Tiranga day ( belated though ) !!

I distinctly remember those sonorous voices of Jasdev Singh and some others elegantly describing the gala displays of military might of India on Republic Day Parade in the commentary on doordarshan, when as kids we used to get up early in the morning and get ready by the time the national flag is unfurled and we heard "Jana Gana Man .." standing in attention.He would call the beautifully attired soldiers "Hamare Ran Bankure" and other such adjectives for technical innovations of Indian Military.

I had the honor of listening to him live on the Rajpath this Republic Day and watch the entire paraphernalia in person.What was very much evident at the parade was that it was the result of rigorous preparations and efforts of a great lot of people ( the performers, military personnel, the beauracrats and thousands of police staff engaged in security arrangements ).I would like to give all of them a 10 on 10 for excellent arrangements and a nice display of clockwork like arrangement.It is really nice to see something "sarkari" working flawlessly on time.The bangs of 21 gun-salute , the deafening roar of mirage, synchronised footsteps of groups after groups of soldiers will be memories worth remembering.There were two foreigners nicely dressed up in Indian dress with full accoutrements ( bindi,chudi,sari etc etc ) enjoying the republic day immensly and lots of other foreigners were watching in amazement while the whole paraphernalia passed accross the Rajpath.

Some people call it "a lump in your stomach" as yesterday Barkha Dutt described on NDTV her feelings on hearing the national anthem or watching the republic day parade but I view it as a crystal clear feeling of pride and honour.

And finally my day ended with "Rang de Basanti" - a must watch !!!

This post was meant for 26th Jan ...but it's ok if i post it now.I've watched a rerun of "Rang de .." today and it was as frothy and youthful as last time ( I know it is obvious .. the movies hasn't changed :-) )