We set out to buy a flag. While there were plenty of the miniature paper kind available, not a single shop in Camp had the woven flag. According to an elderly kind soul, the woven one was supposed to be put only at schools, colleges and Government offices. It was, apparently, illegal to unfurl the Indian Flag atop the residence of a common citizen of India. Truthfully, I had never seen the National Flag atop any residence in Pune. Oh boy! My grandfather, who had appeared to be an honest and upright citizen of India, had not only been breaking the law, but had actually been teaching and encouraging the rest of us to do so. I let the matter drop, since, unlike my grandfather, I did not have enough power and influence to make the law look the other way.

On Independence Day in 1998, being a year older and wiser, I decided to have more faith in my grandfather. This time, I decided to try the other end of town. Again, I got the same response. However, while returning, I saw a fourth floor apartment balcony adorned with our Tiranga. I went up to enquire where they had procured the national flag from. The startled gentleman replied, ``From abroad''!

Imagine! On the occasion of our 50th Year of Independence, we were treated to extremely mechanical voices greeting is with Vande Mataram on the phone at the expense of our outgoing calls; to renditions of A.R. Rehman's version of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Vande Mataram from every TV channel and public sound systems; to slogans of Mera Bharat Mahan painted across billboards, autos, buses and lorries; to speeches from politicians and celebrities 50 years of Independence; and to buy a woven flag, the kind that our elders had taught us to be proud of, we had to go abroad?!

As an acquaintance remarked, while in most countries, almost every home possesses a miniature flag and proudly unfurls their flag on National holidays. Generally, we Indians do not think it necessary to even possess one. While, many of us are very proud to have visited foreign lands, how many of us are thought it worthwhile to discover India? While we proudly display artifacts from all over the world, how many of us have, for example, a replica of the Konark wheel? While we proudly don garments slashed with the names of foreign universities and flags, do we buy garments expressing similar sentiments about our Alma Maters or country? Even after spending decades in India, the ex-patriots speak English in their native accent. We Indians go to the USA for a few years, and return with an accent, which, an American friend once remarked, was reminiscent of Adenoids!

Later, after much searching, we found woven flags in a small area in this big city of Pune. Thus, on 15th August 1998, while we sang the National Anthem, my then four-year-old daughter watched with happiness, and hopefully pride, the National Flag of India put up in her home.

Vande Mataram!