I would like to share my experiences with all of you about how well my Independence Day celebrations went on. It is a tradition my friends and I have followed for many many years, of playing cricket on that day and fighting down to the bone to ensure victory, but what keeps us constantly distracted from the game is the flower show.

I live diagonally opposite Lalbagh, the home to the greatest crowd puller on Independence days and Republic days in Bangalore. The main attraction being the flower show which showcases the a wonderful collection of flowers. But this is what I go through every time, twice a year; the exquisite show of fine flowers attracts hordes of thousands of curious families and lovers to spend a quality time together amidst nature’s extravaganza. But what does happen meanwhile is that their callousness in ignoring NO PARKING signs. A menace my family and I dread on these occasions. The horrendous crowd uses every inch in and around Lalbagh for parking, right up to my doorstep, so as to make it impossible for us to walk out of my own home!!

So this is how my Independence Day celebration has been for as long as I can remember. People could hardly care less for others to enjoy their own independence. Is that how we understand independence? Is there no sense of responsibility or reasoning in this celebration, is something we ought to question ourselves, or is that a price we are not ready to pay for freedom? ⊕