The National Flag

 



The National Flag

British policemen were searching for him madly. Venkayya with three kids of his locality were hiding inside a house nearby, waiting for a perfect time to show up. 
    Venkayya planned to climb up to the terrace of the tallest building of their locality and hoist me on his own. But he got his right ankle twisted while being chased by the police. So he handed me over to Ali and said “Now our pride is in your hand!” 
    Two of the policemen were just outside the house they were hiding. Venkayya kept his nerve for long but not anymore. He showed up like a preying lion, shouting “Vande Mataram!” and held them up tightly with his stout arms. Ali with the other two children ran towards the building like it was the run of their lives. They climbed up to the building, meanwhile, one of the policemen got rid of Venkayya and started towards the building to stop them. The other two children tied my strings around a bamboo, Ali tied the final knot and I was hoisted, at Parsi Bagan Square, Calcutta on August 7, 1906, for the first time, way before our independence. 

~ Kusal D.

Disclaimer: The plot is fictional, but the date and place mentioned here are real. The pre-independence national flag was first hoisted by Pingali Venkayya, a farmer from Andhra at Parsi Bagan Square(Now Green Park), Calcutta(now Kolkata).

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