Patriotism takes on a different dimension in small town India – while we jaded urbanites sigh in delight over a midweek holiday (or if lucky, the prospect of a long weekend), real India brings out the tricolor and all the colors of patriotism. My fondest memory is of an Independence day procession on the road, early morning, in a village en route Mangalore from Bangalore, a hundred tiny tots moving their hands up and down, fists closed, in rehearsed frenzy, shouting Van-de Mata-lam,. And a tiny tot Bharat Mata in the middle of the group, trying to wave with one hand and trying to hold the escaping white-with-orange-border sari with the other. Loved it.
This is from Hampi, where I saw young India celebrate Independence day this year in many many ways :
Independence day at the local school
The colors of freedom
Patriotism written all over the face
Flag-waving future generations
Keeping the tricolor flying
Lovely pictures as always. Loved the little girl by the window
Very nice photographs.. i am feeling very good about those.. great sense ..
some of these pictures looked so full of irony – specially the little kids with flag – less cloth on themselves than on the flag they hold
shoefi, thanks! that girl looked so forlorn standing there, staring at other kids out on the playgorund, doing their independence day “drill” as suchlike…
Sandip, thank you!
Reshma, am glad you spotted the irony – I doubt if the kids even knew what they were playing with… ditto for the girl – the thought that struck me was the irony of her standing behind bars (visually if not actually) while the rest of the school and country went on to celebrate sixty years of independence and all that – says something about the status of women today?
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