Jai Ho

If you’re the kind that doesn’t watch movies in theatres, then you probably won’t know what I’m talking about, when I speak of the national anthem being played before every show. Now I don’t believe in forced patriotism and I’m not really a big supporter of the practice. But to me, like I am sure to many other proud Indians, the national anthem means something. It demands and deserves complete respect. And while some people might argue that standing at attention does not mean you are a true blue patriotic, it’s the thought that counts. It shows that you are taking a minute to simply give your attention to your country, think about it, salute it and feel that pride.

Besides the forced patriotism, what irks me is the different versions played in different movie halls. I think I read about it somewhere too. Some play the instrumental version, some play the sloooooowwww one that goes on for quite a while, and gets the little kids (and some not-so-little-kids) quite restless by the time it ends and some pay it like its on fast forward, with some words actually skipped over.

This brings me to the actual point of the post, which is people’s reactions when the anthem is played. While most stand up respectfully, you do get to hear the odd irritated sighs, like the 2 minutes that the anthem is played, is a huge waste of time; irrespective of the fact the next 3 hours may be a bigger waste. You see the few people, coming into the hall, not stopping looking for their seats, disturbing everyone in their row as they get to their corner seats. You (rarely) get to see a few idiots actually mocking the anthem (and that makes my blood boil). You get to see parents with young children doing some of the above, and it gets you to wonder, what sort of example they are setting for their children, and how dare they go about calling others bad examples for their children.

In a country where respect is often misplaced and overrated (my not-so-humble opinion), this to me is highly disrespectful.

But amidst all this, sometimes, like yesterday when I went to watch a movie, you get to see a guy standing tall and proud, actually saluting the flag on screen, and you go back to that feeling of pride for your country. The best part, once the anthem was over, the man loudly called out ‘Bharat mata ki…’, and the majority of the crowd in the packed hall (including some of the afore-mentioned), replied back, ‘Jai!’

My Jai Ho moment. :)