Imagine watching a giant flag flutter in the wind on Marina Beach. A monumental one that will rouse a feeling of pride every time you spot it; a tourist attraction, maybe. All in our very own city. That’s exactly what the Chennai Tricolor Initiative is all about. Pioneered by a group of Chennaiites, the movement seeks to crowdfund a monumental flag in the city, much like the one at Connaught Place in Delhi.
“Since the Monumental Flag went up in Delhi, there are several cities across the country, which have gotten them installed. However, Chennai is yet to have a flag that is in a public space. While it has been typically seen at war memorials, airports, ports, and institutions, there’s nothing in a public space as yet,” says Javeeth Ahmed, a sales and marketing executive and a volunteer with the initiative. He adds, “Also we wanted to symbolise the true spirit of the city that was seen during last year’s floods. We will be working with the Government on land permissions etc. But this will be a citizens-owned initiative.”
The idea came about some time in February this year, but took concrete shape in March.
The initiative has 20 volunteers in the core group. They meet regularly and are working on a signature campaign to raise support. “New volunteers keep joining. It is very encouraging,” says Javeeth, saying that the idea took hold when some of the volunteers happened to see these Monumental Flags in other cities. “Most of us have travelled to different parts of the country such as Delhi and Kargil. A conversation had started on how it felt to see the flag. It definitely was a goose-bump-inducing moment; we wondered why there wasn’t a monumental flag in an accessible place in Chennai. Rather than just talk and debate about it, we brought together an initial group that had the same vision and started putting together a game plan.”
The group comprises a cross-section of people; from school students to working professionals. According to Javeeth, they are just everyday citizens who are not affiliated to any political party or person. “We are regular people who have day jobs. We work hard and happen to love this city that we live in,” he says.
Incidentally, the initiative is a crowd-funded one. “The reason is simple; we want to make it accessible and a part of our everyday lives. Being a citizen’s initiative, we only wanted to petition the Government to help in the process. We want the people of Chennai to come together and fund this campaign,” explains Javeeth.
The group proposes to have the flag installed on Marina beach, a spot that has a varied demographic of people accessing it on a daily basis.
Once they garner as many signatures as possible, they plan to present it to the concerned Government officials and take it forward from there. As of now, they are gunning for an August deadline to install the Monumental Flag.
“But we understand this is a process and want it to be right. We are being advised by the Flag Foundation of India in terms of maintenance of the flag on an ongoing basis. The flags are usually replaced once a month,” he signs off.
