Finally, my friends and I got a day off and could hang out despite projects, colleges and exams. We planned a short trip to a beach on the outskirts of Chennai.
While travelling in the car, the four of us were busy talking about the past week. One of my friends was busy narrating his breakup with his second girlfriend and we were keenly listening. After all sympathising done over his breakup, something struck me.
Patriotic
Our off that day was owing to Republic Day. Of course, many of us recognise that day from school as the day we get free and a day when special programmes are aired on TV. So, I asked my friends, which I thought was a simple question, “Do you know how many years it has been since we got our democratic status?”. And that was it! They all had an expression as if they had got a Maths exam paper in French. One of my friends did come with the answer but the rest looked at us pityingly. “Why do you guys speak like old-fashioned fools? What's wrong with you? Are you going to join politics? Just stop it and tune into the next song track”.
That's when I realised that patriotism, today, comes only when an A.R. Rahman wins an Oscar and when the Indian cricket team wins the World Cup”. Knowing about our own country has become a “social service”.
ARUN BALAJI P.B., ECE, Final Year, Vel High Tech
