Independence Day in a different way

Posted August 16, 2008

Azaadi har ek ki!

As we approached the heavy iron gates of the Cathedral School yesterday morning, we were greeted by warm smiles and soft voices. Our bleary eyes met with the students' bright ones, hardly outshone by their equally bright kurtas. This is the kind of hospitality which has become the mainstay during our trip so far. But the August 15 wasn't just another morning visit to academia. It was India's Independence Day, and all around the city, the holiday manifested itself through dashes of orange, white and green; here on the street corner in the form of a flag sold by small children with bare feet, there in sheer scarves at a nearby clothing store and right in front of our eyes upon the shirts of our fellow students, pins of various designs all intended to celebrate India's victory.

The celebration is relatively new. Only 60 times has India sung "Vande Mataram" and repeated their national pledge on this particular day, as their independence from the British was won in 1947. At the Cathedral School, the tradition took the form of song, dance and speech--delivered first by the head girl in Hindi, followed by the head boy in English. He addressed his audience, the youth of India peering up at the podium, with a steady voice--words meant to be more inspirational than nationalistic.

"Do we as Indians believe in ourselves?" he questioned. Citing their "infatiguable" fight against terrorism, "… the Indian spirit has shone stronger than ever." Though he was equally critical of his generation, asking after mention of recent drunk driving incidents, "Is this the image we want to portray of ourselves?" The next time a cab is stopped by the police, he continued, "don't let the driver hand over a 10 Ru note, but instead show his drivers license."

These youths are younger than those with whom we have been in contact with so far, but the message is still pertinent: Mean what you say, and think before saying it. As students of mass communication, and as decision makers in a globalized world equally full of opportunity as failure, cultivating such an awareness of multiple realities is vital. And this doesn't only mean politics and poverty; it means song and dance, too.

The morning would not have been complete without a celebration from a different medium than words. As female student Radhika Kumar moved to one of the four dances performed that day, I wondered if she had yet experienced the story of love and deceit depicted in front of her schoolmates. The audience, though dance pervades their culture, was not immune from the usual adolescent commentary upon their peers, sometimes breaking out into laughter--a joke obviously lost on us.

Though we may not catch the precise reason for their uproar, I'm quickly reminded of my own elementary school years. Crowding tightly into the too-small gym for special performances, recitals or dress rehearsals, the anticipation of seeing our friends upon the stage, perhaps secretly desiring their place in the spotlight and the excitement that a change of routine in the repetitive cycle of school days inevitably brings. Not to mention the prospect of "something sweet" awaiting you in the classroom. A small chocolate to begin the day of independence is welcome across all borders.

About the Summer in India blog:

All of 19 Seattle University students are right now roaming the streets of Mumbai, India, watching and telling the story of globalisation and mass media in this country with multiple realities.

This is a Study Abroad program titled "Mass Media in Modern India," directed by Prof. Sonora Jha from The Department of Communication. Students are visiting sites that powerfully show a media and a country in transition. They are meeting top journalists from The Times of India and The Hindu, watching TV show shootings by MTV India and NDTV, Bollywood, documentary and independent filmmakers. They are attending classes with Indian students of mass media, through the Jesuit school, Xavier's Institute of Communication and through Sophia Polytechnic's program titled Social Communications Media. And, more than anything else, as one of them says, they are arriving into the world, growing up in every single moment. They welcome your comments on their blog posts.