17 August,2011 08:41 AM IST | | Amrita Bose
Recently for an Independence Day Special photo shoot, I decided to use the Indian tricolour as a prop. Now as you read the first line of this column you are probably thinking about how I could refer to the tricolour as a mere prop. So, as not to hurt the patriotic sentiments of anybody reading this column, let's just say that I decided to honour the Indian flag by including it in a photo shoot to celebrate India's 65th year of independence.
Though we had initially narrowed down on painting the tricolour on the subjects' faces, the idea eventually didn't work out thanks to our lack of prowess with paintbrushes and no budgets for hiring a stylist.
But unlike other props, which usually can be kept aside between shoots, this was no ordinary prop but our national flag. I spend all my time worrying about whether I was holding on to it in the right manner. Did we have to hold it upright all the time, could we not clutch it under our arms when our hands got tired?, were questions playing on my mind. More than the subjects and their poses, I was worried about how to hold the flag correctly without hurting anybody's or for that matter, sentiments ingrained in me. It was as if a subconscious voice in my head was berating me all the time to ensure that Jhanda Ucha Rahen Hamara.
Rushing home from the shoot I had to immediately Google and find out whether I had managed to show the right kind of respect to my flag. Reading up on the Indian Flag Code of Conduct (yes Google came up with 9,51,000 hits within 21 seconds), I came across a whole host of rules and regulations. But what made me feel relieved was the fact that industrialist Naveen Jindal has made life much easier around the national flag thanks to his public interest litigation , filed in 2002 that challenged the government's decision of not allowing citizens to hoist the flag. Though the litigation is still under dispute, the court has given temporary permission to hoist the flag.
The good news is that we can fly the flag as we please in our homes, or anytime we need to feel inspired. But still unlike several other countries, you can't make the tricolour a part of your ensemble. You can't drape it around yourself when you are feeling particularly patriotic and emotional about your country or give your flag a hug when you are feeling upbeat. For Indians, the tricolour will always have to be held at an arm's length, hoisted high above every other flag and you and me as a citizen of the country will always be lower or behind the flag, not as an equal.u00a0u00a0
