That day !

Today when i woke up at around 8.00 a.m enjoying my holiday to its fullest, I thought about a question which used to come in my mind some years back.'Oh, why getting up so early on a holiday?'.

Some years back at around 6.00 a.m I used to wake up and get ready wearing a cleanly pressed uniform and white shoes. I used to go to school riding my cycle with my brother sitting behind. Though he was not a born barrel, the then little guy used to firmly make his back comfortable on the seat, which in turn made me exert more force to make the vehicle move. He was not given a cycle of his own until he came to his seventh class which obviously made me the victim till then.

We normally reach our school in ten minutes. Students were made to stand in many rows in front of the flag pole waiting for the chief guest to arrive. Patriotic songs, a historic play, few speeches used to be the regular agenda. I remember one such I-day celebrations ,when for an historic play I was asked to do the role of Sarojini Naidu. Not much to act though, I was the only lady amidst the guys who played Subash Chandra bose, Mahathma Gandhi etc; dressed up in an off-white saree with a black-framed spectacle. A typical 'Rang De Basanthi' kind. I had severe cold that day still managed to perform my role well. We did win the prize for the best play.

Few more years back from there, when I was still younger there were times when I was waiting for the flag hoisting to get over for those chocolates and paper flags.After a few years the level of patriotism raised to its fullest. The flag hoisting normally gets over in half-an-hour time after which we return home humming the national anthem.

Today, I saw the national flag getting hoisted - virtually, on the television screen by our leads. As time flies by we do miss certain good moments.