Long Live the Republic

Today was the 57th celebration of Republic Day in India. This day celebrates the adoption of the Indian constitution and is marked by a huge celebration in the capital, Delhi, where a massive parade is held and foreign dignitaries gather. Here in Bangalore the celebrations are smaller, but still pretty extensive.

The main Bangalore celebration was held in the morning downtown at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground. There, the Chief Minister of Karnataka and other local dignitaries gathered. Soldiers marched, dancers danced and helicopters dropped marigold flowers. We watched a bit of the festivities on TV. We had given thought to working our way downtown, but opted instead to celebrate Republic Day at a flag raising ceremony organized by our Salarpuria Splendor apartment complex.

The flag ceremony was quite nice. About 30 residents of the apartment complex gathered, along with a small contingent of uniformed apartment guards. We were the only expats from the apartment complex to join in. The orange, white and green striped Indian flag was already raised to the top of the flagpole. The ceremony was really a flag unfurling ceremony. Flower petals and rangolis drawn with rice flour added to the decoration at the base of the flagpole.

At the proper time, a pre-appointed member of the assembled crowd stepped forward and pulled on the halyard. The expectation, no doubt, was that the flag would then unfurl and wave majestically in the morning breeze as marigold petals bundled in the flag would float equally majestically to the ground. The flag did not completely open, but stayed stubbornly furled up. Some marigold petals did flutter to the ground. Our halyard puller…undaunted…immediately burst into singing the Indian national anthem.

The assembled crowd immediately joined in and a chorus of voices filled the air with a resounding and reverberating echo of patriotic verve. The singing, however, was almost immediately drowned out by the loud and thunderous sound of the whirling rotors of a low flight helicopter on its way to drop marigold petals at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground. After about 30 seconds the voices could be heard again.

Our apartment complex president then gave a short speech that was frequently rendered inaudible by the roar of jets landing and taking off from the nearby airport.

Despite the all the mishaps, the ceremony was conducted with genuine spirit and heart. Afterwards, some children sang in solo performances, some played the electronic organ/piano, the women sang a song. We chatted with our fellow apartment dwellers, made some new acquaintances and generally were glad that we had a opportunity to participate, if only a little bit, in the 57th celebration of the Indian constitution with people who truly love their country.