Freedom
The 'Tiranga', the Indian tricolor, was beginning to wave from almost every home around me and I could sense the frenzy of the patriotic spirit rising everywhere. I was not an active participant in any of these, but I was in a reflective mood. I wondered what 'Freedom' means, to me or anybody else. I had recently read somewhere that freedom is the oxygen for the soul. What a lovely way to put it, I thought! And we have been breathing free for 75 years. Had our indigenous ways progressed in the natural ways without the interruption brought on by colonization, we might be living a different reality today. But it is pointless to look at history through a lens of retrospective 'what if's?'. In the grand scheme of things, very little is in our control. Nonetheless, a set of brilliantly brave souls had stood up for their rights and won us this beautiful thing called Independence. We were once again free as a nation. What we do with our precious inheritance now, is completely on us. To say the least, I believe it has been an immense achievement not to have disintegrated into many smaller, warring factions. For such a vast country with many cultural and linguistic differences, it is a feat worth mentioning and celebrating.
On a personal level though, things are much different. What are you, as an individual, doing to contribute to the nation? Is being a law-abiding responsible citizen or paying taxes enough to be deserving of this hard-earned freedom? I might not be qualified to say this, but I would think yes. Each person doing their little bit, is keeping the wheels running smoothly. Anything more you can do is great, but meeting the bare minimum is also worthy of appreciation, as much as it is our duty to do so. By this, we are enabling others around us to play their part well too. And every little drop counts in making that one wave or a mighty ocean, does it not?
So here we are flying our flags proudly, with our heads held high and breathing in without fear; as a tribute to the hard work it took to earn it, as much as it is taking us now to recover and more importantly, forge our paths ahead in spite of a reeling derailment.
PS: The 'harghartiranga' movement might have been a success and a thread that unites us beyond our differences, but with a tinge of guilt, I wished that the project could have promoted Khadi as the fabric for the flags. Not only would it have been a promotion for a sustainable material, it would have been a simple, yet powerful nod to our beautiful past.