Happy Republic/Australia Day!

I have never been much of a patriot. I am one of those people, who feel absolutely neutral about their country. There was never a time when I eagerly wished to move out of India, to any foreign place. Neither was it very difficult for me to leave my country and settle abroad. But since I’ve left India, I have not once sung the National Anthem without crying. When my daughter was young, she would ask why I was crying. I would just drop the issue, saying I’m missing my mom. But now, as a 4 year old, she’s a little more intelligent. She notices when I’m not able to speak. And somehow she knows the cause. She looks at the TV and asks me what song it is. Why are they singing it? I explain that it’s her country’s National Anthem. It’s our republic day tomorrow, that’s why they are singing it. And she replies, “But its Australia Day tomorrow”. The other day she told me, “Dad’s home is in India, your home is in India, and my home is in Australia”. We laughed at her innocence at that time. But somewhere in my heart, I’m uncertain whether to be proud of it, or ashamed. Truly, I cannot tell her that this is not her home. I cannot take away her sense of belonging to the place she’ll spend most of her life in. But, I can also not let her be oblivious to her roots. I’m sure every parent staying out of homeland, must be going through the same trouble. And I’m sure, in the end, everything will fall into place. It depends on us to find the balance, and I’m sure as long as we intend to, we’ll be able to strike the balance.

It’s a good thing that there’s at least one national holiday which India and Australia share together – 26^th of January. So, while I’m enjoying the nationwide holiday, and watching news about celebrations in different parts of Australia, my mind wanders back to my school days, when this day meant flag hoisting, drills and dances – and the National Anthem. 

So, Happy Republic Day my fellow country people!

And Happy Australia Day, my fellow Australians!