Independence Day special: Ordinary Indians take Tricolour flag to new heights

The Tricolour fluttering in all its glory is something that fills every Indian’s heart with pride. The flag flies high for a nation that has climbed up a long way since it gained independence at the stroke of the midnight hour on August 15, 1947. And for some Indians, taking the Tricolour to newer heights is a passion by itself. While it is customary and a tradition to hoist or unfurl the Indian flag on Independence Day and Republic Day and other important national holidays, for some driven people, waving the national flag on mountain peaks that they climb is what gives them the thrill. It is their love for the country that takes them to places where hitherto India’s national flag was not flown, they underline. It gives them joy. They take pride in it. Indian Army dream untouched, she climbs mountains with Indian flag Take for instance T Anjani, a mountaineer who comes from an army family background in Hyderabad. She works for a retail jewellery brand. She is also part of a cycling group. She does not climb peaks just for the thrill of it. She is there to make a point, she insists. When she waves the national flag on the top of peaks, she is overcome with joy. Her own personal memories also fuel Anjani to demonstrate her love for the country. She wanted to get into the army; that did not materialise. And during the Kargil War, she saw her uncle’s body wrapped in the Tricolour. “I’m from an army background, my father is from the Indian Army and that is how every Independence Day or Republic day been attending all the parades and I am a part of NCC also. So I am very much emotionally connected to our Tricolour flag which gives me a sense of freedom and pride. I get goosebumps whenever I see our Indian flag,” Anjani says. She started mountaineering post-Covid. In 2020, her very first trek was in Uttarkashi, at the at National Institute of Mountaineering. “That is the place where I did the first summit. When I carried the Indian flag and hoisted it there I really felt good,” she says. Anjani summitted Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and when she got there, she experienced the same thrill of waving the Indian national flag. Summitting a mountain is not just about conquering a peak. It is more than just that, she says. “During the complete trek, your thoughts itself is the biggest challenge. You need to be mentally very strong. There are a lot of negative thoughts which pulls you down, which will make you give up. Conquering those thoughts and overcoming those thoughts is the biggest challenge which I have faced. Once you conquered those thoughts and overcome those, that itself is like you have summited; you have won,” she says There is thrill in waving the Tricolour at a place that you want it to be seen. Anjani experienced that thrill when she was there on Mount Kilimanjaro. She takes great pride in the flag and she has a reason. “Actually, I’m very much connected emotionally to the national flag,” she says. “My maternal uncle laid down his life for the country during the Kargil War in 1999. I have seen him being wrapped in the Indian flag. I was very small, I was a child. Since then wanted get into the Indian Army and serve our nation but somehow it couldn't happen; I couldn't clear the exam. “But in in my day to day life I serve the community in whatever I ways I can. And if I am going to mountaineering or trekking anywhere I carry the Indian flag with me. It really gives me a sense of freedom and pride when I carry it, specially in a different country other than India. It's like I'm flaunting my Indian flag there. Carrying your Indian flag in unique places really makes you feel good,” she adds. Anjani has also done the Everest base camp trek and her desire is to summit the Everest, and wave the Indian flag there, like many before her have done. Outdoor leader unfurls Indian flag on Kashmir Great Lakes trek There is another person who is equally passionate about seeing the Indian flag fly high. Bharat Madhav Reddy from Hyderabad derives immense pleasure and pride in taking the Indian flag to different places. When he talks about it, there is a great sense of satisfaction because there is a reason behind what he does. What brought him immense joy was a trek in Kashmir. I’m an outdoor leader trained In one of the reputed institutes of the defence of ministry. I started exploring the like mountains. I take groups of people to remote mountain locations all over India. Whenever I go to the mountains, I go to new locations -- some unique kind of places in the India. I always love to take the Indian flag with me,” he says. “The first time I did it was the Great Lakes trek of Kashmir in 2018. I took an Indian flag and at the highest pass of the trek we waved the Indian flag. Everybody came to us asking how we got this thought. Because at that those high altitude treks every gramme of weight adds to the difficulty.” It is India’s ecological richness that Bharat Madhav Reddy loves and wants the world to appreciate. “I went to Meerathang glacier in Arunachal Pradesh, close to the China border, there also I carried the Indian flag. In Himachal Pradesh, we unfurled the flag at Friendship Peak. Also in Uttarakhand on treks like Kedarkantha we went with the Indian flag,” he says. Bharat Madhav Reddy has come up with a new concept that will not only help people discover the India that is but take greater pride is those locations. People like Anjani and Bharat Madhav Reddy take pride in the great nation that India is. When they see the Indian flag, it reminds them about the diversity of the country and the unity of the people. And this independence Day, it is also a reminder for every Indian how the three colours flying as one is a sight to behold, especially far away from the homeland. Voice Artist: Sanyam SharmaAudio production: Shantanu Nanoti