“And so we have ended up in a deadlock. Happy republic day to all of you.”

The tricolor stood tall but placid after it was hoisted. The bright colors made it conspicuous amidst the deadly winter fog that conceals faces and gives us an idea only about the enormousness of crowd. An electrifying fervor was aroused by the great patriotic numbers in backdrop. All this was building up something in my mind and I knew most of it would vanish once the songs come to halt. The aggression in me would turn on once again when I would switch on the television and catch Border or tiranga or the legend of Bhagat Singh and so on, the biannual elements that form an indispensable part of our republic day and independence day celebration. and it would vanish the moment I take up a more fascinating errand .
Why is that we still don’t know how to value and celebrate these festivals just as we know how to select the right kind of crackers to burst on diwali or the exact composition of colors to be used on holi? Why is that any form of patriotic audio or video has such a short lasting impact?
We laugh at the puns and punches of Raju Srivatava , we cry when the conventional happy ending twists a bit and ends up with the protagonist dead …we react to all this and we react to “ JP dutta’s Border “ similarly and term it patriotism! Is that all about celebrating a national festival!
Things may be so coz the youth today doesn’t relate to it. The struggle six decades back is confined to books, hearsay, movies ..but its not an experience. If remembering the heroes of freedom struggle is the only common thought we share, it according to me ,is an insufficient bond. Our forefathers worked towards a common goal , they had undergone hardships, humiliation and thus sprang up resilient. It was their thought, their idea and it held them together. We can think of it and be together for some meager minutes and thats it.
What is it that will bind us ? how will we come together,enjoying and celebrating a National festival. It’s simple we have to identify 'our idea’.although it is difficult to share a common dream now because our needs and desires are varied.‘freedom’ for the country was something far above everything else possessing tremendous power to unify us .'our idea' has to face different challenges, it must also overhaul minor causes such as caste , community, class and all. That'idea' can be a corruption free society or a green nation or something else. We will then be able to relate to the nation and relate to ourselves as the nationals.
That idea will show faces concealed by the fog and the tricolor that stands tall will no more remain still.