours down below has taken a leave of absence.
My kid woke up to the cacophony at around 3 a.m. and my wife had a tough time putting him back to sleep. It was hard to explain him that living in an apartment has its pitfalls and the only way of having a house in today’s world is either you have it run down hereditary or you have wealth disproportionate to your legal source of income, which is only possible if you are a policeman, politician, public relation agent or a portfolio manager. He is too young to understand the nuances of 4Ps and Cs.
By early morning, our neighbours and their party circuit were too tired or too drunk even to recognize each other and right now might be sleeping in the arms of strangers.

I switched on the television at nine and made my kid to sit and watch the Republic Day parade. He has never heard of the word “parade” before and thought that I was refereeing to a “parrot”. So he kept on asking me when will the parrot come and told me all things he knew about a parrot,” Parrot is Green colour, Parrot can fly, Parrot is a bird and Teacher says it is not a vegetable.” After waiting for fifteen minutes for his elusive parrot to come, he thought it was enough, this Parrot is worse that our train service and wanted to go back to his Cartoon Network, where Ben10 was there to save the planet from all the aliens.

It was after a long time that I watched the Republic Day parade. The age old white Ambassador cars have been replaced by swanky BMWs. The Prime Minister arrived in a seven series BMW in a JJ Bhalya outfit to pay tribute to the “Amar Jawans” in the India Gate. My wife pointed that the President was draped in a very fashionable, white, designer Kanchivaram Saree. At that age it was really difficult for her to stand through three hours of this ordeal, after all there was no shed above her and she almost had the same plight as that of the street beggars.

I once heard a rumour that the armaments displayed in the parade are a part of a tribute to their services. After the parade they are sold as scraps as they have outlived their usage.

From last few days the street vendors have been selling the tricolor at the road crossings. With rising prices, even the bargain champion could not get one below five rupees, albeit the fact that there was a group discount for more than ten pieces. Unlike the politicians they had limited choices in their marketing promotions. They could not offer 20% free and distort the tricolor and neither had the scope of buy one and get one free, like the politicians are telling the separatists, take Kashmir and get Jammu free.

The malls have been well decorated, with tricolor shaped balloons, special promotions to invite the holiday crowd. The mall workers have been given new dresses for the occasion, to be deducted in installments from their monthly salary – there is nothing called “Free” Lunch or Dinner and not even snacks.
I had been out to measure the atmosphere in the streets, called up on an Auto Rickshaw to take me to a nearby distance. An old Muslim driver, had two tricolors crisscrossed at the wheels smiled at me and said in broken Hindi, “I am taking you today, but would have refused if it was any other day”.

What does Republic Day mean to him?
Patriotism does not come by birth or by education, nor by teachings or by intellect. Ours is derived out of fear and greed, as we grow old and keep on thinking about the unsafe world where our children will be thrusted upon. So we hide under the facade of secularism, patriotism or any other schism so that the country we stay in is a little safer.
Now a days the cost of life is cheaper than that of Onions, yesterday a group of people burnt alive a collector when he found out that they are adulterating kerosene, per litre cost of which is less than a kilogram of onion.

But for the man on the street, for my Auto driver, the day is a reminder that in spite of all the trepidations faced by the terror strikes, inflation, scams, political innuendos; it is a celebration of the fact that we after all are all part of the biggest democracy.
It is in these “common” people that celebration of Republic Day gets a sense of responsibility.
Today is the day where corruption will take a backseat and hence a Public Holiday.
JAI HIND!!