An Unforgettable Patriotic Memory To Rejuvenate!!

Penned down my nostalgic feelings with freedom

Independence Day and patriotism both are related to our blood and life. The day holds great significance in the heart of every Indian citizen living in India and abroad. On August 15, 2021, India would have achieved 74 years of freedom. As such, this year marks the 74th Independence Day of the country. While it is a celebratory annual occasion and a national holiday, wherein people hoist the national flag, wear colors signifying the tricolor, take part in many games and cultural programs, it also coincides with the Partition of the country that brings back painful memories for us, given that India was severed on communal grounds, much to the dismay of many national leaders and ordinary citizens.

When Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose commanded to all the people of the nation, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom”. This freedom fighter was a real patriot who dedicated his life for the sake of others.

We are very much enthusiastic listening to the national anthem “Jana-Gana-Mana”…; we all stand and sing together. I feel proud to be an Indian especially a Bengali because the two legendary personalities like Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay were born in Kolkata. I was born and brought up; the place called ‘Naihati’, the house of Bankim Chandra was hardly 10 minutes from my lane. I passed out from Rishi Bankim Chandra College (RBC) for women, which was located at Naihati. The locality is very popular due to this famous college. This college was established in 1947, the glorious year of Indian Independence. I used to walk through the side of the house and think that the world-famous litterateur and “Vande Matram” lyricist was born here! What a patriotic touch for me!

India is a country full of diversity in culture, tradition, heritage, caste, etc. This is called “Unity in Diversity”. A tribute is even paid by the Prime Minister to freedom fighters of India by declaring the day as a national holiday.

Importance of National song ‘Vande Mataram’

Vande Mataram" is a poem from "Anandamath", a novel written by Bengali litterateur Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. Written in Bengali and Sanskrit, the first two verses of this poem were accorded the status of India's national song (distinct from the national anthem) in 1950.

Importance of our National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’

The national anthem, like other national symbols of a country, represents the tradition, history, and beliefs of a nation and its people. Hence, it helps evoke feelings of patriotism among the country’s citizens and reminds them of their nation’s glory, beauty, and rich heritage. It also helps unite the citizens of the country by one single song or music. During the performance of the national anthem, citizens of a nation, despite their ethnic differences, stand up in unison and listen attentively or sing the song with great enthusiasm. Every school and college starts their assembly prayer with our national anthem, even if in a movie hall, before starting any movie, everybody stands up and gives a tribute and respect for our country and its people.

All schools and colleges celebrate Independence Day every year. The program starts with the flag hoisting, by the Head of the Institute/School. Students in school perform March-past with the drill playing loud and tri-color flag, flying high. Students of colleges do take part in the celebration. They do march-past with the Indian flag paying tribute to the motherland 'India'.

Amazing feelings of Performance at School!

Post the flag-hoisting ceremony, patriotic programs by children from schools based in different states is one of the main attractions. When I was in 7th standard, every year our school used to celebrate Independence Day. Every class used to participate actively and it was a grand celebration. The celebration was organized by the cultural team and choreographed by my best friend, Susmita. Being participated in dance and craft competition, I was a bit excited and it was held at “Barowari Prangan”. It was a big playground and various kinds of games and sports were used to organize for talented players. The rehearsal of this program took 1 month to complete. We all dedicatedly practiced and the song was selected by our respected P.T teacher, “Ma Tujhe Salam” composed by legendary A.R.Rahman.

The day was 15th August, at 9 AM. The weather was pretty marvelous and it was a windy day. We gathered at our school premises and wore white churidar and orange dupatta knotted around our waist.

The decoration of the stage was amazing. The corner of the ground was decorated by the management; they arranged designable chairs and a big table to keep all the prizes and rewards. The headmistress, assistant headmistress, teachers, and other staff were sitting. The game teacher was instructed to maintain discipline and silence to the volunteers carefully. Some students were given a trial of coming Chief Guest ad how they should welcome him. They arranged nice sitting arrangements for all the students.

Now the program was going to start. I was standing in the front row; the arrangement was quite like this:

· After entering the chief guest from the car, 2 students will precede further taking a bouquet in their hand, every step should be followed by a parade. The parade team was ready, now we were waiting for the final bell.

· Bell rang, and 2 students were coming in front of the chief guest to welcome him. The cameraman was busy taking photos and videos. Everything was planned beautifully with a lovely band.

· Our chief guest was none other than my uncle Dr. Pradip Kumar Bhattacharya. He was the chairman of Bhatpara Municipality. After seeing him as a chief guest, I was feeling proud and very happy.

Our program started, and everybody was getting ready with their costumes of dance, singing, recitation, and speech. I had little nervousness to perform. Our function started with the national anthem: “Jana Gana Mana……”. Everybody stood up in unison and sang passionately. Staring with our respected headmistress’ speech encouraged us a bit. She described the importance of Independence Day, how did we get freedom after struggling rigorously. How our patriotic soldier dedicated their life to get freedom in India and the background music was tuned to ‘Vande Matram’ and “Sare Jahan Se Achha”.

The music was on; we took our position and started to perform. “Ma Tujhe Salam, Amma tujhe Salam……….” We performed very well and everybody as well as all teachers stood and clapped for 5 minutes. The background music, lovely weather, beautiful performance all together made a huge success of this function. We all acquire appreciation from others. ‘Ma Tujhe Salam’ and ‘Vande Mataram’-this song is dedicated to our “Sujala, Sufala motherland India. I also participated in making a tri-color national flag and it was selected as the best. They announced names for prize distribution and my name was one of them.

These golden days were the precious moment of my life. I shared my freedom story related to patriotism and performance. Now, it’s time to pen down your thoughts and add to the comments section.