Sixty Years of being a Republic. Being a nation that has its own laws, and its very own constitution. A culture that is so diverse that, there are nations that look at us and exclaim.. how we manage.
This and the Independence Day are maybe The most hyped holidays in the year. Not only does that give a license to EVERYONE in the country to actually have a holiday- and gives a license to ALL the stores to put up weird sales.. and the Radio stations, Newspapers and Magazines, will chronicle many reasons for us to be proud Indians. I don't want to start up with the whole thing of how, we should really be proud of our legacy and that these two days should be meaningful, and not just holidays on our calendars.
But instead- This year- I have thought that I am going to do something else. I am going to tell a story to all of you. This story is about a man, who has given me THE most precious lessons of my life.
The series is gonna be called "With Love from-Across the border".
I don't know why I decided to write about him, rather tell his story in his own words- But I do know that I want the world to know him...!!! And, this is the BEST place.
So I hope that you all enjoy the series.
The Foreword will come soon.
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There is a quiz that is being conducted on a Radio station, called 61 seconds (This is for our Republic Day, the rules are simple- You will be asked question pertaining to India, and you are to answer them in 61 seconds. You have to get Minimum 3 answers correct to win a prize. )
This is the quizzing that I heard in the morning today on the radio.
RJ: Hi, so who is this?
Listener: I am ABC... (its a girl)
RJ: So you are ready...
ABC: Yeah.. I am ready.
RJ: Who takes the salute at the Republic Day parade?
ABC: I dunno (dumb girl, must be in college then min age 17, doesn't even know that the salute is taken by the President of India)
RJ: Who is the cheif guest at this year's parade?
(I agree that, it is not such a significant peice of fact that a teenager should know, but it is a known fact that it is a foreign dignitary)
ABC: Sheila Dixit.. (Ok, I totally love our CM, but PLEASE)
RJ: When does the beating retreat after the parade happens?
ABC: I dunno ( The answer is- 3 days later on 29th January)
RJ: Who is the President of our Country?
ABC: Pratibha Patil (Thank GOD she got this right)
RJ: Who was our former President?
ABC: L.K. ADVANI (WTF)
RJ: Who is our PM?
ABC: Manmohan Singh (I would have personally found her and thrashed her if she would have wrongly answered this)
RJ: How many members are there of Rajya sabha?
ABC: 11 (Yeah, sure shows, how much civics does she know)
I was super shocked to hear all this nonsense... newspaper reading should become compulsory. If not the civics book. If you do not know about your own country- whether you like your own country or not, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Ohkay- I am not promising any prizes here... but I have not answered couple of questions in the quiz above. Lets see if any of you know the correct answer.
And here is my question in addition:
TRUE OR FALSE:
HINDI OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE.
(HINT: It is there in today's times of India)
I will announce the result in a separate post, highlighting the answers of the person who has given maximum correct answers. Be true to yourself and try not using google.
Have a great HOLIDAY!!!
HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY!!! JAI HIND.
