Bravehearts on Bikes

We celebrate the Republic Day on 26th January in India. A large parade is organized in the capital New Delhi which is telecast live in national channel. It is a ritual in my family to watch the parade. We used to have a flag hoisting ceremony in school followed by march past. It used to get over by 8:30 am in the morning. I used to rush home to catch the national parade from the start. The parade has march past and tableus of different states and government departments.

This year we celebrated the 73rd Republic Day. One of my most cherished part of the parade is where formations were done on running bikes. The precision with which people stood on bikes and saluted always awed me. I used to wonder about the countless hours one must have spent in reaching that level. This year it was also done by women. If it was only possible to know the emotional and physical effort, it would have inspired so many people. It is strange we have so many stories of hard work around us but very few of them reach us inspite of so many mediums like TV, ott, etc. I wish the series makers would have taken the stories of these ladies and shared. It would have made a huge difference. This year we also celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhashchandra Bose who happens to be my favorite national leader. This made the Republic Day more special for me. I think these national days play an important role in reminding us about the fruits of hard work. Wishing everyone a Happy Republic Day.

Celebrating the Republic Day

My mother was surprised to see me awake early today before 5:00 am. I told her its 26th January and I am at home. 26th January is celebrated as the Republic Day in India. The Indian Constitution was created after Independence. The new constitution came into force on 26th January 1950. From then onwards, every year this day is celebrated as the Republic Day. This is one of the special events of winter. My school used to start at 7:30 am. We used to start practicing march-past 2-3 weeks before republic day. For this practice we used to reach school by 6:30 am in cold. I used to get up before 5:00 am to reach on time. Maybe this was the reason I woke up early today. The house captains used to align us based on our heights. The school band used to play the drum and we would practice march-past for days. “Haven’t you seen the march-past of Republic day!” This was the ending statement of every scolding of every teacher and captain for every mistake during the practice.

We used to have a dry run of the entire ceremony on the previous day. Before the Republic Day, I used to iron my uniform and polish my shoes. On 26th January, I would wake up early to dress up in freshly ironed uniform and put on the polished shoes. Then my mother would tie up two tight plats. We would reach school on time, stand in our designated positions. Then the march-past would begin. We would walk a path across the playground. Then the principal would come and unfurl the flag. As soon as the flag unfurls, we would sing the national anthem. The event used to complete by 8:30 am. We used to rush home, to catch the Republic Day Parade at the capital New Delhi. The defense parade is followed by the tableau of different states and national organizations. We used to discuss about our favorite tableau for the next few days. Our Constitution gives equal opportunities to everyone. We have leaders who have come from humble backgrounds. They have proved themselves through their work. They always inspire me to strive to be better. This year I watched the entire parade like school days. As the day comes to an end, I hope everyone is inspired to do their best and make 2021 a great year. Happy Republic Day.

The flag and the anthem on a winter morning

Happy Republic Day

Today is 26th January. This day is celebrated as Republic day in India. On 26th January,1950 our constitution came into force. This day always brings back special memories of school. The marchpast and celebration in New Delhi is telecast all over the country.

We used to have Marchpast and flag hoisting in schools on this day. To prepare for this day we used to practice marchpast everyday. Even in Winters we used to be in school at 7:00 am just to practice marching. The choir used to prepare songs on patriotism. There used to be speeches given on the importance of this day. The drummers used to be ready to beat the drum on the prescribed ways. It used to be an all new excitement. On the Republic day we used to dress up in our uniform and go to school. The school used to be decorated with ribbons of the tricolor. There was a competition of the marchpast among the different houses (Red, blue, green, yellow). Towards the end of the event the winning house’s name was declared. After the event we used to rush home to catch the Republic day parade on national television.

The entire day used to be almost like a festival. Getting up in the morning, dressing up in our starched and ironed uniforms, ensuring that our sweater colors and lengths are same and paying respect to our national anthem and flag. Practising for these events induced a will to work towards perfection, in us. I wish we could continue these activities in work places as well. I am glad that google has paid respect through its doodle today.