As a part of "Bandhan" an event that the Net impact club at ISB organised, we got to celebrate Independence with kids from several NGOs. It was a great feel-good experience, like a Karan Johar movie....yeah exactly like that, feeling good about something meaningless. The kids were excited to be here - no doubts abt it. But how did it change their lives. And wat am I (or any of us here)? I am no celebrity, none great enough to be awed abt!!! why are we expecting the kids to be "happy" just because "I" am spending time with them....I really dont know...So at the end of the day, I did feel good that I spent few hours of my "precious" time for those kids and was pleased with my own magnanimity - but there was this voice from within me, heckling at my selfishess, which I am ignoring!!! (No offense to all those who organised the event....but it is my opinion that this could have been icing on the cake, not the cake itself)

Apart from all that, I must mention that the kids were impressive. Given the resources available to them, the cultural events they put up were sometimes better than what I have seen in Inter-college culturals during my undergrad. When we were playing games, some of them were so quick, agile and smart that I was spell bound. Special mention to those hearing impaired kids who danced for "Rang de Basanti" - you wouldnt have known that they were dancing by count rather than by hearing the rhythm, if the MC had not told us. We had to give them a stadnig ovation becuase they dint hear our applause. I hope that each and everyone of these kids and those who are worse than them, get a fair chance in life and when I get out of here I wish I could do something "real" for them.....

So that was my independance day.

One more thing, I was annoyed, that BBC chose to highlight the partition bloodshed that happened in 1947 at the time of independance, when they could have chosen to tell the world how India is back on track after stuggling for more than half a century after all the squandering they did. But it is an open sign that they feel threatened...and my dearest journalists at BBC, a little ngative publicity wont ruin us....we are doing way too well for that!