My New Book

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

what a day !




what a beautiful day ......
started off with my friend gunasekar waking me up ...then after few minutes ,5 of us were uncomfortably yet willingly enconsed in an autorickshaw going towards the sacred hallows of rajpath ....

the auto rickshaw wala bickered his way through regular police stops and checkups ...some of us got edgy but we had a purpose ...and a destiny to fulfill.. and finally after much hue and cry the rickshaw wala pulled brakes for one final time and dumped us 2 km away from our destiny ..
it was not very chilly this morning but the air had an excitement and a fervour that could be felt ...the air it seemed was intoxicated and laden with the anticipations of the hundreds of people rushing their way to the spectacle that awaited each indian on this day ....
silently we also trudged along the burgeoning concourse.
with a little help from the our co-walkers and the very assiduous and ever alert security personnel ...we managed to make it to the venue.

The morning of 26 th January 2010 was now in full bloom , and we have finally arrived at RajPath .what awaited us was a sea of humanity ...all eager to get in to have a glimpse of our nation`s pride and honour ...we also joined a queue ...in not more than 25-30 min ,thanks to the efficiency of the checking guards who were doing their stuff exceptionally well , we entered the
Colosseum of our sovereignty .After comforting our bums ...we slowly started to feel the place ..the excitement ...the vibe ...the slow building up of crowd .....the loudspeaker blaring welcome note ...and showers of praise for the achievements of the past year ....the plumbline marking of the national flag on every pole spacemarked on the rajpath .....it all was now starting to make sense to get up at 5:30 .....
but what was not making sense was the fact that why on earth i was slowly loosing my vision ...was it the emotion ..or the fact that i was more sleepy that i originally estimated myself to be ...
NO! infact it was the fog !
It was the dreaded delhi fog that was slowly engulfing the arena ...as the fog descended ...it brought despair and a sense of anticlimax ...
But i had an inkling ...this day nothing can happen that will mar my nation`s pride ...
and truly so ...the festival of INDIA`s sovereignty started in much fanfaronade ....the start as always is the arrival of our majesty ...the MAHAMAHIM HERSELF ...Dr Pratibha Patil , our honorary president .By then almost all the seats whether of the prime view or the back view were filled ..what was not filled was the appetite of the awaiting crowd ... they were hungry to see their heroes clad in their crisp uniforms ..proudly marching past and exuding all the glory of being born in this majestic country which has made provenance for one and all ..over its rich history ...


My First tryst with the "Parade" on the eve of our republic day got off on a rather bad note with the weather dictating terms ,but then the Lt Gen started the show and the synchronised footfalls of the soldiers made me forget everything ....I was in their awe !
Majestically dressed and proud on their feet ...they represented the sentries our society ....all uniform ...all driven by one goal ...all driven by one emotion,one bond ...no one was special ...it was their collective form that was their beauty ...all for the sake of one word..BHARAT!!!
File after file of soldiers went past us our blurred eyes ...already filled more than they could take ...and continuously making us proud of being an indian ...I had to admit i was deeply moved by the feeling of patriotism on offer ...Madras regiment ....Bihar regiment .....Gorkha regiment...Assam rifles ....BSF ....Navy ....CRPF......NCC ...Girls Division ....all displayed the kaleidoscopic beauty of our nation`s security forces.....




The show then moved on to the arsenal of our armed forces displaying the teeth of the tiger ....
With the Agni III missile to the very sophisticated radar system .....from the indigenous tejas to the arjun ....wow ! everything was now moving in its top gear ...

this display of our arsenal continued with some more missiles and technology while the bands of the different regiments grayly played their regiment`s songs ...egging on their Jawans to move towards their regiment`s pride...

Then suddenly the weather got better and then it was the turn of the acrobats of our royal enfield regiment to show their prowess ..and they did wonderfully well ...5 on 1 bike ...15 on 3 bikes ...also the fanfare of various states was unforgettable ..One striking tableau was of the commonwealth games which gave the glimpse of various sporting icons such as P.T Usha ,Bishen Singh Bedi ,P . Gopichand ,K Malleswari ...and I thought ...it is such a proud feeling to represent your country ...



also the brave soldiers receiving the gallantry awards for their outstanding achievements and brave acts gave me gooseflesh...the children who were awarded for their bravery also touched my heart ...
But on the fun part ..the crowd around us was really hilarious ....several people while were trying to get more than an eyefull ...stood up ,much to the chagrin of those behind them ...and then the people who dispensed their word of mouth knowhow bullied their not so versed accomplices ..HAHA ...that was v funny ...neways we all had a great time ...and enjoyed to the hilt ...
But as they say , the desert was still on its way ...or rather on its wings ...
The air show left us truly spellbound ....
they came they flew and they conquered our hearts ..true maybe due to foggy conditions ,not many air formations were on the display ...but whatever it was ...was spectacular ...the awacs falcon flanked by sukhoi`s and the MIG`s ...wonderful...



then it all came to an end ..people filled with the feeling of patriotism ..including 5 of us trudged back to the exit and alas ! to the ordinary life of minting money ....leaving the extraordinary heroics of our heroes take the place in our hearts .....
I will come back next year ....



Random Musings...