Jai Hind

This afternoon we had a TShirt painting competition at work to celebrate India's 61 years of Independence. Everyone proudly painted the most amazing TShirts depicting India's progress, religious unity and what not.

An hour later the euphoria came to an abrupt end when we realised we could not leave the office building! The heavy rains had played havoc on the roads and there was chaos outside. Traffic wasn't moving and our buses couldn't get to us to take us home. Those of us who managed to hitch a ride with those who had cars, took 3 hours to get home - a trip that normally takes an hour at the maximum. Some are still on their way home - its 10.15 p.m. now

So what did we really achieve in 61 years of independence after all? Independence from the Brits. When will we get independence from these politicians of ours who are ruining our country? Where does all the tax money we pay go?

I could only thank God that I was sitting in a car, dry and safe at least. There were hundreds of people walking home 15 kms and more to Delhi before they would be able to get any kind of public transport to get home. They were soaked to the bone. Cyclists and two wheelers were having a rough time negotiating between cars and buses not knowing when they would go down into an unknown hole in the ground under the flooded road. Such apathy!